Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
I've been looking around for an explanation some more, and I've got some new information that I believe may suggest that it's my BIOS that's messing up. I've got all my drives set to autodetect at boot time in the BIOS, but there's one thing I can still configure per drive: addressing mode. I've got four of them to choose from (well, three actually): normal, large, lba and auto. Here's a list of what does and what doesn't work with the various addressing settings. Normal: /386/pbs does NOT work /386/pbslba does work Large: /386/pbs does work /386/pbslba does work LBA: /386/pbs does work /386/pbslba does work Auto: /386/pbs does work /386/pbslba does work Looking at this, I'm starting to think that my BIOS is messing up when I have my disk set to normal mode. That combination (normal mode in BIOS and /386/pbs) used to work though, so that would mean that something in the hardware of my machine must have broken in the meantime. Does anyone know if this is likely (given the symptoms), and how I could verify this? Greetings, Sander.
Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
> That makes two of us. I have the same problem with compact flash > devices. If I don't get the geometry exactly right (I did, a couple > of times, bu no more) the devices are positively useless. > > And I cannot figure out why a while back I could find the right > geometry it and now I have no idea how. Just like you. > > And, ironically, that may be your problem, too. i've been booting from cf without any worries for a long time. even my semi-retired 440gx machine boots from cf; i've never looked at the disk geometry. what controller are you using and what's the output of /dev/sd../ctl? - erik
Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
> I'll take a look, but I'm afraid it's not going to help. I've already > tried NetBSD's MBR and Plan 9's MBR (using disk/mbr), and they both > don't fix the problem. That makes two of us. I have the same problem with compact flash devices. If I don't get the geometry exactly right (I did, a couple of times, bu no more) the devices are positively useless. And I cannot figure out why a while back I could find the right geometry it and now I have no idea how. Just like you. And, ironically, that may be your problem, too. ++L
Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
On Feb 12, 2008 10:19 AM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 1. I zeroed the target harddisk before installation like this: "dd -if > > /dev/zero -of /dev/sdC1/data". > > You wiped out the MBR on the disk, use DOS's FDISK/MBR (sic) to > restore it, it is the least painful way to fix this type of problem, > in my experience. I'll take a look, but I'm afraid it's not going to help. I've already tried NetBSD's MBR and Plan 9's MBR (using disk/mbr), and they both don't fix the problem. I've got the feeling that the problem has something to do with the addressing that the Plan 9 partition's boot block uses (When I install /386/pbslba it works, with /386/pbs it doesn't). So why don't I just install /386/pbslba then? Because a week ago, /386/pbs was working on this machine, and now all the sudden it isn't, and I can't stand that I can't explain why... Anyway, thanks for your suggestion, I'll give it a go and see if it helps. Greetings, Sander.
Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
> 1. I zeroed the target harddisk before installation like this: "dd -if > /dev/zero -of /dev/sdC1/data". You wiped out the MBR on the disk, use DOS's FDISK/MBR (sic) to restore it, it is the least painful way to fix this type of problem, in my experience. ++L
Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
> I believe my writing turns out a bit unclear. What I meant to say was > that I actually did a "dd -if /dev/zero -f /dev/sdC1/raw" before I > figured out that it should have been "dd -if /dev/zero -of > /dev/sdC1/data" instead. Hence I was wondering if writing those zeroes > to the raw file could be the source of my problem (in case those > zeroes translate to a command I really shouldn't have given), because > this is one of the things I did right before the problem appeared. > Anyway, thanks for the reference, I'll take a look at scuzz(8). p. 361 ata 6.1 notes that command 0 is NOP. ata nop does put the drive into an error state so it could have screwed things up into you reboot. it shouldn't, but you'd have to trace through the code to prove it doesn't. - erik
Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
On Feb 12, 2008 1:50 PM, erik quanstrom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 1. I zeroed the target harddisk before installation like this: "dd -if > > /dev/zero -of /dev/sdC1/data". > > 2. I also accidentally did this first when I really meant to zero the > > disk: "dd -if /dev/zero -f /dev/sdC1/raw". > > you did the right thing. the raw file is for issuing raw commands to > the drive. (not raw like you're thinking. they're raw scsi commands > which might be translated (loosely) into ata.) see scuzz(8). I believe my writing turns out a bit unclear. What I meant to say was that I actually did a "dd -if /dev/zero -f /dev/sdC1/raw" before I figured out that it should have been "dd -if /dev/zero -of /dev/sdC1/data" instead. Hence I was wondering if writing those zeroes to the raw file could be the source of my problem (in case those zeroes translate to a command I really shouldn't have given), because this is one of the things I did right before the problem appeared. Anyway, thanks for the reference, I'll take a look at scuzz(8). Greetings, Sander.
Re: [9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
> 1. I zeroed the target harddisk before installation like this: "dd -if > /dev/zero -of /dev/sdC1/data". > 2. I also accidentally did this first when I really meant to zero the > disk: "dd -if /dev/zero -f /dev/sdC1/raw". you did the right thing. the raw file is for issuing raw commands to the drive. (not raw like you're thinking. they're raw scsi commands which might be translated (loosely) into ata.) see scuzz(8). - erik
[9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
It's getting stranger. I just did a fresh install from the 20071222 image (from which I've done a succesfull install on the same machine and disk before), and it gives me the same error. Two things that I haven't mentioned before and that may be relevant are these: 1. I zeroed the target harddisk before installation like this: "dd -if /dev/zero -of /dev/sdC1/data". 2. I also accidentally did this first when I really meant to zero the disk: "dd -if /dev/zero -f /dev/sdC1/raw". Does anyone know if either of these (specifically number 2) could have caused my issue? I'm not sure what (if anything) number two did. Greetings, Sander.
[9fans] Re: Booting problem after fresh install from 20080203 iso.
It seems that my machine and /386/pbs don't get along too well. I reformatted my 9fat partition this way: disk/format –b /386/pbslba –d –r 2 /dev/sdC1/9fat /386/9load /386/9pcf /tmp/plan9.ini and then my machine booted nicely. Reformatting it again this way: disk/format –b /386/pbs –d –r 2 /dev/sdC1/9fat /386/9load /386/9pcf /tmp/plan9.ini broke things again. Can anyone give me a hint about why that could be? As far as I can tell, /386/pbs and /386/pbslba haven't changed since the 20071222 iso, yet things worked for me after a default install back then, and now they don't... Sander.
