Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 08:05:06 +0100 From: Ross Kendall Axe <ross@axe.homelinux.net> To: Alex Zbyslaw <xfb52@dial.pipex.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: /boot on a separate partition Message-ID: <42DDF7A2.8050206@axe.homelinux.net> In-Reply-To: <42DCC88E.1010207@dial.pipex.com> References: <42DC1173.6020307@axe.homelinux.net> <20050718142635.E7170@border.crystalsphere.multiverse> <42DC53BE.6040205@axe.homelinux.net> <6.1.0.6.2.20050718190554.11fe1e10@cobalt.antimatter.net> <Pine.LNX.4.62.0507190324550.2953@purplehaze.axe.homelinux.net> <42DCC88E.1010207@dial.pipex.com>
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Alex Zbyslaw wrote: > Being pragmatic, the problems you are facing are because you have such a > tiny disk in an ancient PC. This puts you in a very small minority of > FreeBSD users. True. > A separate /boot is new to 5.X and I doubt it was done > to help you out of this situation. Developer effort is limited and > since FreeBSD has never used a separate /boot, it's unlikely to get > anyone's attention to do it that way unless there is a very good reason, > and tiny disks are unlikely to be it. I admit, I didn't know the /boot was new in FreeBSD, but then, I am a BSD virgin. As for reasons to support a /boot partition, how about BIOS bugs/quirks? There's no shortage of those. Of course, an open source BIOS would be a better solution to that particular problem. Also, please don't misinterpret my cry for help as a demand for a new feature; I may be new to FreeBSD but I'm reasonably seasoned in the ways of the free software world. > The oldest PC I have that runs FreeBSD (also a Pentium) has a 4 and an > 8Gb disk, and no problem booting off the ends of either. It's who knows > how old, and even charities don't want it because they can't think of > anything useful that anyone could do with it, even if it was the bees > knees when I got it. Pffft. I've got a 486 with a 1/4GB hard disk around here _somewhere_. > Depending on where you are located, you might be able to find something > very cheap (but still better than yours) in classifieds, computer fairs, > 2nd hand shops or the local tip. This particular machine was actually intercepted before it reached the dump. Still, it's powerful enough to make a decent home router. > > Best, > > --Alex > Thanks to all for your input, but I've actually managed to solve the problem in a different way. Turns out the BIOS was disabling LBA because the logical cylinder count was >1024, so mucking about with the geometry fixed it. Still, I'll keep these comments in mind if I ever decide to install FreeBSD on the aforementioned 486 ;-) Ross -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.7 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFC3fei9bR4xmappRARAuc/AKCsWkDqBjuxfnL9o1vPxbEjLe42PACeMElv hvmsCK7XVZ528YHhDe+E7mU= =IQtf -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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