Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 10:38:58 +0100 From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Jos=E9_Mar=EDa_Alcaide?= <jose@we.lc.ehu.es> To: "James R. Van Artsdalen" <james-freebsd-fs2@jrv.org> Cc: freebsd-fs@freebsd.org Subject: Re: BIOS booting from disks > 2TB Message-ID: <D91EAD51-2B6B-41E6-891E-575153409745@we.lc.ehu.es> In-Reply-To: <546DA321.8050403@jrv.org> References: <17A2AC72-AD70-480A-9BAC-9CC8EAFD572F@we.lc.ehu.es> <alpine.BSF.2.11.1411191024540.55133@wonkity.com> <FF60956B-BF1F-4A1A-840E-489C549304EF@sarenet.es> <546DA321.8050403@jrv.org>
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> El 20/11/2014, a las 9:15, James R. Van Artsdalen = <james-freebsd-fs2@jrv.org> escribi=F3: >=20 >=20 > The extended BIOS disk functions, introduced onto PCs almost 20 years = ago, allowing for addressing LBAs beyond 2TB. FreeBSD will use these = BIOS functions when present. This is usually not a problem. >=20 > If a disk controller card of some kind is installed then the option = ROM on that card must support the extended BIOS disk functions for this = to work. This is usually not a problem. >=20 > The error messages shown only pertained to the backup header, not = primary, and looking at the code it implies to me that the primary = header and table were read OK, and that these will be used even if the = backup cannot be found. I think "invalid backup GPT header" is a = warning in this case, not a fatal error. >=20 > I think the real problem is here: >=20 > Can't work out which disk we are booting from. > Guessed BIOS device 0xffffffff not found by probes, defaulting to = disk0: >=20 > 1. If you replace the 3TB disk with a disk 2TB or smaller and make no = other change, does this error still happen? >=20 > 2. How are the disks connected to the system? What disk controllers = are used? What is the system BIOS boot disk setting set to? >=20 I have an identical system (Proliant Microserver Gen8) with same = hardware configuration, same firmware versions and same disks (WD Red 3 = TB) as Borja's system. When the disk controller is configured in AHCI mode there is no way of = selecting the boot disk (among those connected to the disk controller). = The BIOS only permits to select the boot disk controller, if there is = more than one (which is not the case). So I think that the message Can't work out which disk we are booting from. Guessed BIOS device 0xffffffff not found by probes, defaulting to = disk0: is harmless (given that we actually want to boot from the first disk). In fact I did another test: I installed FreeBSD on an 8 GB partition = *using the MBR scheme instead of GPT*, and the system booted from the = first 3 TB disk without any problem (and with four disks attached), = despite of showing the same warning message. -- Jose M. Alcaide=
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