From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Aug 24 18:33:20 2009 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id EF8C3106568E for ; Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:33:20 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from af.gourmet@videotron.ca) Received: from relais.videotron.ca (relais.videotron.ca [24.201.245.36]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C7B1F8FC13 for ; Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:33:20 +0000 (UTC) MIME-version: 1.0 Content-transfer-encoding: 8BIT Content-type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Received: from [192.168.0.51] ([96.21.103.185]) by VL-MH-MR002.ip.videotron.ca (Sun Java(tm) System Messaging Server 6.3-4.01 (built Aug 3 2007; 32bit)) with ESMTP id <0KOW001J78VJ0CW0@VL-MH-MR002.ip.videotron.ca> for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:33:20 -0400 (EDT) Message-id: <4A92DCF5.5000808@videotron.ca> Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:33:25 -0400 From: PJ User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 (Windows/20090812) To: Roland Smith References: <4A929241.5060406@videotron.ca> <4A92B6C4.8070309@videotron.ca> <20090824174937.GA43410@slackbox.xs4all.nl> In-reply-to: <20090824174937.GA43410@slackbox.xs4all.nl> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: moving a disk X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:33:21 -0000 Roland Smith wrote: > On Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 11:50:28AM -0400, PJ wrote: > >> PJ wrote: >> >>> I am trying to move a 7.2 installation to another computer where it is >>> to be the only OS acting as a server for the lan. >>> On bootup I get the message: >>> Using drive 0, partition 3. >>> And there it hangs. >>> > > Probably because the boot code can't find the 3rd stage loader... It is > strange that it is trying partition 3 instead of partition 4. > > Did you prepare the disk as explained in the handbook (�16.3 "Adding Disks")? > I get the impression that you didn't. And that can have caused the problem. > > Try booting again, and press any key to interrupt the boot process to get to > the boot prompt. You should see something like: > > >> FreeBSD/i386 BOOT > Default: 0:ad(0,a)/boot/loader > boot: > > At this boot prompt, type > > 0:ad(0,4,a)/boot/loader > > This will try to boot from the 4th partition. See boot(8). N.B. the boot > manpage uses the term 'slice' for partitions. By default the boot code looks > for either the active slice or the first slice with the freebsd type. > > >>> I have tried to rewrite the mbr but that did absolutely nothing. >>> > > That is not surprising, The mbr is only part of the boot process. The problem > seems to be that it cannot locate the rest... Read the chapter "The FreeBSD > Booting Process" from the FreeBSD Handbook. And see > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record > > This will provide insight into how FreeBSD actually boots. It is a bit of a > convoluted process due to historical restrictions of the PC > architecture. Reading the manual pages for fdisk(8), boot(8) and loader(8) > might also prove enlightening. > > >>> fik ad0 returns: >>> partitions 1,2,3 are >>> Parrtition 4 give the cylinder, heads, sectors, blocks stuff >>> > > Why did you install on partition 4? Normally one would use parition 1. > > >>> What should I do? And what information do I need to supply or look for >>> to solve this. >>> > > See below. > > >>> I'd rathernot go through another installation even if this is farly >>> elementary. >>> > > With any luck you don't have to. > > >>> Oh, yes... all my former problems were definitely software related as I >>> have checked and double, triple checked my HDDs and cannot find any >>> problems therewith. >>> > > >> here is what I have found in looking at the disk when it's mounted >> on another FBSD system through an USB interface: >> it is mounted on /dev/ad0 >> fdisk ad0 ---> returns partitions 1,2,3 as ; partition 4 is >> marked for sysid 166 OpenBSD (this seems to be left over from an >> installation that was never completed) >> > > It should be type 165 for FreeBSD! _Or_ partition 4 should be marked as active > (flag 80). Is it? If not you can use the -a flag of fdisk to update the active > partition. I think you should use something like 'fdisk -u -a -4 ad0'. Look > at the fdisk manual page to see what this does. I'm not sure if this is the > right invocation. I have never dealt with this problem. > > Setting the active partition _should_ be enough. If that doesn't work, you're in > trouble. As far as I know there is no easy way to just change the partition > type, without starting over. In theory you can set the type by fiddling some > bits in the partition table, but that is probably harder than it sounds. Maybe > sysinstall can do it, but I haven't tried. > > Next time you want to install FreeBSD on a disk, read �16.3 "Adding Disks" of > the FreeBSD handbook first, and follow the steps laid out there! That would > create and active a single partition which would almost certainly have avoided > this problem. > > >> I also note that the other functioning FBSD 7.2 has partitions 2-4 as >> and partition 1 has the cylinder parameters. >> >> I get the impression that I should use the disklabel editor to change >> all that but am not familiar with it and am not sure how to use it. >> > > No. The disklabel works at a lower level. > > Historically PC harddisks can be divided into 4 partitions (This is what fdisk > does). So the disk ad0 can have partitions 1--4: ad0s1--ad0s4. In older FreeBSD > literature these are called slices, hence the 's' in the partition name. > > FreeBSD can subdivide a partition in labeled sections. These sections are > labeled with a letter, so partition ad0s1 can be divided (in 7.x) into labeled > pieces a--g: ad0s1a--ad0s1g. This is what the bsdlabel(8) program does. And it > is usually on these subdivisions that filesystems are created with newfs(8). > > >> Is there a way to fix this thingy? >> > > Make sure that partition 4 is the active partition. That should fix it. > > Hi Roland, I'm going to keep this email as a valued reminder of what to do and not to do. I'm afraid I was a bit impatient and messed up the already messed up disk... frankly, I don't recall whatever happened to the thing in the first place. I did install a good working 7.2 with samba, mysawl, php and that's about it. It booted fine and I just left it alone not being sure of what I would do with it... kept it as a backup if I should need to access messed up disks. I then installed and configuread a full 7.2 with xorg, samba, etc. etc. and even flashplugin with Firefox 3.5 and everything is humming away nicely. So, I dug up an older motherboard and started fiddling about and thought of installing an already ready disk with 7.2 on it... and here we are. I don't know why it was not set for booting, but it did boot on the first machine... anyway, I'm just practicing another minimal install... it's not as bad as I had thought... I'm getting it all together now. Thanks much, I'm beginning to understand a bit more... this boot stuff sure is complicated... and yes, I have been reading the man pages - theyre ok, but I'm pretty slow .... don't really want to absorb it all.... ;-)