From owner-freebsd-questions Wed Apr 5 02:44:09 1995 Return-Path: questions-owner Received: (from majordom@localhost) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.10/8.6.6) id CAA13646 for questions-outgoing; Wed, 5 Apr 1995 02:44:09 -0700 Received: from violet.berkeley.edu (violet.Berkeley.EDU [128.32.155.22]) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.10/8.6.6) with ESMTP id CAA13639 for ; Wed, 5 Apr 1995 02:44:06 -0700 Received: by violet.berkeley.edu (8.6.10/1.33r) id CAA17165; Wed, 5 Apr 1995 02:44:05 -0700 Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 02:44:05 -0700 From: jkh@violet.berkeley.edu (Jordan K. Hubbard) Message-Id: <199504050944.CAA17165@violet.berkeley.edu> To: questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: I would consider it a real favor if somebody could help this poor guy! :( Sender: questions-owner@FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Path: agate!howland.reston.ans.net!news.moneng.mei.com!uwm.edu!msunews!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.uwa.edu.au!nodecg.ncc.telecomwa.oz.au!netbsd08.dn.itg.telecom.com.au!orca1.vic.design.telecom.com.au!news.tansu.com.au!picasso.cssc-syd.tansu.com.au!kiwi.cssc-syd.tansu.com.au!not-for-mail From: raoul@cssc-syd.tansu.com.au (Raoul Golan) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Help! FreeBSD does not boot! Date: 5 Apr 1995 11:58:02 +1000 Organization: Telecom Australia Lines: 48 Distribution: world Message-ID: <3lstfa$e1t@kiwi.cssc-syd.tansu.com.au> NNTP-Posting-Host: kiwi.cssc-syd.tansu.com.au My problem: I bought the Walnut Creek FreeBSD 2.0 yesterday, with the intention of replacing Linux with FreeBSD. I created a boot and a cpio floppy, as per the notes, and attempted to boot via the boot floppy. The boot floppy takes me through to the memory test message, which says something like "Testing memory (8M).." at which point the boot stops, and the system re-boots. It becomes an endless loop. I have and 486DX-40, 8 Meg RAM, with a Fujitsu 500M HD and an IBM 245M HD, , a 1.2 Floppy and a 1.44 Floppy, a Sound Blaster compatible plus a Mitsumi CDROM, and a Cirrus video card. From my understanding, none of this is unusual, and FreeBSD should be able to cope. Could it be: 1. A memory problem during the memory test? I consider this unlikely since I have never had memory problems. If it was the memory, I would have expected a memory error message, not a silent re-boot. 2. A hardware configuration problem? Like I said, I believe my hardware is fairly conventional, and both Linux and DOS work OK. Besides, the sound card, the cdrom, the HD's - none of these devices are accessed with the bootup floppy, right? 3. A BIOS problem? I have AMI BIOS. Perhaps a setting needs to be changed? Is the boot failing on the memory test, or on whatever it is the boot floppy does _after_ the memory test? Finally, is it possible for me to see the source of the boot floppy, perhaps add a few debug messages to the kernel, and build a new boot image? Could someone point me to doco on how I can do this? Thanks for your assistance - I really wanted to try FreeBSD. I hope my CD won't need to become a frisbee. I hope that I'm not stuck with Linux like it or not. -- Raoul Golan, Consultant for Object Oriented P/L, at ="Those who have put out Intelligent Networks Development, Telecom Australia = the eyes of the people Also student at Macquarie Univ. School of History, = reproach them for their Philosophy and Politics. EMAIL:raoul@ind.tansu.com.au = blindness." - Milton