Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 09:56:06 +0100 From: Olaf Greve <o.greve@axis.nl> To: Vinod Kashyap <vkashyap@amcc.com> Cc: amd64@freebsd.org Subject: Re: More about the 9500S-4 issues with the MoBo and FreeBSD... Message-ID: <438D6926.8070807@axis.nl> In-Reply-To: <2B3B2AA816369A4E87D7BE63EC9D2F2601021B34@SDCEXCHANGE01.ad.amcc.com> References: <2B3B2AA816369A4E87D7BE63EC9D2F2601021B34@SDCEXCHANGE01.ad.amcc.com>
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Hi, > Are you sure you have the installation CD for amd64? The error messages > make me think you might be using an i386 version of the CD. ???? Well, I D/L-ed it from the French (I think) FreeBSD mirror from the AMD64 directory... Having said that, I did notice the CDs bootstrap loader mentions freebsd/i386 (I meant to ask about that one). If indeed I somehow was totally numb (a thing which I cannot entirely exclude given some of the following I'm about to type) and made such a stupid mistake myself, then that could certainly explain a lot. However.... that still wouldn't explain why FreeBSD 5.4-release AMD64 also chokes on it; and on that CD I am 100% positive it's the AMD64 version, as I have installed it on my own AMD64 machine from the very same CDs. Also, really, I am about 99% (if not 100%) sure that I made very certain to D/L the AMD64 version. The ISO images also reflected that name (I think), so it's not very likely it's the i386 version. Then: I'm amased. Really I am. As the client needs this machine to be up an running this Friday, yesterday evening I decided to opt for a different strategy: install this machine using the on-board RAID controller, then in the meantime ask the client to order an Opteron (or dual Opteron) with a Tyan MoBo, install, tune and test that one at ease and then when it's all set-up swap that with the machine I'm currently working on. So, just when I thought I had a workable strategy again, look at what horrors were bestowed upon me next: the Sil 3114 on-board RAID controller recognises the drives, enters the BIOS, but when confirming the total RAID array size it totally hangs! And that's the controller's BIOS; it didn't even get to the point where one could install FreeBSD (or anything else for that matter). So, with "Plan B" out, there was even a "Plan C": use the nVidia on-board RAID controller. O.k., I plugged over the SATA controllers, configured the MoBo's BIOS to do this, and what do ya guess? Indeed, another full blown controller hang. Nice. :( Well, over the past 15 years I must have installed dozens of machines (several of them including Asus boards, in combination with Adaptec SCSI RAID controllers and various different versions and flavours (i.e. 1386/amd64) of FreeBSD), with OS-es ranging from MS-DOS, through the full array of W*nd*wses, FreeBSDs, Linuxes, and I can hardly recall any more troublesome installation process than this time; really, it reminds me of the good 'ole MS-DOS days where one had to jumper each and every ISA board and then tweak memory configurations in order to get the lot going. :(((((( Actually, I think something is simply b*ll*xed up on the board, but I just can't put my finger on what it is. Surele even if it is primarily a gaming board, still these type of errors should not have occurred. I spent the better part of late last evening and the wee hours on reading the MoBo's docs, and checking if we perhaps missed something. I didn't spot anything, but something MUST be off... :(((( Dunno. Time for a "plan D" I guess; I'll ask if the client can somehow get a working machine, and then I'll pull two more late nighters to at least get the bit I was supposed to do done: installing and tuning FreeBSD and MySQL. At present it's highly frustrating that I can't even really reach the OS installation part...:(((( OK, guys thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm sure some day in the future I can laugh out loud at it too, just not right now....;) Cheers! Olafo
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