Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:06:23 -0700 (PDT) From: "Ronald F. Guilmette" <rfg@tristatelogic.com> To: FreeBSD-gnats-submit@FreeBSD.org Subject: i386/125516: 7.0-RELEASE install dies (probably same problem as PR 113160) Message-ID: <20080711190623.96CCD1142D@segfault.tristatelogic.com> Resent-Message-ID: <200807111930.m6BJU16v081586@freefall.freebsd.org>
next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
>Number: 125516 >Category: i386 >Synopsis: 7.0-RELEASE install dies (probably same problem as PR 113160) >Confidential: no >Severity: serious >Priority: medium >Responsible: freebsd-i386 >State: open >Quarter: >Keywords: >Date-Required: >Class: sw-bug >Submitter-Id: current-users >Arrival-Date: Fri Jul 11 19:30:01 UTC 2008 >Closed-Date: >Last-Modified: >Originator: Ronald F. Guilmette >Release: FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE i386 >Organization: Infinite Monkeys & Co. LLC >Environment: 7.0-RELEASE i386 >Description: This looks like the exact same problem as in PR 113160. (I think that PR should be reopened. See below.) I have an older Athlon XP system based on an ASUS A7N266-VM/AA motherboard, and when trying to install from the 7.0-RELEASE disk #1, the install process gets down past the Stage 3 boot and starts to boot the install kernel, which then recognizes all of the hardware, but then, just after it has done all of that, the process dies rather mysteriously and just puts up the standard mountroot (brief) instructions followed by a mountroot> prompt. >How-To-Repeat: Just try to boot from a 7.0-RELEASE CD on an ASUS A7N266-VM/AA based system and I do believe you will see the problem. I have tried to pin down the problem by using multiple different CDs and multiple different CD ROM drives (because I thought at first that the problem might be related to the CD or CD drive) and that just isn't the problem. It is clear that the real problem is 7.0's interaction with this specific motherboard. >Fix: I believe that PR 113160 should be reopened and a proper sort of fix should be developed. Just telling people to diable the 15M-16M memory hole is *not* a solution, in particular on _this_ motherboard, where ASUS, in its infinite wisdom, decided to "customize" the BIOS by, among other things, removing any such option. To be clear, on this motherboard (ASUS A7N266-VM/AA) there simply *is* no option in the BIOS to disable the 15M-16M memory hole. (I searched every one of the BIOS menus, twice, and it just ain't there.) So as of now, all owners of A7N266-VM/AA based systems are screwed... none of us can get 7.0-RELEASE installed on a blank/fresh A7N266-VM/AA system. Surely there _must_ be a way to work around the presence of a memory hole at 15M-16M, yes? I mean how hard can that be? (I hate to have to just throw this motherboard in the trash!) Why is it that with a 6.1-RELEASE CD (and on the exact same hardware), I _can_ get down all the way to the Install menu with no crashing? What changed between 6.1 and 7.0 as regards to that 15M-16M range? >Release-Note: >Audit-Trail: >Unformatted:
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20080711190623.96CCD1142D>