Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:18:35 -0700 From: Jeremy Chadwick <koitsu@FreeBSD.org> To: ian j hart <ianjhart@ntlworld.com> Cc: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: unable to boot 7.0-RELEASE cdrom on supermicro 5015b-mt Message-ID: <20080723001835.GA33136@eos.sc1.parodius.com> In-Reply-To: <200807221847.34935.ianjhart@ntlworld.com> References: <200807221727.52718.ianjhart@ntlworld.com> <20080722163724.GA11757@eos.sc1.parodius.com> <200807221847.34935.ianjhart@ntlworld.com>
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On Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 06:47:34PM +0100, ian j hart wrote: > On Tuesday 22 July 2008 17:37:24 Jeremy Chadwick wrote: > > On Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 05:27:52PM +0100, ian j hart wrote: > > > Same hardware as my other thread. > > > http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5015/SYS-5015B-MT.cfm > > > > > > [using 2Gb RAM and SATA in legacy mode] > > > > > > I'd like to focus only on making the CDROM boot complete. > > > > > > Summary: hangs just after the CPUs are launched. > > > > > > 6.2-RELEASE works okay, no AHCI support > > > 6.3-RELEASE works okay > > > 7.0-RELEASE hangs > > > 7.0-STABLE-200806-SNAPSHOT hangs > > > 8.0-CURRENT-200806-SNAPSHOT hangs > > > > > > I thought I could do a binary search using the current snapshot boot-only > > > CDs but they only go back to March. Are there any older ones available? > > > > Have you tried disabling ACPI to see if it makes any sort of difference? > > Yes, but I'm happy to re-try. > > Which method is "best"? Or is it 1 + 2 or 3? > > 1) BIOS > 2) Beastie menu option > 3) loader prompt set hint Item #2 is the easiest. You should really be able to leave the BIOS settings at their defaults (Factory Defaults) and have this system work on FreeBSD. Items #2 and #3 are the same. The loader menu option for disabling ACPI simply sets the hint. > > Also, AHCI should work just fine on those systems -- I know because I > > have fairly extensive experience with Supermicro hardware, although what > > you're using is newer than what I presently have. I don't know why > > you're setting Compatible/Legacy mode on your controller (you mention > > doing this in your other thread as well). > > Because I don't know what's wrong yet and AHCI support is newer than SATA > support and this is a newish board? [At least 6.2 doesn't seem to support it > and it has an AHCI legacy option!] > > I'd be happy to swap this over. Slight problem; the drives get renumbered, so > I'd rather not swap back and forth. You *absolutely* should have AHCI enabled. There's a lot of reasons why, too. I highly recommend avoiding the "SATA Compatible" mode. AHCI should work fine on FreeBSD 6.3 as well as 7.0 -- I know, because we have many Supermicro boards running those versions which do have AHCI enabled. Please use it, and stick with it. Here's added proof that AHCI works fine on 6.3: $ dmesg -a | grep -i ahci atapci1: <Intel AHCI controller> port 0x30e8-0x30ef,0x30dc-0x30df,0x30e0-0x30e7,0x30d8-0x30db,0x30b0-0x30bf mem 0xe0000400-0xe00007ff irq 19 at device 31.2 on pci0 atapci1: AHCI Version 01.10 controller with 4 ports detected $ uname -r -s FreeBSD 6.3-PRERELEASE The adX device renumbering is expected. There are workarounds for this, but I recommend you simply enable AHCI. Do not keep toggling it on/off. > > Below is what we use on our systems; factory defaults, then make the > > following changes. (The G-LAN1 OPROM option you can do whatever you > > want with -- it's specific to our environment). > > > > * Main > > * Date > > --> Set to GMT, not local time!!! > > * Serial ATA > > --> SATA Controller Mode --> Enhanced > > --> SATA AHCI --> Enabled > > > > * Advanced > > * Boot Features > > --> Quiet Mode --> Disabled > > --> Enable Multimedia Timer --> Enabled > > * PCI Configuration > > --> Onboard G-LAN1 OPROM --> Disabled > > --> Large Disk Access Mode --> Other > > * Advanced Processor Options > > --> Intel(R) Virtualization Technology --> Enabled > > --> C1 Enhanced Mode --> Enabled > > I've got as close as I can to this. > > This board also has an AHCI legacy option [disabled] which hides ports 5 and > 6. I also disabled quickboot and POST errors. I assume multimedia timer is > the same as HPET. Doesn't seem to be any disk translation option. I took the > fans off 'flat out'. Okay, I've had a chance to review the board manual that comes with the X7SBi. You should set the following: Serial ATA: Enabled Native Mode Operation: Serial ATA SATA AHCI: Enabled SATA AHCI Legacy: Disabled The name "SATA AHCI Legacy" a horrible name for what it does. The ICH9 itself has support for 6 SATA ports, but (if I remember correctly, based on reading some Intel design documents) there are extra registers you have to tweak to get those ports to work, and the OS has to be fully aware of how to do that. The BIOS option simply disables SATA ports 5 and 6 altogether; the underlying OS never sees them. I'd recommend keeping that setting Disabled (the default) unless you have disks on those ports (I don't see how, since it's a 4-disk system!). I don't think this option is what's causing you problems, though. "Multimedia Timer" is indeed HPET. Looks like they changed the name to be more reflective of what it actually is. The "Large Disk Access" mode does appear to be missing from that BIOS, probably for a good reason. I can enable/disable it on our boards with no repercussions (the options are "DOS" and "Other", which is why I choose "Other"). I'm not entirely sure what it does. As for your problem... If the CDROM is the problem (which would be odd, since the disc does boot and load the kernel successfully), can you try going into the BIOS and setting IDE Channel 0 Master (which I think is the CDROM -- I could be wrong here) and set "Transfer Mode" to PIO1 and "Ultra DMA Mode" to Disabled? I have a feeling the problem isn't related to the CDROM, but I'm not entirely sure how to debug it. There are other users using the X7SBi with success: http://groups.google.com/group/mailing.freebsd.current/browse_thread/thread/d0a2d20f8965361a http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=666686 Also, can you make sure your BIOS revision is 1.1a, just to rule out any BIOS-related issues? -- | Jeremy Chadwick jdc at parodius.com | | Parodius Networking http://www.parodius.com/ | | UNIX Systems Administrator Mountain View, CA, USA | | Making life hard for others since 1977. PGP: 4BD6C0CB |
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