Date: Sun, 24 Nov 1996 06:36:36 +1100 From: Bruce Evans <bde@zeta.org.au> To: msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au, stesin@gu.net Cc: fenner@parc.xerox.com, freebsd-current@FreeBSD.org, jkh@FreeBSD.org, phk@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: 2.2-ALPHA install failure Message-ID: <199611231936.GAA03345@godzilla.zeta.org.au>
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>> > You are using an NCR controller, or some other SCSI controller that >> > reads the partition table out of the MBR. The 'dangerously dedicated' >> > mode won't work with these controllers, as they become _very_ confused >> > by it. >> >> I've been using NCR's for 2 years and even now a box with one >> is near me installed a while ago. Each and every such a box >> with just any HDD brand was installed in a 'dangerously dedicated' >> fascion and it just worked. > >*shrug* Bruce recently posted the results of some tests he performed, >which matched with my empirical observations that the NCR BIOS reads >the contents of the MBR and reports its geometry to match. They pick a default geometry when they become confused. I think it follows the rules posted by Darryl Okahata. The number of heads and sectors/track is chosen to make the number of cylinders <= 1024 if possible. >I've lost cou8nt of the number of NCR-using systems I've installed; >I'm sure that I've used the DD option before and it's worked, but I've >certainly had more than a few cases where users have selected it and >been bitten. They get bitten when they can't remember the geometry and tell FreeBSD another geometry, or when they move the drive to a lesser controller than can't support the geometry. Bruce
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