Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 15:07:52 -0800 From: FreeBSD Administrator <freebsd@workgrp.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Opps: Bad Superblock after Sys. Cmdr install Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971111150752.00d26a6c@207.207.207.90>
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OK. I thought I'd try installing System Commander, with all it's cool booting features to use with the multiple OSes on one of my machines. Unfortunately, not only did it write a new MBR on my C: IDE drive (bios 80), but it looks like it trashed my D: SCSI drive (bios 81). My system is backed up to tape, but I'm not sure it's good. Before I shot myself in both feet, I had the FreeBSD (or whomever's) BootEasy installed. This allowed me to boot the system and press F5 for disk 2, and then F1 on disk2 for FreeBSD. I then booted with 1:sd(0,a)/kernel. Unfortunately, in installing the CD-ROM for 2.2.2, I couldn't seem to get the system to boot with just my AHA1542CF and 3.2GB SCSI drive, dedicated to FreeBSD. Now, I think it was some combination of using a Promise EIDE controller for the 1.6GB IDE drive which has other things on it, and possibly have >1GB translation turned on in the 1542CF bios. I may have also not learned the 1:sd(0,a) trick at that point in time, so the only way I could get FreeBSD to boot without a "Geometrical Panic (Euclidean?)" was to dedicate the ENTIRE disk to FreeBSD, since that was all I'd be running on it anyway. I also chose the install option of ENTIRE disk, with no later compatibility for other operating systems. If I understand this correctly, sector 0 would solely contain the FreeBSD "MBR" with no standard partition table that would point partition 0 to the FreeBSD MBR, superblock, etc. In other words, no standard partition table and the FreeBSD system (/ in my case) starts at sector 0. Anything installing an standard MBR/partition table would write over this and corrupt the system. When I now try to boot the FreeBSD system, it complains about a bad superblock and dies a horrible, lingering death. Before the tragedy, I'd CVSUPed the system up to whatever level RELENG_2.2 is (from 2.2-STABLE to ~2.2.6?) at the end of October. I've tried booting from the 2.2.2 install CD-ROM and/or the FIXIT disk and tried to either mount /dev/sd0s1a or fsck it, with no luck. It just complains about the nasty, retched not-so-superblock and thumbs it's nose at me. Would someone be kind enough to suggest some viable recover options? Is there a backup superblock that I can dd? Is the superblock in sector 0 (I'm assuming that is what's trashed) or sector 1 or? Could some combination of fdisk and disklabel correct the problem (without doing a newfs)if I can remember how I carved up the disk? Any thoughts, help, comments, commentaries on how stupid I am will be cheerfully accepted. Regards and thanks, Marty mlg@a.crl.com mlghome@home.com
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