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Date:      Sat, 28 Jun 1997 21:37:21 -0700
From:      "Daniel A. Borlean" <bord@cruzio.com>
To:        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Kernel doesn't boot!?
Message-ID:  <33B5E681.6573@cruzio.com>

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> If your new kernel does not boot, or fails to recognize your devices, do not panic! Fortunately,
> BSD has an excellent mechanism for recovering from incompatible kernels. Simply type the
> name of the kernel you want to boot from (i.e. ``kernel.old'') at the FreeBSD boot prompt
> instead of pressing return. When reconfiguring a kernel, it is always a good idea to keep a
> kernel that is known to work on hand.


I'm having a very difficult booting my FreeBSD 2.1.6 system into any
kernel after having changed some swap space allocation.  I've tried to
boot into the kernel.old copy of the kernel as is suggested above, but I
get an "Invalid format!" message?

Here's _exactly_ what I see on the screen when trying to boot the
kernel.  It always stops at the last line, sometines with a "-"
character, and other times with the "/"?


Boot: kernel.old
dosdev= 80, biosdrive = 0, unit = 0, maj = 0
Invalid format!

>> FreeBSD BOOT @ 0x10000: 631/7168 k of memory
Usage: [[[0:][wd](0,a)]/kernel][-abcCdghrsv]
Use 1:sd(0,a)kernel to boot sd0 if it is BIOS drive 1
Use ? for file list or press Enter for defaults

Boot:
dosdev= 80, biosdrive = 0, unit = 0, maj = 0
\


I've tried using "kernel" with all the options (abc..) separately with
no success.  I've also tried using the first usage ([[[0:][wd]..) and my
system just locks up; I then have to do a hard boot (pressing the reset
button) since a soft boot (CTRL-ATL-DEL) doesn't work.  I've tried
1:sd..., but that gives me repetitive error messages.

Does anyone know how I'd go about booting into the system successfully? 
Is there a boot up file for a floppy disk that I may use to boot into
the system? (I tried the installation boot floppy, but it doesn't allow
me to reach a shell so I can examine my system.)

Thanks for any input,
Daniel


-- 
  -+-                     -+-                              -+-
   |  Daniel A. Borlean   /         bord@cruzio.com          \
  / \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /   http://members.cruzio.com/~bord  \
  \ / Scotts Valley, CA /|   http://www.nas.nasa.gov/~bdaniel  \
   |    408-461-1676   / |                                     /\
  -+- /~~~~~~~~~~~~~/-+-  \   ^Life iS shOrt! plaY smarT!!^   / -+-
  /|\/              \/  \_|___^                           ^___\_/ \



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