Subject: -current (~1998/12/02) sysinst problems with blank SCSI disks
To: NetBSD-current Discussion List <current-users@netbsd.org>
From: Greg A. Woods <woods@most.weird.com>
List: current-users
Date: 12/20/1998 01:54:19
(This is the complete report of the problems with sysinst vs. large SCSI
disks that I'd mentioned a little while ago.)
I attempted to install on a new i386 server using a 1998/12/02 build of
NetBSD-current using "sysinst". Everything seemed to be going great
until it came time to reboot from the hard disk. All I got was a blank
screen with a blinking cursor. Nothing I did seemed to help until
finally in frustration I stopped sysinst, typed "fdisk -i /dev/rsd0d"
and then re-started "sysinst".
The system in question is an IBM PC Server 325 with on-board SCSI
(aic7880), and the disks are Quantum Viking 4.5GB drives. Dmesg output
attached below too.
I also tried doing the install using a 1.3.2 boot floppy with equally
unhappy results.
Just to prove that it was this one step of manually running "fdisk -i"
that made the difference I tried again on a second brand new and
completely blank disk, with exactly the same result (the system wouldn't
boot from the drive until after I used "fdisk -i" before continuing the
install).
I've encountered all kinds of people who have run into similar troubles
getting NetBSD to install directly onto large SCSI drives. Often what
they've ended up doing is installing on a smaller drive and using the
large drive as their data drive. Had only I known about the "fdisk -i"
trick I could have saved a few people from a lot of frustraton and
delay.
The following is a comparison of the first few bytes of two identical
SCSI disks, "sd0" which boots, and "sd1" which doesn't.
I'm not much of an expert with PCs, but it seems to me that "sysinst"
somehow isn't using the right MBR code.....
# diff sd0.od sd1.od
1,16c1,21
< 0000000 3 300 372 216 320 274 \0 | 216 300 216 330 373 213 364 277
< 0000020 \0 006 271 \0 002 374 363 244 352 035 006 \0 \0 260 004 276
< 0000040 276 007 200 < 200 t \f 203 306 020 376 310 u 364 276 275
< 0000060 006 353 C 213 376 213 024 213 L 002 203 306 020 376 310 t
< 0000100 \n 200 < 200 u 364 276 275 006 353 + 275 005 \0 273 \0
< 0000120 | 270 001 002 315 023 s \f 3 300 315 023 M u 357 276
< 0000140 236 006 353 022 201 > 376 } U 252 u 007 213 367 352 \0
< 0000160 | \0 \0 276 205 006 . 254 \n 300 t 006 264 016 315 020
< 0000200 353 364 373 353 376 M i s s i n g o p e
< 0000220 r a t i n g s y s t e m \0 E r
< 0000240 r o r l o a d i n g o p e r
< 0000260 a t i n g s y s t e m \0 I n v
< 0000300 a l i d p a r t i t i o n t
< 0000320 a b l e \0 A u t h o r - S i
< 0000340 e g m a r S c h m i d t \0 \0 \0
< 0000360 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0
---
> 0000000 1 300 216 320 f 274 \0 | \0 \0 216 300 216 330 211 346
> 0000020 f 277 \0 006 \0 \0 f 271 \0 001 \0 \0 363 245 352 #
> 0000040 006 \0 \0 f 277 276 007 \0 \0 1 366 f 271 004 \0 \0
> 0000060 \0 g 200 ? 200 u 006 205 366 u 013 211 376 203 307 020
> 0000100 342 357 205 366 u \b f 276 357 006 \0 \0 353 O V R
> 0000120 f 273 252 U \0 \0 264 A 315 023 Z ^ r O f 270
> 0000140 U 252 \0 \0 9 303 u E 366 301 001 t @ g f 307
> 0000160 006 020 \0 001 \0 g f 307 F 004 \0 | \0 \0 g f
> 0000200 307 F \f \0 \0 \0 \0 266 005 V R 264 B 315 023 Z
> 0000220 ^ s A 376 316 u 362 f 276 033 007 \0 \0 254 204 300
> 0000240 t \b 264 016 263 007 315 020 353 363 373 353 375 g 212 v
> 0000260 001 g 213 N 002 f 277 005 \0 \0 \0 f 273 \0 | \0
> 0000300 \0 f 270 001 002 \0 \0 W R 315 023 Z _ s 005 O
> 0000320 u 351 353 303 f 276 007 007 \0 \0 g 241 376 } \0 \0
> 0000340 f 273 U 252 \0 \0 9 303 u 263 352 \0 | \0 \0 I
> 0000360 n v a l i d p a r t i t i o n
> 0000400 t a b l e \0 N o o p e r a t
> 0000420 i n g s y s t e m \0 E r r o r
> 0000440 l o a d i n g o p e r a t i
> 0000460 n g s y s t e m \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0
> 0000500 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0
20,21c25
< 0001000 W H \0 \0 020 % # \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0
< 0001020 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0
---
> 0001000 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0
# dmesg
NetBSD 1.3I (GENERIC) #1: Thu Dec 3 16:23:20 EST 1998
root@woffi.planix.com:/local1/netbsd/netbsd-current/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC
cpu0: family 6 model 3 step 4
cpu0: Intel Pentium II (686-class)
real mem = 66715648
avail mem = 58699776
using 840 buffers containing 3440640 bytes of memory
mainbus0 (root)
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1
pci0: i/o enabled, memory enabled
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0
pchb0: Intel 82441FX PCI and Memory Controller (PMC) (rev. 0x02)
S3 Trio32/64 (VGA display, revision 0x54) at pci0 dev 7 function 0 not configured
ppb0 at pci0 dev 11 function 0: IBM 82351 PCI-PCI Bridge (rev. 0x01)
pci1 at ppb0 bus 1
pci1: i/o enabled, memory enabled
ahc1 at pci1 dev 4 function 0
ahc1: interrupting at irq 15
ahc1: Using left over BIOS settings
ahc1: aic7880 Wide Channel, SCSI Id=7, 16 SCBs
scsibus0 at ahc1 channel 0: 16 targets
ahc1: target 0 using 16Bit transfers
ahc1: target 0 synchronous at 10.0MHz, offset = 0x8
sd0 at scsibus0 targ 0 lun 0: <QUANTUM, VIKING 4.5 SCA, 8600> SCSI2 0/direct fixed
sd0: 4345MB, 6144 cyl, 8 head, 181 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 8899737 sectors
ahc1: target 1 using 16Bit transfers
ahc1: target 1 synchronous at 10.0MHz, offset = 0x8
sd1 at scsibus0 targ 1 lun 0: <QUANTUM, VIKING 4.5 SCA, 8600> SCSI2 0/direct fixed
sd1: 4345MB, 6144 cyl, 8 head, 181 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 8899737 sectors
ahc1: target 6 synchronous at 10.0MHz, offset = 0xf
cd0 at scsibus0 targ 6 lun 0: <IBM, CDRM00203\\000\\000\\000\\000\\000!K, 1.01> SCSI2 5/cdrom removable
le0 at pci1 dev 5 function 0: PCnet-PCI Ethernet
le0: address 00:06:29:05:cf:8d
le0: 8 receive buffers, 2 transmit buffers
le0: interrupting at irq 14
pcib0 at pci0 dev 19 function 0
pcib0: Intel 82371SB PCI-to-ISA Bridge (PIIX3) (rev. 0x01)
pciide0 at pci0 dev 19 function 1: Intel 82371SB IDE Interface (PIIX3)
pciide0: bus-master DMA support present
pciide0: primary channel wired to compatibility mode
pciide0: primary channel ignored (disabled)
pciide0: secondary channel wired to compatibility mode
pciide0: secondary channel ignored (disabled)
uhci0 at pci0 dev 19 function 2: Intel 82371SB USB Host Controller (PIIX3) (rev. 0x01)
uhci0: interrupting at irq 10
uhci0: USB version 1.0
usb0 at uhci0
uhub0 at usb0
uhub0: Intel UHCI root hub (class 9/1) (rev 1.00/1.00), addr 1
isa0 at pcib0
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 4: ns16550a, working fifo
com1 at isa0 port 0x2f8-0x2ff irq 3: ns16550a, working fifo
lpt2 at isa0 port 0x3bc-0x3bf: polled
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: <PC speaker>
sysbeep0 at pcppi0
isapnp0 at isa0 port 0x279: ISA Plug 'n Play device support
npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0-0xff: using exception 16
pc0 at isa0 port 0x60-0x6f irq 1: color
pms0 at pc0 irq 12
pc0: console
fdc0 at isa0 port 0x3f0-0x3f7 irq 6 drq 2
fd0 at fdc0 drive 0: 1.44MB, 80 cyl, 2 head, 18 sec
isapnp0: no ISA Plug 'n Play devices found
biomask 8440 netmask c440 ttymask d442
WARNING: old BSD partition ID!
--
Greg A. Woods
+1 416 218-0098 VE3TCP <gwoods@acm.org> <robohack!woods>
Planix, Inc. <woods@planix.com>; Secrets of the Weird <woods@weird.com>