Boot page fault - alternative kernel needed?

[Kevin Kinsey]

Jason Morgan wrote:

>I have an old laptop that I am finally trying to get FreeBSD installed on.
>It was recently running Linux just fine, but I am having a tough time 
>getting FreeBSD installed on it.  Here is the error I get when booting.  
>I have typed all that is visible on the screen when it crashes.
>
># Begin
>
>isa0: <ISA Bus> on isab0
>atapci0: <Intel PIIX4 UDMA33 controller> port 0x3000-0x300f,0x376,0x170-0x177,0x
>3f6,0x1f0-0x1f7 at device 1.1 on pci0
>ata0: channel #0 on atapci0
>ata1: channel #1 on atapci0
>uhci0: <Intel 82371AB/EB (PIIX4) USB controller> at device 1.2 on pci0
>
>
>Fatal trap 12: page fault while in kernel mode
>fault virtual address  = 0xeb97b
>fault code             = supervisor read, page not present
>instruction pointer    = 0x8:0xc00eb87c
>stack pointer          = 0x10:0xc10209f0
>frame pointer          = 0x10:0xc10209f0
>code segment           = base 0x0, limit 0xfffff, type 0x1b
>                       = DPL 0, pres 1, def32 1, gran 1
>processor eflags       = interrupt enabled, resume, IOPL = 0
>current process        = 0 (swapper)
>trap number            = 12
>panic: page fault
>
># End
>
>So, my question is: Is this the UHCI driver failing to load 
>(happens at this same point every time I try to boot it)? 
>Is there any way around this? Possible using a trimmed down 
>kernel to boot?  Any suggestions?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Jason
>  
>


Well, the error message seems to indicate that the
swapper if failing ... but it could be that it's failing
because the previously loaded uhci device code finds
a bug in your hardware --- IANAE,  but IIRC FBSD 5
(&& you don't say what version you're using) doesn't
always play well with APM, ACPI, or what-not on
some older laptops.

We probably need someone else to tell us the
exact incantation, but you might be able to
'escape to loader prompt' and set the equivalent
of {ACPI_LOAD =0} (like I said, not sure of exact
syntax) before attempting to boot (see loader(8)
in the on-line manual or on another machine).

If you're trying FBSD 5, I've heard of some people
having success with older laptops and FBSD 4.
Otherwise, they can run 5 but without APM or
ACPI support.

Like I said, I can't say for certain that this is
what your issue is, but if you've not got a working
system, it probably can't hurt to futz around with
it a bit.

Hopefully somebody else knows the magic words....

HTH,

Kevin Kinsey