NO dump device defined

Robert Backhaus robbak at gmail.com
Sat Oct 1 07:43:11 PDT 2005


On 10/1/05, kashif at ebs.net.pk <kashif at ebs.net.pk> wrote:
> Dear sir,
>
> I've had this problem for some time, and ,when i install freebsd 5.4 on
> mercury Booard then following error message occur.
>
> > > panic: no init
> > > Uptime: 2s
> > > Cannot dump. No dump device defined.
> > > Automatic reboot in 15 seconds - press a key on the console to abort
> > > - --> Press a key on the console to reboot,
> > > - --> or switch off the system now.
> >
>
>
> A one drives of 80GB, all exactly the same drives.
>
> The BIOS gives me this geometry:
> Cylinders: 38309
> Head: 16
> Sectors: 255
>
>
> FreeBSD says, during bootup (dmesg):
> Cylinders: 9729
> Head: 255
> Sectors: 63
>
> Now, when i go to /stand/sysinstall, choose Index, Choose Partitioning and
> choose a drive, for example ad1, i get this message:
>
>
> WARNING: A geometry of 9729/16/63 for ad1 is incorrect. Using a more
> likely geometry. If this geometry is incorrect or you are unsure as to
> whether or not it's correct, please consult the Hardware Guide in the
> Documentation submenu or use the (G)eometry command to change it now.
>
> Remember: you need to enter whatever your BIOS thinks the geometry is! For
> IDE, it's what you were told in the BIOS setup. For SCSI, it's the
> translation mode your controller is using. Do NOT use a ``physical
> geometry''.

Isn't it high time we got rid of this bit of noise? It wories so many people
unneccesarily, and gets them (and us) bogged down with trying to work
it out instead of addressing their problem!!

>
>
> I did read lots on this, it seems sysinstall uses a limit of 63 sectors
> and xxxxx cylinders, thus not accepting both the FreeBSD dmesg geometry
> and the BIOS geometry. It then changes the geometry to:
>
> Cylinders: 14946
> Head: 255
> Sectors: 63
> Totalling 117239MB per drive
>
> This seems wrong to me, as the other two calculations produce 117246MB of
> space.
>
> My question: how can I force the use of either the BIOS geometry or the
> geometry given by dmesg?
>
>
> Though i need to add that i've had this problem before, with a totally
> different system with other chipset, other drive (WDM400 80GB) and with
> FreeBSD 5.4.
>
> Anyone can help? Thanks!! :)
>
> Best Regard,
> Muhammad kashif

Forget the disk warning error: it is not your problem.

Does the install complete without any other errors?

By the way, your error is 'panic: no init'. No, I do not know what this means.
Some useful information can be found by googling for that error message.


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