FreeBSD boot loader halts

[Simon Chang]

> My FBSD 6.2 freezes at random after printing Default: F1 I haven't
> noticed this issue in the past with older versions of FreeBSD.
> Since this is a random issue, it's very hard to pin point the culprit
> by process of elimination (disabling APCI, etc...) After several
> ctrl+alt+delete reboots, the system does boot. Once booted I can
> run makeworld for a week without any issues. Perhaps a disk issue?
> I'm booting off a MegaRAID controller. Though I cannot crash
> the system using intensive IO after it boots. After it boots, it seems
> to be rock solid, so I'm lost here.
>
> Can boot loader be put into verbose mode and have it output
> debugging info?

I don't know if there is a "debug" mode for the boot loader, but if
the problem is happening at random then I would want to investigate
hardware failures/malfunctions.  At any rate, no fully operational
machine should need "several ctrl+alt+delete reboots" for it to start
working.

Perhaps the problem happens when the BIOS is attempting to probe drive
controllers?  Have you tried to stress-test the system by doing a
"make buildworld"?

SC