5.0-RELEASE disklabel install problems, drive not seen

[Dan Williams]

Hi,

Fixed my own problem really.  Turns out that neither disk had an 
acceptable first block for FreeBSD.  Running a "dd if=/dev/null 
of=/dev/da1 bk=0 s=1" (or whatever the correct syntax is, I forget) to 
zero out the first block made the disk appear in the 5.0 disklabel 
program.

So the question is, why does FreeBSD 5.0 require this initialization of 
the first block, but 4.7 and 4.6 do not?  Its a bit disconcerting if 
you've just put a disk in, you don't care what's on it and simply want 
to format it, but it doesn't show up.  Were I adding this disk at a 
later date when the system was already up and running, I probably would 
have gone directly to the Handbook section on adding disks.  However, I 
assumed that the installation process would be a bit more forgiving.  
Up until now, with 4.0, 4.6, and 4.7 (and various 3.x) I have simply 
thrown in a disk and every time had it recognized for partitioning.

Dan

On Monday, April 21, 2003, at 12:50  AM, Dan Williams wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Update to previous post.  I booted to SRM console and did a 
> "isp1020_edit -sd" to reset the NVRAM of the chip, and now it is 
> valid.  After doing this, I stuck in both the 2.1GB and the Atlas 9GB 
> SBB carriers, and tried to boot both the 5.0-RELEASE install CD and 
> the 4.7 mini ISO.
>
> Results:
> 1)  4.7:  Unlike previously, the 4.7 mini ISO has _no_ problem seeing 
> the 9GB drive.  Also does not error out when waiting for SCSI devices 
> to settle like it used to, before resetting the isp1020 NVRAM.  Works 
> fine.
>
> 2)  5.0:  NO CHANGE.  It still cannot see the 9GB drive.  When I 
> choose Custom->Label, ONLY the 2.1GB drive shows up, and the 9GB is 
> nowhere to be seen.  When I choose the step-by-step beginner method of 
> install, I see two disks available, both da0 (?) and da1 (?) (may be 
> getting the names wrong but there are 2), but when I select the 
> second, da1, the disklabel program appears and there is _no_ disk at 
> the top from which to create partitions.  Its simply not there.
>
> Help?
>
> Thanks,
> Dan
>
> On Sunday, April 20, 2003, at 09:13  PM, Dan Williams wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I've been stuck at 4.6.2 for a while, due to a number of problems.  
>> I'd love to upgrade to 5.0, but its got issues.  For reference, I'm 
>> using an AS 1000A 5/400, 1GB RAM, 2 x 2GB Seagate drives in SBB 
>> carriers.  Summary of install problems:
>>
>> 4.7 install:
>>
>> 4.7 changed _something_ in the isp driver which rendered the system 
>> inoperable.  Upon booting, and getting to the "Waiting 15 seconds for 
>> SCSI devices to settle..." message, after about 10 seconds a large 
>> number of error messages from the ISP driver would forever scroll 
>> down the screen.  There was NO way to install 4.7 on my system since 
>> it never even got to the install screen when booting from CD.  I 
>> attempted to build a 4.7 kernel, which was successful, but upon 
>> booting the 4.7 kernel, the same problem occurred.
>>
>> 5.0 install:
>>
>> I replaced one of the 2.1GB drives with an IBM DDRS 34560 4 GB U/W 
>> drive.  For whatever reason, the FAULT light on the SBB carrier was 
>> always on, and FreeBSD 5.0 install could not see the drive in 
>> disklabel.  However, AlphaBIOS could see the drive and format it, if 
>> I booted AlphaBIOS from the SRM console.
>>
>> I then tried a Quantum Atlas 10k drive, which I pulled working from a 
>> Mac, and connected that in place of the IBM.  This drive did NOT have 
>> the fault light on, and indeed is in all respects _normal_ like the 
>> first 2.1GB that's always been in the box.  I booted the 5.0 install 
>> but this drive was _NOT_ seen in disklabel.
>>
>> Next, I booted my 4.6.2 install CD set.  Now, without _any_ change 
>> whatsoever to the drive or carrier, the Atlas is seen in disklabel!!! 
>>  How come this isn't the case for 5.0?
>>
>> One thing to note is that I think my isp chip NVRAM might be invalid, 
>> but back with 4.7 I had tried booting with the option to 
>> ignore/replace invalid isp NVRAM, and that did not help.
>>
>> Any suggestions appreciated!
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dan
>>
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