convert from scsi to IDE

[David Kelly]

On Dec 1, 2004, at 2:07 PM, J.D. Bronson wrote:

> At 02:02 PM 12/1/2004, you wrote:
>> OK, but I think you are missing something in what I wrote. Once your 
>> tape
>> backup is finished shutdown and install the IDE drives. Let it 
>> continue to
>> boot your SCSI, which I presume also has the FreeBSD boot blocks
>> installed. Use sysinstall on your current system to partition, 
>> format, and
>> write boot blocks on the IDE drive(s). Mount the IDE drive(s) 
>> somewhere.
>> Then you can use dump(8) piped into restore(8) directly from HD to HD.
>
> This is cool, but my machine NEEDS to boot off of IDE. There is no way 
> around this - even in the bios. :(
>
> So If I install IDE+SCSI, IDE will always win the boot. Even if its 
> blank then I get MISSING OPERATING SYSTEM
>
> and it will NOT seek other devices.

Alright, somehow I got that twisted around. But you still haven't said 
anything about what kind of motherboard, BIOS, and SCSI interface you 
are using. The more generic the MB/BIOS the more likely there is a hook 
for making it boot the way you wish.

The better SCSI cards have BIOS of their own and are able to "jump to 
the head of the BIOS drive list" if needed. Most all MB BIOS's provide 
control over the boot order of devices. One can force the so-called C: 
drive to always win. One can place the floppy at the tail of the list. 
Normally the order is 1) floppy, 2) CDROM, 3) C: drive, 4) and finally 
"BIOS INT 13H Device" or something similar to that. Move this #4 ahead 
of the C: device and your SCSI should boot.

If you boot the FreeBSD Install CDROM and only write the partition 
table, boot blocks, and format your new partitions, then the FreeBSD 
boot blocks are able to "chain" boot from one HD to the other. Your 
BIOS may boot the IDE but its boot blocks can transfer the boot to 
another drive, such as your existing SCSI drive.

No matter what you do you will have to create the FreeBSD partitions on 
the new drives. Can't do this from tape. But once the boot blocks are 
installed on the IDE drive you will be able to boot the SCSI drive. 
Just select F5 at the boot block's prompt.

--
David Kelly N4HHE, dkelly at HiWAAY.net
========================================================================
Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad.