Error when installing FreeBSD 5.2: " /mnt/usr: create symlink failed, no inode free"

[Lowell Gilbert]

Dave Vollenweider <radioguy at uni.edu> writes:

> Been trying to install FreeBSD 5.2 using the kern.flp and mfsroot.flp images on floppies and proceeding with a network install via FTP on an old Acer Aspire with a Pentium 120 MHz processor and 80 MB of RAM on a 1.6 GB hard drive (the second on the system; I have another OS on the other hard drive which shall remain nameless).
> 
> The install goes fine until it begins to extract the files to the /usr directory, at which it then spits out this error multiple times:
> 
> /mnt/usr: create symlink failed, no inode free
> 
> and continues to do so whenever something is added to the hard drive during the installation.  Curiously enough, though, the installation continues, even though I got that error message again and again when the base install was completed and the extra packages were being installed.  I decided at that point to abort the installation.
> 
> Is there any way for me to fix this, and if so, how can I do it?

Try allocating all of the disk space to a single root partition.
This will make backups a little more difficult, but not much.

Alternatively, try a more minimal installation at first, and then add
things later, when you can follow the inode usage more closely.