newfs fails on 300GB HDD

[Lowell Gilbert]

"Justin P. Michel" <justin at pcmedicsite.com> writes:

> I'm having a slight problem with a 300GB IDE (Maxtor) HDD.  Basically, I've
> run the drive on the system through a complete low-level format and test
> with the PowerMAX tools, which passed fine.  The BIOS recognizes and
> auto-detects the drive okay as well.
> 
> However, in trying to install FreeBSD 6.0, it goes through the partition
> section okay, and then the slice section okay (trying to use a full slice on
> the drive as /dumpdata), the mount fails, and on the alternate screen it
> shows newfs failing.
> 
> Is there a special way to get this drive to work?  Does someone have
> experience with a similar setup that may shed some light my way?  I feel
> like a beginner all over again. : P

It sounds like you're trying to use this disk for backup
space.  Since you're not installing the system to it, I
would suggest not using sysinstall for this; try the
technique in the FAQ instead.  It is not quite as simple,
but will give you more information about what's happening.