buggy ATA controller: I can install 4.11, but not 5.3 !?!

[Rob]

--- Graham Menhennitt wrote:
> Rob wrote:
> 
> >Another reminder: when I try to install 5.3 on this
> >PC, I get a "no disk found" error at a very early
> >stage of the installation procedure. I hope to
> >investigate this further in a not-so-near
> future....
> >  
> >
> Rob,
> 
> I have a similar problem with 5.3 although I'm not
> doing a new install - I'm upgrading from an earlier
> 5.X. Can you please try installing a 5.X 
> from December last year or earlier. Actually, you
> don't need to install anything - I'd just like to
> know whether it can see the disk. I've 
> faised PR kern/79332 about it which contains two
> possible fixes.

Thank you.

The computer is my brother's old Pentium-1 (60 MHz);
he and the computer are at the other end of the world.
Only when my brother has spare time, we open a live
chat connection and I assist him with certain console
tasks (he is not at all a Unix/FreeBSD person).
However, most of the time I manage this PC remotely
(it's now running 4-Stable flawlessly).

At some point, we may try once again to install a
5.X version; it should be a straightforward
install procedure, because too much freaky stuff
might be too complex to explain to a non-Unix,
non-FreeBSD person....

My plan for next time, is to use a serial console
during install, so that I can receive the kernel
output to get a clue why 5.X cannot find the disk,
which 4-Stable does find easily.

I may travel to my brother's home some time this
year; then I will do whatever freaky tricks are
needed to find out why 5.X is not installing properly.

Regards,
Rob.

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