FreeBSD 7 installs where FreeBSD 8 wont due to CD

[Jeremy Chadwick]

On Mon, Dec 06, 2010 at 10:51:36PM +0000, Pete French wrote:
> Trying to re-install a set of HP servers over the iLO, and every time
> I tried to install the 8.1 CD I ended up with an error message
> telling me that the CD looked more like an audio CD than a FreeBSD
> distibution.
> 
> I ouzzled over it a bit, and then remembered that I originally installed
> these machines using 7 not 8. So I download the 7.3 install CD
> and I get an extra step in the process, listing two CD drived - cd0
> and acd0 - whuch allows me to select the correct one.
> 
> I havent had a chance to see if this bug exists in the latest snapshot
> of 8, but I thought it was worth pointing out, as its a situation
> where 8 doesnt work but 7 did. It takes about 45 minuets to boot each
> image over the internet, so I am reluctant to try a more recent 8
> snapshot in case I am back to square one again.
> 
> Anyone know if this is fiex, or should I file a PR ?

This problem has been reported many times in the past and almost
certainly has nothing to do with 8.x.  Here's a thread about the matter
where a user states the same as you but about 7.1:

http://unix.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/FreeBSD/questions/2008-10/msg00307.html

I would question 1) the burning software you used, and 2) the physical
media you used.  Also try burning the ISO to another disc (even if of
the same kind/type); I have seen, on rare occasion, proper burns which
Windows and other OSes also claimed were audio CDs yet weren't
(indicating possibly a bad burn or something weird with that physical
disc).  Last resort would be to verify MD5/SHA1 checksums too.

If the machine has a USB port, why not try doing a USB-based install
with a USB flash drive (not USB hard disk) + memstick image instead?  If
all you have is a Windows machine available, I've blogged about how to
accomplish this on Windows (in Vista/7 be sure to run cmd.exe as
Administrator):

http://koitsu.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/writing-freebsd-memstick-img-to-a-usb-drive-in-windows/

The USB installation method is blazing fast compared to CD anyway.

-- 
| Jeremy Chadwick                                   jdc at parodius.com |
| Parodius Networking                       http://www.parodius.com/ |
| UNIX Systems Administrator                  Mountain View, CA, USA |
| Making life hard for others since 1977.              PGP: 4BD6C0CB |