Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 09:59:38 -0500 (CDT) From: "M. L. Dodson" <bdodson@beowulf.utmb.edu> To: Mark Ovens <markov@globalnet.co.uk> Cc: Clem.Dye@wdr.com, as_hombert@ibm.net, Questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Re: Booting FreeBSD with Win NT Message-ID: <199906171459.JAA95238@beowulf.utmb.edu> In-Reply-To: <19990615223959.A254@marder-1> References: <H000008201cf3c91@MHS> <19990615223959.A254@marder-1>
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Replying to something to which I've already replied (and keeping
the context):
I've been bothered by Mark Ovens' inability to NT multiboot FBSD
on the bios boot disk using /boot/boot0 as bootsect.bsd (see
prior posts in the thread for nomenclature). I just did the
FAQ's dd procedure on my FBSD disk and the 512 byte file I
recovered is identical to /boot/boot1, not /boot/boot0. If I had
just looked at the FAQ, I would have known that by looking at the
dd command line. So the procedure of using /boot/boot0 as
bootsect.bsd _is_ only useful when you want to hop to another
disk to boot FBSD. When FBSD is on the disk booted by the bios,
using /boot/boot1 as bootsect.bsd should give you the same result
as the dd procedure. (All this /boot/* stuff is appropriate only
for a FBSD version with the 3-stage boot scheme. 3.1-RELEASE and
later? Do not know the exact chronology.)
To paraphrase Mike Smith in a posting to -hackers (or -current,
can't remember which):
/boot/boot0 is the FBSD Master Boot Record (mbr), It puts up the
F? prompt and loads
/boot/boot1, which is silent, but loads
/boot/boot2, which twiddles the propeller. You can interact with
/boot/boot2 if you are quick on the keyboard. It, in turn, loads
/boot/loader, which reads /boot/loader.rc, etc, and contains the
bootforth interpreter.
So /boot/boot0 is written to occupy an mbr slot. /boot/boot{12}
occupy the first 8K bytes of the FBSD _Unix_ boot partition
disklabel. This is generally the a (Unix) partition in the FBSD
slice (fdisk partition)--see the dd command line in the FAQ
entry.
So, if you want to hop to a second disk to boot FBSD, you have to
hop to the MBR on the second disk (i.e., it cannot be
"dangerously dedicated" -- it must contain a proper mbr). This
implies the use of boot0 as bootsect.bsd. This disk hopping
protocol is standard procedure, independent of whether or not you
are using the NT boot loader. If you want to stay on the bios
boot disk, you need to use boot1 (either recovered by the FAQ dd
procedure, or just copied from /boot/boot1 of an installed
system). I'm pretty sure of this analysis, but not absolutely
positive. Someone with a range of hardware: check all this out
and let us know the result, please. Isn't the PC hardware world
wonderful? :-( Suns are so much easier.
There still remains the possibility (probability?) that the
kernel will become confused about what disk it is on. So you may
need to help it out with an entry in /boot/loader.rc (see prior
posts), or, if you are bypassing the 3-stage boot stuff, by an
entry in /boot.config similar to:
1:da(0,a)/kernel -c
There remains the possibility that this may be modulated by the
way you have your bios boot scheme set up: The details may be
different when you have a boot sequence of CDROM->C: versus
C:->CDROM, etc.
Please someone tell me if I'm wrong on any of this analysis. If
anyone wants to use any of my text in this mail message in a
documentation update, feel free (I give my permission).
Bud Dodson
Mark Ovens writes:
> On Tue, Jun 15, 1999 at 08:50:43AM +0100, Clem.Dye@wdr.com wrote:
> > OK, I think I get the picture, but I'm still a bit confused here. If
> > I install 3.2 on the second partition on my first IDE disk (NT lives
> > on the second drive), which method do I use to create a BOOTSECD.BSD
> > file? Anne's approach of using BOOTPART sounds nice'n'easy, but I'm
> > not clear if this will work with 3.2, given the changes to the boot
> > process/boot files. Is DD still a reliable option in this instance,
> > as a fall-back? Can I frig something during the install process via
> > virtual terminal, for example?
> >
> > Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!!!
> >
>
> I don't see any need to use a 3rd party solution when FreeBSD has
> 2 of it's own. The dd(1) method should work for you (it works for
> me on 3.1 & I don;t think there are any major differences in the
> boot mechanism between 3.1 & 3.2).
>
> Copying /boot/boot0 sounds like an even easier solution, however
> I just tried it on my system ('/' is on the first drive) by copying
> /boot/boot0 to BOOTSECT.BSD (after backing up the original) and
> rebooted. All I got displayed when I selected FreeBSD from the NT
> menu was:
>
> default: F1 _
>
> (the '_' shows the cursor position). Every key I pressed just caused
> it to beep.
>
> Maybe, /boot/boot0 only works if / is on a disk other than the
> first?
>
> >
> > Clem
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: bdodson
> > Sent: 14 June 1999 20:03
> > To: markov
> > Cc: bdodson; Dye, Clem; as.hombert; Questions
> > Subject: Re: Booting FreeBSD with Win NT
> >
> >
> > Mark Ovens writes:
> > > On Mon, Jun 14, 1999 at 09:11:58AM -0500, M. L. Dodson wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Wrongo. This configuration works. No repartitioning or other
> > > > hocus-pocus required. When you set up fbsd, install the default
> > > > boot manager:
> > > >
> > > > DOS and NT on IDE drive connected to motherboard (FAT and ntfs
> > > > partitions).
> > > >
> > > > FreeBSD-STABLE (just pre-3.2-RELEASE) on SCSI disk connected to
> > > > motherboard Adaptec (2940W compat.)
> > > >
> > > > c:\bootsect.bsd is /boot/boot0
> > > > Just copy it over and rename it.
> > > >
> > >
> > > The FAQ should be updated to reflect this. Under 2.2.x BOOTSECT.BSD
> > > was simply the FreeBSD boot sector, created with dd(1), and hence
> > > not executable. NT's boot loader was simply looking for the
> > partition
> > > described in BOOTSECT.BSD on the first disk.
> > >
> > > Your solution should work with 3.1 yes? When I added a 2nd HD I
> > > created a small partition on the first HD to allow me to use the
> > > NT loader, seems I didn't have to.
> > >
> >
> > I _think_ it works with 3.1, but I can't remember whether I tried
> > it. I installed 3.1 and then almost immediately upgraded to
> > -STABLE with a "make world". In any case, I would suggest people
> > go to 3.2R or a -STABLE snapshot, not 3.1. The key point is that
> > this solution is totally dependent on the "new" 3-stage boot
> > loader. In any case, when working with this range of versions,
> > be sure to keep /boot/loader and /kernel version-consistent or
> > you may get into a situation where your shiny new kernel can't be
> > booted by your dingy old /boot/loader.
> >
> > > > c:\boot.ini is:
> > > >
> > > > C:\="MS-DOS"
> > > > multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows NT
> > Workstation Version 4.00"
> > > > multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows NT
> > Workstation Version 4.00 [VGA mode]" /basevideo /sos
> > > > c:\bootsect.bsd="FreeBSD"
> > > >
> > > > /boot/loader.rc is:
> > > >
> > > > set root_disk_unit=0
> > > > autoboot 10
> > > >
> >
> > This may have to be:
> >
> > set root_disk_unit=1
> > autoboot 10
> >
> > for an all ide system. My configuration is DOS/NT on IDE disk
> > (two primary fdisk partitions), FBSD on a SCSI second (and third
> > and fourth) disk.
> >
> > Someone with a range of hardware should work out all these
> > nuances before the FAQ is updated, IMO.
> >
> > [much elided]
> > --
> > M. L. Dodson bdodson@scms.utmb.edu
> > 409-772-2178 FAX: 409-772-1790
> >
> >
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> >
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>
> --
> FreeBSD - The Power To Serve http://www.freebsd.org
> My Webpage http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~markov
> _______________________________________________________________
> Mark Ovens, CNC Apps Engineer, Radan Computational Ltd. Bath UK
> CAD/CAM solutions for Sheetmetal Working Industry
> mailto:marko@uk.radan.com http://www.radan.com
>
--
M. L. Dodson bdodson@scms.utmb.edu
409-772-2178 FAX: 409-772-1790
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