Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:25:37 +1030 From: Wayne Sierke <ws@au.dyndns.ws> To: David Larkin <david.larkin@whitburncc.org.uk> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: formatting disk for FreeBSD : Detecting IDE Primary Master ... [Press F4 to skip] Message-ID: <1201355738.32888.15.camel@predator-ii.buffyverse> In-Reply-To: <20080126004826.79c911e7@sparrow> References: <1250.63.65.46.186.1201301818.squirrel@webmail.pknet.net> <20080126004826.79c911e7@sparrow>
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David, On Sat, 2008-01-26 at 00:48 +0000, David Larkin wrote: > It is a fairly old machine I am trying to use. > One that has been switched off and gathering dust for some time. > > ROM PCI/ISA BIOS 2A5LHL1A > > Award Modular BIOS v4.51PG, AnEnergy Star Ally > Copyright(c) 1984-99 Award Software, Inc. That bios description looks terribly familiar. > I've never updated a BIOS before and it sounds a bit scarey. Well, the first step is to see if there's even one available. You might well find the machine already has the latest available (manufacturer's) bios. > I guess I'll just overwrite an old 10Gig disk with FreeBSD 4.3 on instead. > > I don't really need the extra space but thought it would be sensible to install on a new disk. > > Probably stick the new disk on ebay ;-) Well, depends what you want to do with the machine. Chances are you'll find that you're going to want that extra space soon enough. Plus there's no telling how much life is left in that old 10 Gigger - not that there's any guarantee your new one won't fail, either. Such is life. Having two physical drives can be useful in a number of circumstances, too. I posted some years back about difficulties I was having getting a bios to recognise a large hdd's geometry. Yes, here: http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-questions/2003-April/002301.html Note the part about setting the heads to 15 in the bios. That is, disable the auto-detect-on-boot and set the geometry manually. Good luck. Wayne
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