Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 11:22:27 -0600 From: Bob Giesen <BobGiesen@earthlink.net> To: "Chris" <intertek@midsouth.rr.com>, <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: FreeBSD Install Difficulties Message-ID: <E16bm44-0007eY-00@gull.prod.itd.earthlink.net> In-Reply-To: <OEEFINNCCLPMDMOLMOACOEADCBAA.intertek@midsouth.rr.com> References: <OEEFINNCCLPMDMOLMOACOEADCBAA.intertek@midsouth.rr.com>
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On Thursday 14 February 2002 10:18 pm, Chris wrote: > Hello. I'm fairly new to the whole Unix based OS thing as I've > been a Microsoft customer for some time. Recently I've purchased a > version of the FreeBSD Powerpak 4.4 from Wind River Systems, Inc. > When I go to install it, everything goes nicely right until after I > attempt to actually install it to my disk. I've purchased a new > 20gig Maxtor harddrive to devote to the system and use for C/C++ > development and all that goodness. My problem is that after I've > created the labels and everything as in the book included with the > powerpak, I get a small error saying that the CD in the drive > contains a version of freebsd that preceeds 3.25(or 3.something) > and asks if i wish to proceed. I opt for yes (despite the fact > that it does say on the box that it is version 4.4) and continue. > It starts and then hovers on what appears to the be the first step. > Then I get an error saying that it is "Unable to transfer **** > from acd0c" and then asks if i want to try again. I opt to try > again and still nothing. I eventually click not to try again and > it does that for everything that tries to install. Any help?? I'd > really like to use FreeBSD. Not to get your hopes up... this is just a shot in the dark. (The blind leading the blind, so to speak. :-) ) Did you, perchance, open the cd drawer at any time after beginning the installation? I did, once, and got error messgaes to the effect that I had the wrong CD in the drive -- but I don't recall it being so explicit as yours, so that's why I'm just offering this as a shot-in-the-dark suggestion. If you might have opened the drawer after starting the installation, try it again, making sure that the drawer stays closed for the duration. FYI, I don't know what goes on under the hood, but I have a hunch... UNIX has to "mount" drives in order to access them. Then, when it comes to writing to a drive, it is often not done immediately; the data are cached and written in chunks. This, of course, would make removal of, e.g., a disc before the OS has been notified a bad thing; it might not have completed all write operations to it. So, if you remove the medium (CD, tape, floppy, DVD, zip...) without completing writes, you will have (an) incomplete (and, quite possibly, totally hosed) file(s), as well as an OS that doesn't know what to do with its cached data. So, you have to tell the OS to unmount the drive before removing the medium. This will allow it to flush its cache and, presumably, close any related, open file descriptors. Why this is a problem with read-only media is beyond me, but the mounts appear to be treated the same in that the OS doesn't like them to be removed without knowing about it any more than thaving writeable media removed without notice. It somehow plays havoc with the mount. (It would seem to me that one should be able to remove and reinsert a read-only CD without the OS hiccuping, but, as I said, I really don't know what goes on beneath the hood.) So, once your system is installed (think positively :-) ), you will find that the FreeBSD developers have taken pains to keep you from shooting yourself in the foot by preventing removal of media (such as CD's), where possible, without your unmounting them, first. (Of course, this seems likea pain, at first, but you can write short scripts Geez, I can get long-winded... Oh, well, even if it has nothing to do with your current plight, perhaps the info will be useful at some later date. UNIX may seem complex, at first, but, once you get to know it, you'll find that, ironically, its complexity ultimately leads to a certain simplicity. It comes with a great many small tools that do specific jobs and you can choose from and ultimately combine these tools in ways to do things as you would like to see them done -- not as Mother Micro$oft wants you to do them. And FreeBSD is a great UNIX implementation -- more true to the spirit of UNIX, I think, than the more-poplular Linux distributions. So, dive in and keep an open mind. If you seek flexibility and control over your own system (without having to tell Mother M. what you have on your system), I think you'll be glad you you got that Power Pak. (No, I'm not affiliated with FBSD in any way other than as a user.) Best of luck, Bob -- "Diplomats are just as essential to starting a war as soldiers are for finishing it" -- Will Rogers (1879-1935) To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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