Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 10:23:55 -0700 (MST) From: Nate Williams <nate@yogotech.com> To: Mike Smith <msmith@FreeBSD.ORG> Cc: "Kevin G. Eliuk" <kg@dccnet.com>, jamin@eecs.umich.edu, freebsd-mobile@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Here is what IBM thinks about using FreeBSD on their newer Thinkpads Message-ID: <14885.15275.584459.919834@nomad.yogotech.com> In-Reply-To: <200011281624.eASGOdF25354@mass.osd.bsdi.com> References: <3A23D5BD.5CF72F4F@dccnet.com> <200011281624.eASGOdF25354@mass.osd.bsdi.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> > > FreeBSD - Unable to boot OS after installation on > > > IBM Thinkpad A20, A21, T20, T21, or X20. > > > > Question: Does IBM reserve space on the HDD of their laptops for system BIOS > > that would cause such a problem in the event of a dedicated installation? > > No. Some fool at IBM (or whomever they contracted the BIOS development > out to) decided to use partition ID 165 for the suspend-to-disk > partition, and the IBM BIOS gets very, very upset when it finds what it > thinks is an enormous suspend-to-disk partition on the disk. I'm pretty sure that's not the case. In fact, I'm almost positive that's not the case, as we have a number of FreeBSD machines running on these boxes. However, what *is* happening is that the boot-blocks are too big (this was the case in 4.1, and was fixed in 4.2, something about using up 2-sectors or somesuch) which causes the IBM BIOS to barf on it for some reason. If you install older/newer bootlblocks, it works fine. Unfortunately, these boxes became popular around the time that FreeBSD 4.1 was released, so anyone that attempted to install with it made their computers unable to recognize the disks. It's really a 'BIOS' problem, since if you use older (smaller) bootblocks and the partition of 165, it works fine. > The "right" solution here is to bug IBM to resepect the already-assigned > partition ID numbers (if you are a large IBM customer) or to buy a better > notebook. If you're stuck with a ThinkPad, there are several viable > workarounds that will let you thumb your nose at IBM and get on with your > work (see the list archives). Again, see the list archives. As everyone has heard me voice over the years, IBM laptops are extremely nice. However, I will admit to be a bit appalled at their recent lack of 'support' in trying to get this resolved. Refusing to acknowledge the hard-drive because the bootblocks are too big is simply bogus, and whomever wrote their BIOS should be taken out and paddled. Nate To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-mobile" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?14885.15275.584459.919834>