Date: Sat, 18 May 2002 08:44:52 -0700 From: richard childers <fscked@pacbell.net> To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Cc: freebsd-scsi@freebsd.org Subject: "/dev/nsa0: Device not configured" Message-ID: <3CE676F4.64768D6F@pacbell.net>
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I've been a happy (and loyal) user (and proponent) of FreeBSD since
version 2.2.
After moving, recently, I was distressed to find that my server didn't
work. Maybe that misapplied 220 UPS had something to do with it. )-:
Good thing I have backups.
Figured I'd combine the hardware upgrade with an OS upgrade. I had been
running 4.3, now 4.4 was available, 4.5 would be due soon. Things were
delayed by my employer's decision to relocate the office (T1s, phone
switches, web sites, etc) to a new location; everyone's doing it in San
Francisco, as leases are renegotiated downwards, with much wringing of
hands on the parts of owners. C'est la vie. But I digress.
Finally got the time; installed 4.4. Tried to rewind the tape drive, out
of the box.
root# mt status
mt: /dev/nsa0: Device not configured
To make a long story short, I'll add that at this point I:
(a) checked the kernel (and rebuilt a slightly different one that was
more specific regarding SCSI bus and whatnot - no errors, now I had two
kernels whose behavior I could compare), then
(b), swapped out SCSI cards and then SCSI tapes (I have a few 8mm
Exabytes lying about, you can get 'em at Dot-Com Depot, in Sunnyvale,
for around $50), and
(c) searched the web (including freebsd.org) for pointers to this error,
and, yes, I put a tape in, and yes, it was write-enabled, and no, it's
didn'ty make any difference.
Here's the annoying part. I installed FreeBSD 4.3 off the CDROM set and
everything works fine, including your basic "mt status" (my first test).
Here's another annoyance; because of the lapse, FreeBSD 4.5 was now
available. I ordered it and the exact same thing is happening, as
happened in FreeBSD 4.4.
What am I missing? This seems like such a large problem that a release
could not possibly make it out of the door without being fixed. Am I
doomed to run FreeBSD 4.3 (not a bad number, all things considered, for
BSD worshippers :-) as a legacy operating system for 8mm backups on all
my servers?
Don't get me wrong; there are advantages to upgrading, too, for
instance, there's the wi0 driver. I can handle running 4.5 on laptop(s)
only. But it's hard to explain to potential customers; 'Oh, yeah, the
8mm drive isn't working in this version, so sorry, we have to step back
a few years to be sure that things work right.' (-;
Thanks for your time and thought, ahead of time.
-- richard
Richard A Childers / KG6HAC
fscked@pacbell.net
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