From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Jan 22 11:41:26 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DD76716A4CF; Thu, 22 Jan 2004 11:41:26 -0800 (PST) Received: from hotmail.com (sea1-dav59.sea1.hotmail.com [207.68.162.194]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 290C743D49; Thu, 22 Jan 2004 11:41:12 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from c0d3h4x0r@hotmail.com) Received: from mail pickup service by hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Thu, 22 Jan 2004 11:41:11 -0800 Received: from 131.107.3.86 by sea1-dav59.sea1.hotmail.com with DAV; Thu, 22 Jan 2004 19:41:11 +0000 X-Originating-IP: [131.107.3.86] X-Originating-Email: [c0d3h4x0r@hotmail.com] X-Sender: c0d3h4x0r@hotmail.com From: "Keith Kelly" To: "freebsd-questions" , Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 11:41:11 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: MSN 9 X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original Seal-Send-Time: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 11:41:11 -0800 X-MimeOLE: Produced By MSN MimeOLE V9.00.0011.1200 Message-ID: X-OriginalArrivalTime: 22 Jan 2004 19:41:11.0840 (UTC) FILETIME=[B0875200:01C3E11F] Subject: FDisk won't detect or accept correct disk geometry from BIOS X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 19:41:27 -0000 Please see this page: http://lantech.geekvenue.net/chucktips/jason/chuck/1044789670/index_html This is exactly the problem I am having now whenever I try to install either FreeBSD 4.9 or 5.1. Clearly, a lot of other users out there are having this problem too. FDisk absolutely refuses to accept the correct geometry values (the ones my BIOS tells me it is using to address the disk), instead insisting on using some values that are not even close to correct. Then after installation completes and I try to boot, I get a "missing operating system" message, which is no surprise given that the disk was addressed by the installer using the wrong geometry settings. Why the hell doesn't FDisk properly read the geometry settings from the BIOS in the first place (so that don't have to look them up and enter them myself during install), and why the hell doesn't it accept the correct values when I enter them? Isn't there *ANY* way to force it to accept the values I give it? I have a hard time imagining how this could be considered "low priority" or "not important" by the developers of the system. This is clearly a major defect in either documentation (if this is user error, a LOT of users are having the problem, so documentation must be deficient), or a major defect in the code. DISCLAIMER: I don't know if you folks are like the Linux community, but don't tell me to "find the bug and fix it yourself", or to "quit whining". It's perfectly reasonable for a user of a piece of software to expect it to work right. I'm not a developer, and shouldn't have to be. That's why *other* people are developers, so that I don't have to be. - Keith F. Kelly