Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 10:19:10 -0800 From: Jonathan Mini <j_mini@efn.org> To: Doug White <dwhite@resnet.uoregon.edu> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <questions@FreeBSD.ORG>, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD 2.2.2 Won't Boot (fwd) Message-ID: <19971118101910.03616@micron.mini.net> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971118085947.1355C-100000@gdi.uoregon.edu>; from Doug White on Tue, Nov 18, 1997 at 09:01:55AM -0800 References: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971118085947.1355C-100000@gdi.uoregon.edu>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> [ ... much snipped ... ] > boot1 reads the MBR record and scans the partition table for a System > Indicator byte of type 0xA5. If one is found, additional boot code is read > in from that partition. If one is not found, the "No bootable partition" > message is issued and processing halts. (A potential problem here is that > the search stops at the 1st BSD partition - apparently precluding booting > from another BSD partition on the same drive.) Actually, it doesn't, since all boot1 is doing is trying to find a copy of boot2 to boot. (the second stage of the bootloader) and the boot blocks are present on every FFS ever made. > To see if SC's modified boot indicator was the problem, I once more tried > to boot Free BSD through SC, got the "No bootable partition" message, then > rebooted Linux from a floppy and used fdisk to see the partitions. Sure > enough, /dev/hda3 (3rd partition drive 0), was showing a type code of 0xB5. > > There is really a two part problem here: One is due to a characteristic of > the "Booteasy" code in the MBR, and the other is what I consider to be a > bug in System Commander: i.e. it sometimes sets bit 4 of the System > Indicator byte. > > Booteasy: > > My suggestion for Booteasy is to modify it so that it doesn't write itself > back to disk. This has the disadvantage of no longer being able to change > the default boot drive selection, but the advantage is that > interoperability with other products (e.g. System Commander) is improved. Modifying Booteasy to fix a bug in System Commander is a Bad Idea. There is no reason why you should be using both System Command and Booteasy at the same time. > It might also be a good idea to look at start.S with respect to the single > bootable partition problem. There is not single bootable parition problem. In fact, if you'd had multiple FreeBSD partitions here, the system would have booted. Unfortunalty for you, FreeBSD usually puts itself into one slice (partition in DOS parlance) and partitions that out to itself internally. > System Commander: > > With respect to System Commander, I think V Communications should fix it > so's not to muck around with the System Indicator byte. Whatever that bit > is being used for can be duplicated by using other storage ins its > (required) DOS partition. I've been trying unsuccessfully to contact V > Communications thru their Compuserve address about this, but I don't get > any answers to my mail. -- Jonathan Mini Ingenious Productions Software Development P.O. Box 5693, Eugene, Or. 97405 "A child of five could understand this! Quick -- Fetch me a child of five."
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?19971118101910.03616>