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Date:      Mon, 29 Sep 2014 03:21:58 -0700
From:      Mark Millard <markmi@dsl-only.net>
To:        FreeBSD PowerPC ML <freebsd-ppc@freebsd.org>
Subject:   10.1-BETA3 and powerpc64/GENERIC64 PowerMac G5 with ATI Radeon X1950 support: broken at boot time now...
Message-ID:  <E9397AAC-8A06-4C30-8D44-6067BA17069F@dsl-only.net>

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10.1-BETA3 powerpc64/GENERIC64 on PowerMac G5 with a 'Chipset: "ATI =
Radeon X1950" (ChipID =3D 0x7240)' card with vt: boot text is only a =
couple of pixels high/wide. Unreadable. Repeat the visual pattern across =
the screen (across, not down). [Note: This is not an Xorg/xfce4 issue in =
any way.]

And it appeared to be stopping very early every time so I've no clue =
what it was reporting.


Context (uname -a taken from a working boot context for the same SSD, =
see later):

FreeBSD FBSDG5M1 10.1-BETA3 FreeBSD 10.1-BETA3 #28 r272167M: Mon Sep 29 =
02:34:31 PDT 2014     root@FBSDG5M1:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC64  =
powerpc

Options DDB and GDB added to GENERIC64. WITH_DEBUG_FILES=3D =
WITHOUT_CLANG=3D WITH_DEBUG=3D in /etc/make.conf . DDB default script =
hack for dumping early-boot crash information. Added db_trace_self() =
call executed during first openfirmware_core call with MMU programmed. =
(So just before the classic before-copyright hang where OF_peer(0) fails =
fairly frequently.)

(That is the same context as for the prior 10.1-BETA2 activity. =
10.1-BETA2 did not have this problem for this context.)




I tried reverting to using sc in GENERIC64 using the same 5 lines or so =
for sc that are in GENERIC. But it got build failure: ps3fb_remap was =
missing because ps3_syscons.c was not compiled.

That in turn was because sys/conf/files.powerpc listed =
"powerpc/ps3/ps3_syscons.c optional ps3 vt" (indicating it was not =
needed for syscons builds?). I changed that to =
"powerpc/ps3/ps3_syscons.c optional ps3 vt | ps3 sc" and tried again.

More such sys/conf/files.powerpc and/or sys/conf/files issues showed up =
preventing building for sc.

I gave up on being able to build powerpc64/GENERIC64 for sc directly and =
rebuilt again with vt (despite the boot results for the Radeon context).

(I have a 10.1-BETA2 /boot/kernel.good/kernel to use in a manual unload =
then load /boot/kernel.good/kernel then boot sequence from from not =
letting the G5 time out and autoboot. 10.1-BETA3's world seems to =
tolerate 10.1-BETA2's kernel. Otherwise this would have been a lot =
messier to deal with.)



A contrasting context that worked okay... GeForce 7800 GT based =
powerpc64/GENERIC64 PowerMac G5.

In this case the initial variant tried was: no use of WITH_DEBUG_FILES=3D =
WITHOUT_CLANG=3D WITH_DEBUG=3D or of source code hacks for =
early-boot-crash information. But still adding options DDB and GDB. =
So...

FreeBSD FBSDG5M0 10.1-BETA3 FreeBSD 10.1-BETA3 #2 r272167M: Mon Sep 29 =
01:24:54 PDT 2014     root@FBSDG5M0:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC64  =
powerpc

Index: /usr/src/sys/powerpc/conf/GENERIC64
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
--- /usr/src/sys/powerpc/conf/GENERIC64	(revision 272167)
+++ /usr/src/sys/powerpc/conf/GENERIC64	(working copy)
@@ -76,6 +76,8 @@
 # Debugging support.  Always need this:
 options 	KDB			# Enable kernel debugger =
support.
 options 	KDB_TRACE		# Print a stack trace for a =
panic.
+options 	DDB
+options 	GDB
=20
 # Make an SMP-capable kernel by default
 options 	SMP			# Symmetric MultiProcessor =
Kernel



But simply moving the earlier SSD (once rebuilt) from the Radeon =
PowerMac G5 (where it failed to display right or boot) to the GeForce =
based G5 resulted in normal text and a completed boot.

It looks like the problem here is tied to Radeons, or possibly to the =
model of Radeon (X1950). I may put back the other NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT =
and not try to involve a PowerMac G5 Radeon in my activities for now.

[The before-Copyright crash still happens randomly. None of this is =
directly about that issue.]



=3D=3D=3D
Mark Millard
markmi at dsl-only.net




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