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Date:      Fri, 24 Sep 1999 11:01:57 -0700 (PDT)
From:      bigduppy@hotmail.com
To:        freebsd-gnats-submit@freebsd.org
Subject:   i386/13934: Not able to use NT boot loader to boot FreeBSD from certain partitions
Message-ID:  <19990924180157.5C46114D47@hub.freebsd.org>

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>Number:         13934
>Category:       i386
>Synopsis:       Not able to use NT boot loader to boot FreeBSD from certain partitions
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    freebsd-bugs
>State:          open
>Quarter:        
>Keywords:       
>Date-Required:
>Class:          change-request
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Fri Sep 24 11:10:01 PDT 1999
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Alan Searchwell
>Release:        Walnut Creek FreeBSD 3.2
>Organization:
Jamaica
>Environment:
Cyrix 586 CPU, SIS 80486 PCI chipset (2 IDE channels), Award BIOS
IDE channel 1, 1 Quantum 3.8GB HD LBA mode
IDE channel 2, 1 Quantum 2.5GB HD LBA mode, 1 Goldstar 8240B CD-ROM
Adaptec 2940 SCSI Controller w Panasonic 7502 CDR
SoundBlaster AWE64 sound card
Actiontec ISA V.90 Modem (DT56010) 
Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 4MB video card
Disk 0, Slice 1, 700MB, Dos 6.22
Disk 0, Slice 2, 1400MB, Linux Mandrake 6.0
Disk 0, Slice 3, 700+MB, unused
Disk 0, Slice 4, 900+MB, extended (130MB NTFS for swap file, balance DOS)

Disk 1, Slice 1, 700MB, Hopefully FreeBSD
Disk 1, Slice 2, 1000MB, NTFS (NT 4.0)
Disk 1, Slice 3, 130MB Linux Swap
Disk 1, Slice 4, 840+MB DOS
>Description:
I can install Linux or Windows NT anywhere on either HD as long as it the partiion starts below a certain point. That point is somewhere about 1000MB from the start of the drive. 

I have been trying to install FreeBSD my PC, at first on Disk 0 above DOS and Linux. In that configuration I could boot FreeBSD by marking it's partition active but I could not seem to issue the equivalent dd command to copy the boot sector to a file. The FAQ mentions the input parameter "if=/dev/rsd0a". Is this a special device for the "root sector" or something? I tried using "if=/dev/wd0s3" and "if=/dev/wd0s3" and got a message "device busy".

I then reconfigured my second disk (Disk 1) to have 700MB unused and then the NT partition so I could put FreeBSD on the first partition on the second drive. I have not even beeen able to boot FreeBSD in that configuration. I use the FreeBSD boot selector to select the second disk for booting and then select FreeBSD from the second boot menu. I now have to figure out how to get rid of the "Panic: cannot mount root" message.

Would it be too dificult to modify the FreeBSD boot process to allow the sort of flexibilty that Linux (and NT) have in order to facilitate hobyists like me. I want to learn more about Unix (FreeBSD/Linux) and do not have the resources to have each OS on it's own PC.

The booting feature in Linux that I like is the ability to use a boot diskette and type in "vmlinuz root=/dev/hdXY" where X is the disk letter (as in hda thru hdd) and Y is the slice number. Having booted I can mount my DOS partition and use the DD to copy the boot sector to my "bootsect.lnx" file. I have check the newsgroups, FAQs and did a search engine search and it seems a couple other people have had this problem. The most succesful solution seems to be to use the free OS BS (OS boot selector) program.

>How-To-Repeat:

>Fix:
Create a boot floppy system that can pass control to the boot sector of any slice in order to boot FreeBSD. Make sure that however control is passsed to the boot sector code, it will reliably boot the system. Linux is all open source so I don't expect that the wheel will have to be re-invented here. I would attempt it myself but I'm not a C programmer yet (self taught VB programmer).

>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted:


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