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From: csgr@cs.ru.ac.za (Geoff Rehmet)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Subject: Re: HELP!! Bad Sectors...
Date: 16 Jul 1994 11:18:12 GMT
Organization: Rhodes University Computing Services
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Message-ID: <308flk$dq3@quagga.ru.ac.za>
References: <3012fv$280@pksbln.in-berlin.de>
Reply-To: csgr@cs.ru.ac.za
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In <3012fv$280@pksbln.in-berlin.de> maverick@pksbln.in-berlin.de (Dennis Pfau) writes:
>I have the following Configuration:
>Cx486S 33Mhz-VL
>210Mb Conner HDD (IDE)
>FreeBSD 1.1.5
>Now my problem:
>I've got the FreeBSD 1.1 on my HDD together with MS-D*S. (110Mb D*S,
>110Mb FreeBSD) Now I want the full 210Mb for FreeBSD. I installed
>FreeBSD 1.1.5 using the floppy-disks. But after installation,
>the Kernel sometimes reports errors on the Harddisk. So, the HDD
>has some bad sectors. Not the Problem... But neither 'fsck' nor
>'bad144' nor 'badsect' could help. Has anyone an idea, how to
>makes the bad secs unwritable an unreadable???
>(The Messages are very, very nerving... :-((( )
>Please HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This may not even be a problem with your hard disk - I would need to
know what the errors are. It will be easier to help you if you can let
us know what the error messages are.
Also, when does it start generating errors?
Do you manage to boot the kcopy floppy without any errors initially?
Can you manage to create filesystems?
What happens if you go into DOS fdisk and delete the non-DOS partition
and try to reinstall?
One possibility, although I can't tell if this is the case, because I
don't have enough information about your problem, is the following:
When labelling the disk, disklabel puts a bogus partition entry onto
the partition table. Normally this doesn't hurt anything, but I have
seen it cause trouble.
A way around this problem is to do the following:
1) boot DOS and delete the non-DOS partition using DOS fdisk.
2) boot the kcopy floppy, and insert the filesys floppy when prompted.
3) Enter all of the information required to build the filesystems and
let the install script create the filesystems. DO NOT halt the
system when the script finishes.
4) Instead of halting the system, run
/sbin/fdisk -u
Enter "n" to all the prompts, until you are asked if you want to
change the 386BSD partition - say yes to this. Leave the sysid as
165, then enter the correct start value (starting sector of the
partition - it should already be correct). Next enter the size -
the existing value is probably incorrect. Enter "n" to the next
prompt. Fdisk will then display the modified entry, which should
now be correct, and should have the correct numbers of cylinders,
sectors and heads - accept it if it is correct.
When prompted to change the active partition, enter "n", and when
prompted to rewrite the partition table enter "y".
(Don't change any of your DOS partitions.)
The above will *ONLY* help if you have the problem which I suspect.
If you still have any trouble - please send me some more info on the
specific error messages you are getting.
Geoff.
(Feel free to write email to me in German.)
--
Geoff Rehmet, Computer Science Department, | ____ _ o /\
Rhodes University, South Africa |___ _-\_<, / /\/\
FreeBSD core team | (*)/'(*) /\/ / \ \
csgr@cs.ru.ac.za, csgr@freefall.cdrom.com, geoff@neptune.ru.ac.za