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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.wildstar.net!news.ececs.uc.edu!newsfeeds.sol.net!news.webspan.net!news1.exit109.com!news.westnet.com!mhv.net!not-for-mail From: dgrace@mhv.net (Damon) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Booting second drive Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 21:51:57 GMT Organization: MHVNet, the Mid Hudson Valley's Internet Connection Lines: 40 Message-ID: <32efc55b.493387@news.mhv.net> References: <5cnjo4$qf7@news.bu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: port10.mhv.net X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.1/32.230 Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:34929 On 29 Jan 1997 13:36:04 GMT, tom@bu.edu (Thomas P. Skinner) wrote: >I have successfully been able to boot a second drive by a rather >complex process. I believe I have determined with reasonable >certainty that a bug exists in sysinstall. This prevents booting from >other than the primary drive if the system is initially installed on >a second or other drive. Here's how I got things to work: > ... > >If I install Freebsd on the second drive (using exactly the same >options) I keep getting "Invalid format" errors. Scanning the source >for boot reveals that this error is due to boot not finding the >right magic number in the boot block. I have concluded that using >sysinstall to install Freebsd to other than the first drive results >in either no boot blocks being written by disklabel or something >incorrect. From reading the source documentation I do not feel the >MBR is at issue since it shouldn't be invoked when booting from >floppy. It appears it is the next boot that causes problems, e.g. >the boot in the Freebsd partition. > >I would be curious if anyone else having trouble booting had success >with this method and if in fact there is a bug in sysinstall. > >Thomas P. Skinner I have seen a similar error report. I am trying to make a boot floppy in order to use the floppy as a boot device then point to and start freebsd on my Jaz drive (AHA 1510 card- no bios). I also am getting "invalid format" errors. I am assuming its just that I'm new to this and am doing it wrong. If you are right, the problem could be causing problems for myself and some others who have posted asking about making a boot floppy. I have 2 EIDE drives on top of the Jaz on a 1510 card. I am using OS/2 and NT boot managers on the EIDE drives thus the reason I want a boot floppy for freebsd. If you get answer, please pass it along. Damon