PC-BSD 9.0 Will *NOT* Boot from HD

[wmichaelb]

I put together a machine for PC-BSD 9.0 64-bit: Intel 945PSC mobo, Pentium D MP, 4 GB of RAM. I've installed 9.0 64-bit from both the DVD, and over the net, and in both cases I get an error message that states:

No boot medium present; please insert media and press any key.

I've tried both PATA and SATA drives; multiple SATA ports; installed a new power supply and brand new 500GB Seagate SATA drive after multiple older PATA drives. I've repeatedly changed the boot parameters on the BIOS, and updated the BIOS to the latest and greatest. Same result. But it boots perfectly from the DVD.

Then, on a lark and because it's quick to do, I installed Puppy Linux on the machine. And it boots *perfectly* off the HD with no errors, no effort, no nothing; so there's not a hardware problem after all.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm stumped, and would really like to have a faster BSD machine. Thanks in advance.

[kmoore134]

Odd, have you tried the 9.1-RC1 image? Also, how are you partitioning
the disk? Using MBR or GPT?

[wmichaelb]

Kris, thanks for responding. I chose "use entire disk", which I presume to be MBR.

I also tried to boot the live CD so that I could format the drive for UFS before trying the install. I was able to boot both Gnome and KDE, but in both cases, lost complete control of the cursor, and couldn't proceed from there. There were some error messages about Xorg not finding a panel, but eventually the desktop showed up on the screen. The cursor arrow was visible, the the mouse had no control of it in either desktop.

If it matters, I'm using a GeForce 8400GS vid card; the installer selects the nVidia driver.

I've tried both UFS and ZFS installs, and get the same result for both.

The other thought that occurs to me is to try a basic server install of FreeBSD, just to format the drive in advance of the PC-BSD install, and see if that helps. My current theory is that this is a boot flag problem.

Let me also try downloading 9.1 RC1, and I'll let you know how that goes.

[wmichaelb]

Kris: To update, I downloaded and checked RC1; it loaded, but also will not boot from the HD. I get the message that says:

F1 FreeBSD
F6 PXE

Boot: F1

But whatever I press after that, F1 or enter, the machine will not boot from the HD. In addition, it never asked for a user account or root password.

I tried both 9.0 and RC1 on another test machine (this one has removable PATA drives), Asrock mobo,
Pentium D, 2GB of RAM, GeForce 8400GS, on a 150 GB HD. In both cases, the DVD was unable to recognize the screen or load the nVidia driver. That part worked fine on the first machine. ????? The second machine runs Mint 13 without a hitch.

I did successfully install FreeBSD 8.1 server on the first machine, and it booted and ran fine. Now that I had a good UFS file system, I tried the 9.0 disk again - actually, a second disk that i burned to make sure that that wasn't the problem. KIIIb pronounced it verified, but I got the same result.

One point that I noticed: 9.0 stamped the HD as boot1, while 9.1 stamped it as boot0 during the install.

I am running all these machines through an IOGear USB KVM switch to a Benq PF93GX VGA screen and a Dell USB keyboard. Might that be a problem?

Right now I'm downloading PC-BSD 8.1 64-bit to try that. The 32-bit version of that runs fine on my P4.

If I were to try a net install, what of the many files should I download to a CD/DVD? I found no references to net install when I searched the site.

Do you have any other suggestions to try 9.x on the bigger machine?

Thanks in advance.

[kmoore134]

When you try booting the RC1 image, where does it fail? Does X work in
vesa mode or give any other errors?

[wmichaelb]

Kris, thanks for your prompt attention. The machine never gets to X; the kernel itself won't load. All I get are the TTY? F1 & F6 boot choices, and no matter what I push at that point, F1, enter, or just wait, the cursor skips to the next line and the machine then does nothing further. It never advances to the numbered choice menu with the ASCII PC-BSD splash, so I can't select VESA, and it won't respond to the keyboard to enter TTY commands at that point. it simply will not read the disk beyond that point, but it boots from the DVD just fine.

I installed PC-BSD 8.1 64-bit on it this morning, and that runs and boots off the hard drive. I had to reboot three or four times to get the nVidia 256 driver to change resolution, and when it boots it spawns a semi-infinite number of instances of Dolphin and then hangs; but it does boot off the hard drive. It also booted and ran FreeBSD 8.1 server and Puppy Linux 5.2 off the drive just fine. The drive itself is a brand new Seagate 500 GB SATA unit. I then tried to install it onto a third machine, also with an intel board/Pentium D, and got the same result: no boot medium found. So it's not just the hard drive.

Out of curiosity, will someone from PC-BSD be at the Ohio Linux Fest in Columbus on September 28-29? Dru was there last year, and I'm planning on it. If someone will be there, I'd love to drop by and chat about this one.

Thanks!

[Beanpole]

Out of curiosity, will someone from PC-BSD be at the Ohio Linux Fest in Columbus on September 28-29? Dru was there last year, and I'm planning on it. If someone will be there, I'd love to drop by and chat about this one.

Yes.
Kris Moore, Dru Lavigne, and myself will be at the Ohio LinuxFest in a couple weeks. I believe we all plan on arriving at the event sometime on the 28th (Friday), but we will definitely be there all day Saturday if you want to come by the table.

[wmichaelb]

Wondermous! Let me bring the beast with me, and let's chat then.

Thanks! This is a great opportunity.

[wmichaelb]

Folks, I finally figured this one out, at least initially. The problem only occurs with Intel 945 series mother boards, and I just happened to have two. The install failed on both in the same way. I put together an ASUS socket 775 system, and 9.0 installed and runs perfectly. I'll file a bug report. Chip set driver?

Thanks for your help! I still plan on stopping by at Ohio Linux Fest.

[habernir]

i have the same problem with PC BSD 9.1