Can't install pcbsd

[dien_phan]

Hi,

I have been working with FreeBSD for around 5 years. Recently I heard about pcbsd and decided to try it.
I downloaded pcbsd iso file twice and both with correct md5 check sum given on pcbsd.org site. Unfortunately after burning CD from this iso image I couldn't install pcbsd. During booting from the CD it shows:

Boot from CD: CD Loader 1.2
Building the boot loader arguments
Looking up /BOOT/LOADER... FOUND

and then hangs on: computer reads CD drive infinity (non-stop). It seems the only thing computer performs is reading CD.

On this computer I had working FreeBSD from 5.x to 6.1. No problem occurred with hardware.

I am new to pcbsd and need your help to fix this.

Thank you,

[antik]

Hi,

I have been working with FreeBSD for around 5 years. Recently I heard about pcbsd and decided to try it.
I downloaded pcbsd iso file twice and both with correct md5 check sum given on pcbsd.org site. Unfortunately after burning CD from this iso image I couldn't install pcbsd. During booting from the CD it shows:

Boot from CD: CD Loader 1.2
Building the boot loader arguments
Looking up /BOOT/LOADER... FOUND

and then hangs on: computer reads CD drive infinity (non-stop). It seems the only thing computer performs is reading CD.

On this computer I had working FreeBSD from 5.x to 6.1. No problem occurred with hardware.

I am new to pcbsd and need your help to fix this.

Thank you,

I think this is DMA problem with your cdrom drive. PC-BSD got DMA enabled by default.

[Apatewna]

I think this is DMA problem with your cdrom drive. PC-BSD got DMA enabled by default.

I remember having a DMA problem on a Compq desktop PC. The installation booted up ok but then it kernel-dumped just after the introductory screen with the selection numbers (1. Boot FreeBSD 2. Boot with ACPI disabled etc...)

I went into BIOS and disabled IDE DMA transfers. The installation went smoothly after that, with ACPI enabled.

What bugs me most is that you say you have installed FreeBSD 6.1 on that machine and current PCBSD 1.1 has the same OS under the hood.
Maybe it's time to try a new cdrom-drive. How old is the machine / cdrom drive anyway?

[dien_phan]

I could not find any DMA settings in BIOS.
I tried on two boxes. One is new with VIA main board and slim DVD ROM. The second with AMD on Gigabyte mainboard, DVD drive is about 6 months old.

I have working FreeBSD 6.1 on both boxes, so I think hardware is not main reason. Because it hangs up on first stage I have no infomation to find out what's wrong.

Any hints?

[antik]

I could not find any DMA settings in BIOS.
I tried on two boxes. One is new with VIA main board and slim DVD ROM. The second with AMD on Gigabyte mainboard, DVD drive is about 6 months old.

I have working FreeBSD 6.1 on both boxes, so I think hardware is not main reason. Because it hangs up on first stage I have no infomation to find out what's wrong.

Any hints?

With both comnputers hangs?

[dien_phan]

I made a try to install on third machine, my HP laptop. The same happens. It hangs after displaying:

Boot from CD: CD Loader 1.2
Building the boot loader arguments
Looking up /BOOT/LOADER... FOUND

One time I wait for nearly 30 min. to see what will happen but nothing. Machines read CD and read CD.

[YetAnotherNoob]

Perhaps your CD burner is producing not-fully-readable CD's?

I've had the "reads the CD forever" thing happen a bunch of times, and it was always due to a bad CD drive (it would read enough to start the install, but then die). I suspect that a bad CD (one where the drive can almost read it with enough passes) might produce the same effect.

Maybe you could try pulling the ISO back off the CD and see if it gives you the same hash number again?

[antik]

Perhaps your CD burner is producing not-fully-readable CD's?

I've had the "reads the CD forever" thing happen a bunch of times, and it was always due to a bad CD drive (it would read enough to start the install, but then die). I suspect that a bad CD (one where the drive can almost read it with enough passes) might produce the same effect.

Maybe you could try pulling the ISO back off the CD and see if it gives you the same hash number again?

Sometimes it help when cd-s are burned with slower speed. I never burn "mission critical" cd with speed over 8x.