[PC-BSD Testing] HP xw8200 workstation boot problem SOLVED

[Brodey Dover]

Ian Robinson wrote:
> Dear Friends:
>
> I am happy to report that the latest FreeBSD 7.1-BETA2-i386 dated
> October -13-2008 boots flawlessly.  Therefore, the problem -- whatever
> it was -- is solved by this newer FreeBSD release -- which Kris
> Moore's dedication and past history shows is likely to filter its way
> into PCBSD very quickly. :)
>
> But just to provide feedback on some of the suggestions made:
>
> (1) The system BIOS was the latest one for the xw8200.
>
> (2) The LSI SCSI has a combo bios/firmware update.   I have not
> applied it yet, but that will be one of my weekend projects.  That
> having been said, I do not think it was a SCSI controller issue, as I
> had tried booting after disconnecting the power plugs and drive cables
> to both SCSI drives and to the IDE which did not make any difference
> in the boot-freeze problem.
>
> (3) The DVD firmware is current.
>
> (4) Because the FreeBSD Beta2 CD provided success, I have not tried a
> USB boot yet.
>
>
> Thank you to Arthur Koziol, A. Yerenko ("A.Y."), Brody Dover,  and
> Kris Moore for all your help, analysis, and suggestions.
>
> Additional eternal gratitude to the "large team of individuals" who
> work on FreeBSD and to "the Founder" Kris Moore for his labors and his
> releases.
>
> Ian Robinson
> Salem, Ohio.
> _______________________________________________
> Testing mailing list
> Testing at lists.pcbsd.org
> http://lists.pcbsd.org/mailman/listinfo/testing
>
>   
This may have something to do with it:

"


        2.2.1 Boot Loader Changes

[amd64, i386] The BTX kernel used by the boot loader has been changed to 
invoke BIOS routines from real mode. This change makes it possible to 
boot FreeBSD from USB devices.

[amd64, i386] A new gptboot boot loader has been added to support 
booting from a GPT labeled disk. A new boot command has been added to 
gpt(8) 
<http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=gpt&sektion=8&manpath=FreeBSD+7.0-stable>, 
which makes a GPT disk bootable by writing the required bits of the boot 
loader, creating a new boot partition if required."

I'm glad things have finally 'started' (bad pun, I know) for you Ian!

Regards,
Brodey Dover