OpenBSD 3.5 install: boot problem - ERR M

[Baron Fujimoto]

On Mon, 8 Mar 2004, Baron Fujimoto wrote:

: On Thu, 4 Mar 2004, Baron Fujimoto wrote:
:
: : I'm encountering the following error while trying to install OpenBSD 3.4:
: :
: : Boot from CD :
: : 1. FD 2.88MB System Type-(0F)
: : booting fd0a:/obsd: open fd0a:/obsd: Invalid argument
: : failed(22). will try /bsd.old
: : reading boot....
: : probing: pc0 com0 com1 apm mem[639K 478M a20=on]
: : disk: fd0 fd1 hd0+*
: : >> OpenBSD/i386 BOOT 2.02
: : open(fd0a:/etc/boot.conf): Invalid argument
: : boot>
: : booting fd0a:/bsd: open fd0a:/bsd: Invalid argument
: : failed(22). will try /obsd
: : booting fd0a:/obsd: open fd0a:/obsd: Invalid argument
: : failed(22). will try /bsd.old
: : [... repeat until ...]
: : Turning timeout off
: :
: : The system is using a VIA Epia-M motherboard (BIOS v1.0F), and I'm trying
: : to install by booting from an external USB-CDROM (Sony DRX-510UL).
:
: Just following up here. I've updated the motherboard BIOS and the drive
: firmware to the latest available versions, but I am still having the same
: problem. Redhat's Fedora install disk seem to boot ok though, so I'm not
: sure it's a BIOS issue (Redhat seem to have a workaround at least, if so).
: I suppose I could try a recent FreeBSD, an see if that works as well.

(ok, so I'm stubborn, and I didn't have time to work on this anyway, so I
decided to wait for my 3.5 cd's and see if that made any difference. I
pre-ordered them back in late march, and they finally arrived today -- but
that's another rant).

It actually gets a little farther now with 3.5:

Boot from CD :
1. FD 2.88MB System Type-(0F)
Loading;..........
ERR M

So I've hit a dead end booting off of this USB DVD drive again. I still
don't really a lot of time to invest in this, so I'll probably resort to
booting from floppy (was trying to do without a floppy) or temporarily
hook up an IDE cd-rom drive just to get installed. If anyone has additional
ideas on how to get this to boot off the USB DVD, I would still welcome
the suggestions.

Is there anything I can do or information I can provide that would help
this to be supported in the next release?

[J.C. Steele]

I don't think its going to work with the USB drive simply because the bootable kernel contained on the cdrom's (and floppies) lacks USB driver support. Your going to need a IDE or SCSI cdrom/dvdrom or do a network install.

// josh

[demime 0.98d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature]

[Rob Pickering]

I don't know what the original problem is, but the statement below is
both wrong and not relevant to the error reported with 3.5.

The 3.5 install kernel images do contain USB support. We use this on
a practically daily basis to install 3.5 from USB flash devices onto
otherwise removable media-less EPIA systems.

In any case, the "ERR M" message comes from biosboot, way before any
OpenBSD kernel gets loaded. It will probably be caused by a geometry
issue in the way the BIOS is presenting the CDROM. The ; at the end
of Loading says that biosboot is using CHS and that means CHS of the
device has to match that expected by the boot loader, see man 8
biosboot.

--
Rob.

--On 20 May 2004 20:44 -0400 "J.C. Steele" <sele...@codefusion.org>
wrote:

[Otto Moerbeek]

On Thu, 20 May 2004, J.C. Steele wrote:

> I don't think its going to work with the USB drive simply because the
> bootable kernel contained on the cdrom's (and floppies) lacks USB driver
> support. Your going to need a IDE or SCSI cdrom/dvdrom or do a network
> install.

cd35.iso does contain (basic) USB support, including umass
<http://www.openbsd.org/i386.html>.

-Otto

[J.C. Steele]

I stand corrected.

I was referring to the USB drivers for this external drive, not USB drivers in general...I should of made myself clearer, but like you said, it proves to irrelevant.

// joshu

On Fri, 21 May 2004 08:35:46 +0100
Rob Pickering <r...@rpanetwork.co.uk> wrote:

> I don't know what the original problem is, but the statement below is
> both wrong and not relevant to the error reported with 3.5.
>
> The 3.5 install kernel images do contain USB support. We use this on
> a practically daily basis to install 3.5 from USB flash devices onto
> otherwise removable media-less EPIA systems.
>
> In any case, the "ERR M" message comes from biosboot, way before any
> OpenBSD kernel gets loaded. It will probably be caused by a geometry
> issue in the way the BIOS is presenting the CDROM. The ; at the end
> of Loading says that biosboot is using CHS and that means CHS of the
> device has to match that expected by the boot loader, see man 8
> biosboot.
>
> --
> Rob.
>
> --On 20 May 2004 20:44 -0400 "J.C. Steele" <sele...@codefusion.org>

> wrote:
>
> > I don't think its going to work with the USB drive simply because
> > the bootable kernel contained on the cdrom's (and floppies) lacks
> > USB driver support. Your going to need a IDE or SCSI cdrom/dvdrom
> > or do a network install.
> >

> > // josh