How to: Install 1.2.2 on ALIX with IDE HDD (obsolete)
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I wish my 2C2 Alix had the IDE pins to run a HD. I think only the 2Dx versions have the pins though.
Ive never tried to stuff a 2.5" HD in a standard Alix case but it looks like:
1. It wouldnt fit
2. If it did fit, operating temperature might become an issue.So either the hard drive would have to be outside of the case, or a larger enclosure (mini-itx) would be necessary
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@onhel:
I wish my 2C2 Alix had the IDE pins to run a HD. I think only the 2Dx versions have the pins though.
Ive never tried to stuff a 2.5" HD in a standard Alix case but it looks like:
1. It wouldnt fit
2. If it did fit, operating temperature might become an issue.So either the hard drive would have to be outside of the case, or a larger enclosure (mini-itx) would be necessary
MoBo has installed it successfully, I would like to know what type of eclosure he has used. Mini-itx enclosure back holes don't fit with alix2d3 connexions.
It would be nice to have some pictures. -
No way you can place a 2.5" hard drive inside a PC Engines enclosure (like the one i have), but you can in other enclosures like http://www.applianceshop.eu/index.php/alix-parts/parts/deciso-tiny-enclosure-1.html
I don't think temperature could be an issue if you use the case as a heat sink.
I will check the 4gb partition issue as soon a i get one of those 44 pin IDE cables. -
Hi guys,
I'm working on a PDF file with screen capture with all steps.
Take more time than expected :PAnyway, to answer questions related to the enclosure, I did it the "bad way" ; HDD is outside the enclosure on soft "feutre" (a french word I cannot translate - soft things you put under you tables, chairs to avoid marking the floor).
Since my pfSense is in a safe place, inside and no risk or water or anything else, it's just PERFECT.
The good point is ; the day I will need to update it, it will just be SO easy.Check the pictures below…
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Just to followup the first post in this thread, specifically step 9).
The sysctl flag, hw.ata.ata_dma_limit is not implemented in FreeBSD: it only works if you patch the ATA driver. So if your hardware needs this flag to stop FreeBSD from trying to run the DMA too quickly, then you will need to rebuild the FreeBSD kernel with my little patch. See: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=123980&cat=kern
Like MoBO said, you can use hw.ata.ata_dma="0" to turn DMA off altogether. You can set this in /boot/loader.conf but to start with, if your system won't boot, this may be impossible! To set it temporarily before the system boots, at the console boot menu you can hit option 6 (Escape to load prompt) then at the "OK" prompt, type:-
OK set hw.ata.ata_dma=0
OK bootHope this helps
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Thanks martin42 for this information.
I might try to rebuild the kernel once (I never done a FreeBSD kernel - I use to compile Gentoo kernel).
Can you create a smal "how to" to patch the pfSense kernel ? :PIf the Alix UDMA option is off and you add the hw.ata.ata_dma="0" it should work fine without error and you will be able to use pfSense until you rebuild the kernel (if you think it's needed).
To talk about the first post, some wrong information as been made bydsamms on point 7 and 11.
I can't figure out the need of the point 11 but, in point 7, you need to provide the name of the destination and according point 11 mbrSo….
7) cp /mnt/boot/mbr mbr
11) fdisk -Bb mbr ad0But again, can't understand the need of it (since the dev is wrong anyway and mount as da0). Maybe someone can explain.
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Can you create a small "how to" to patch the pfSense kernel ?
Here is a generic version for FreeBSD. I've never tried rebuilding pfSense!
cd /usr/src/sys/dev/ata
fetch the patch, see http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=123980&cat=kern
this version is for FreeBSD 7.1-RELEASE only!
fetch http://net42.co.uk/downloads/ata-all.c.patch
cp ata-all.c ata-all.c.original
patch ata-all.c ata-all.c.patch
cd /usr/src
make KERNCONF=your_config buildkernel && make KERNCONF=your_config installkernel
rebootwhere your_config is your favourite kernel config file in /usr/src/sys/i386/conf/your_config. If you don't have your own favourite kernel config file, just miss out KERNCONF= completely, and the system will use /usr/src/sys/i386/conf/GENERIC as the config file.
As for the rest of it…. I haven't completely followed the thread, but ad0 is the first PATA hard disk, and da0 is the first SATA or SCSI hard disk. On some motherboards, SATA drives show as ad0 because the chipset emulates PATA anyway.
If you're seeing da0 then most likely you have SATA, and so you might not need to slow down the DMA anyway, I don't know. Certainly on my Soekris NET5501 boxes, the SATA works fine with default settings, and it's only PATA drives that have problems.
Good luck!
- Martin
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No way you can place a 2.5" hard drive inside a PC Engines enclosure (like the one i have), but you can in other enclosures like http://www.applianceshop.eu/index.php/alix-parts/parts/deciso-tiny-enclosure-1.html
I don't think temperature could be an issue if you use the case as a heat sink.
I will check the 4gb partition issue as soon a i get one of those 44 pin IDE cables.Yes way… I drilled and tapered the holes on the top cover. Picked up some M3 0.55mm tapered head screws. The screws sit flush, the drive mounts underneath the top cover. The drive fits perfectly inside. It doesn't touch anything. As for heat, there's hardly any. I would describe the drive as cool/warm to the touch.
Check the photo... It can (and has) been done.
-William
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I ran this HOW TO to install a IDE HD on my 2c2 with great success. I recently bought a 2D3 and cant seem to get it to run using the same instructions and using a recent 1.2.3 snapshot from July. Has something been changed in the recent snaps that would alter these instructions. With the current instructions I get a spinning | after the Alix BIos text and then it just stops there. ALIX Bios is .99h. Using an older snapshot works on installing to the IDE drive but then I get boot errors once I upgrade to a recent snap.
I was assuming that maybe since embedded kernels arent used anymore, since nanobsd seems to be the future of pfsense on embedded devices, that that's the reason why these instructions do not apply anymore. Just looking for some kind of confirmation or explanation to my scenario. Thanks in advance.
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This is a great walkthrough! I followed it step-by-step for installing pfSense 1.2.3 RC1 onto a Seagate ST1 5GB MicroDrive in an Alix.2d3. Problem is it doesn't work :/
I don't know what's wrong :( I followed MoBo's guide, and after I plug in the drive and boot up the Alix, it boots up to the point where it displays "Default: F1" and sits there. I had a 4GB slice and installed pfSense to that (partitioned with * for / and 512MB for SWAP), and a 1GB slice formatted FreeBSD and left empty.
Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Or what else I should be checking? I checked the BIOS and I'm pretty sure UDMA was disabled (it had (U) instead of U I'm pretty sure that means it's disabled). I'll try 1.2.2 to see if it works, maybe like the previous poster suggested 1.2.3 RC1 won't work.
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Hi,
First of all, THANK YOU MoBo for the explanation. I just installed pfsense in my brand-new ALIX with HDD in a couple of hours (including cable soldering)…
About FalconV problem, try to make ALIX "wait" for the HDD to get ready (setting W parameter on BIOS). Here is my BIOS config. pressing "S" while booting:
PC Engines ALIX.2 v0.99h
640 KB Base Memory261120 KB Extended Memory
Waiting for HDD ... <–- Try this01F0 Master 045A FUJITSU MHV2080AT
Phys C/H/S 16383/16/63 Log C/H/S 9729/255/63 LBABIOS setup:
9 9600 baud (2) 19200 baud (3) 38400 baud (5) 57600 baud (1) 115200 baud
C CHS mode (L) LBA mode W HDD wait (V) HDD slave (U) UDMA enable <–- Configuring it HERE
(M) MFGPT workaround
(P) late PCI init
R Serial console enable
(E) PXE boot enable
(X) Xmodem upload
(Q) QuitHope it helps.
Jose
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try to make ALIX "wait" for the HDD to get ready (setting W parameter on BIOS). Here is my BIOS config. pressing "S" while booting
Thank you for the suggestion, Jose. I did try this and it still hung at Default: F1
I wanted to try 1.2.2 but I haven't been able to yet (family in town). I'll give it a shot tomorrow. If that doesn't work I'll dig up a 2.5" HDD and try it instead of the Micro Drive.
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Hello,
I have another one to setup and will check my how to.
If you have any problem, will be the good time to ask ;o) -
I did everything as described, but it always shows the message "01F0 - no drive found !"
any idea?i used the last RC, could this be the problem (installed on the 2.5'' HD with VMware)
kind regards
ChacalCH
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The microdrive configuration is not the same as the HDD since the controller don't have the same… name ;o)
WHAT - on VMWare - on ALIX
HDD - SCSI -> da0 - ad0 <- IDENo idea about the controller name for microdrive… but I guess you will find it easily.
Try the same one as the original embedded version (flashcard) !Don't forget to provide us a feedback ;o)
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Hello ,
I read all documant and use step by step .
I encountered error the following.-
http://www.cehturkiye.com/hpdiskerror.bmp
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http://www.cehturkiye.com/hperrordisk2.bmp
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http://www.cehturkiye.com/error.txt
What should I do for booting ???
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The microdrive configuration is not the same as the HDD since the controller don't have the same… name ;o)
WHAT - on VMWare - on ALIX
HDD - SCSI -> da0 - ad0 <- IDENo idea about the controller name for microdrive… but I guess you will find it easily.
Try the same one as the original embedded version (flashcard) !Don't forget to provide us a feedback ;o)
I've been attempting what Falcon was doing so I will try and pick up where he left off and see what I can get going.
My ultimate goal is to get a full pfsense install running on an alix with a microdrive.
I've read of people having boot issues with microdrives in the CF slot but I honestly don't think it's related to the Microdrive itself and this is why I believe that… Before I bought the microdrive on ebay I was trying to get a full install running on a 256MB CF card (I'm aware that it could kill it, this was just testing to see if I COULD do it) I tried and tried but I couldn't get it to boot.
-The flash card boots the embedded image just fine.
-The flash card would NOT boot the full image on the Alix no matter what I tried. It would get hung at the Boot F1 prompt and just every second or 2 a # would pop up, if I pressed any key while consoled in it would just add a # for every keystroke.
-I used the VMWare method to install to the CF card.
-VMWare would boot both the embedded and full version when installed to the CF card but the Alix would only boot the embedded.
-I did edit the fstab to reflect the proper device on the alix which is ad0 even for the CF slot.
-When using the microdrive plugged into a CF reader on my PC VMWare boots it fine.
-Microdrive in the CF slot on the Alix with full pf install hangs at the Boot F1 just as the flash media does.
Ok so that's what I've done so far. The one thing I haven't tried, but will try tonight, is to install the embedded onto the microdrive just for grins and giggles to see if it boots. I don't believe this is an issue related to microdrives in general because I'm experiencing the same issue on a flash card.
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Fail… the bios needed to be updated. Did that and it booted but now I'm getting stuck at the Trying to mount root deal. Time to do some searching!
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Some observations:
a) This thread is about installing 1.2.2, and the instructions work. Perhaps some of this discussion belongs elsewhere.
b) The embedded kernel output to serial by default, it is no longer available as an option in 1.2.3rcX. The standard kernel outputs to VGA. Have y'all tried enabling the serial console before putting the drive in the Alix?
c) The functionality of nano would seem to make this endeavor less rewarding than it may have been in the past. -
Some observations:
a) This thread is about installing 1.2.2, and the instructions work. Perhaps some of this discussion belongs elsewhere.
b) The embedded kernel output to serial by default, it is no longer available as an option in 1.2.3rcX. The standard kernel outputs to VGA. Have y'all tried enabling the serial console before putting the drive in the Alix?
c) The functionality of nano would seem to make this endeavor less rewarding than it may have been in the past.Hmmm… strange since I'm on 1.2.3RC3 !
Actually I don't remember the version I installed but I did an "upgrade" since.
Maybe this a turn around.My pfSense is working fine.
I will need to build a new one next week. Will try and report the results.
