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FreeBSD Installation and Upgrading Installing and upgrading FreeBSD.

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Old 9th February 2011
RJPugh RJPugh is offline
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Default Possible problem w/ freebsd-update

Good evening.

I am attempting to upgrade an instillation of 7.2-RELEASE (DesktopBSD 1.7) to 7.3-RELEASE, using the freebsd-update tool. The syntax I'm using is this:

] freebsd-update upgrade -r 7.3-RELEASE

My plan is to work my way up to 8.1-RELEASE, but one step at a time. Anyway, when I invoke the command, it seems to go OK for a while, until I get this sequence of error messages:

{begin error messages}

Fetching files from 7.2-RELEASE for merging... done.
Preparing to download files... [: files/Segmentation: unexpected operator
Segmentation fault
Segmentation fault
[: !=: unexpected operator
/usr/sbin/freebsd-update: cannot open tmpfile: No such file or directory
Segmentation fault
[: files/Segmentation: unexpected operator
Segmentation fault
Segmentation fault
[: !=: unexpected operator
/usr/sbin/freebsd-update: cannot open tmpfile: No such file or directory
Segmentation fault
[: files/Segmentation: unexpected operator
Segmentation fault
Segmentation fault
[: !=: unexpected operator
/usr/sbin/freebsd-update: cannot open tmpfile: No such file or directory
Segmentation fault
[: files/Segmentation: unexpected operator
Segmentation fault
Segmentation fault
[: !=: unexpected operator
/usr/sbin/freebsd-update: cannot open tmpfile: No such file or directory
Segmentation fault
Segmentation fault

{end}

Can anyone tell me where this segmentation fault is coming from, and what I can do (if anything) to rectify it? I think my current version of freebsd-update, but is there any way I can verify that?

I'm not a rank amateur when it comes to BSD, but I'm far from an expert, so go easy on me.


Thanks in advance,

RJP
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Old 9th February 2011
J65nko J65nko is online now
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I only used freebsd-update once and never seen any error like you posted. I googled for some of those errors, but you seem to be the only victim of these errors.

You could post your issue on the freebsd-questions or freebsd-stable mailing list. That way Colin Percival, the programmer of freebsd-update will learn about the issue.

Or just bite the bullet and backup your system, install the latest and greatest and restore/merge configuration files from backup.
There are some guides here about dump/restore and disk cloning.
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Old 9th February 2011
RJPugh RJPugh is offline
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Thanks. I'll look into that.

If I were to take a FreeBSD 8.1 instillation DVD and use the "upgrade an existing system" from the sysinstall menu, would that be a suitable option? I've never done that before, and I'm wondering about hidden snares or pitfalls that could take me by surprise. At this point I just want to upgrade the kernel, and not necessarily mess with the GUI and program settings. Although if I need to patch things, I will.

This DesktopBSD instillation has been dormant for several months (long story); that's why it has such an outdated kernel.
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Old 9th February 2011
J65nko J65nko is online now
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I also never did an upgrade. Just make a backup of your configuration files and you home directory, your browser bookmarks etc and do a clean install.
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Old 10th February 2011
RJPugh RJPugh is offline
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I tried a fresh install of 8.1, twice, and both attempts failed. I got this error message:

"Unable to find device node for /dev/ad1s1b in /dev!"

I tried two different partitions, and got the same result both times; the instillation crashed and burned. I then tried an install of PC-BSD 8.1, which is based on the 8.1 kernel, and while it seemed to install correctly, my boot manager (GAG 4.10) didn't recognize the BSD instillation. For me, that's a showstopper, because I need to keep Windows XP operational on this box. So, for me, a fresh install of FreeBSD 8.1 isn't a viable option.

Is it possible that my computer simply won't accept the 8.1 kernel? I know that's a crazy theory, but I've been able to install versions of the 7.x series without much trouble.

If it matters, my computer is a Dell Dimension 4550 series. I've searched the web and found no references of someone being unable to install 8.1. This problem may be unique to my machine.

I feel I have two options:

a) Install a version of 7.x and attempt to upgrade to 8.1 by using source. Since a clean install and an upgrade option both failed (I tried the sysinstall upgrade path; it couldn't find the existing install of BSD), building from source appears to be my only remaining option. And even then, if 8.1 doesn't like my system for whatever reason, I'm toasted.

b) Give up. That's right. If 8.1 isn't going to run on my computer no matter what I do, then I see no point in fighting with this any longer. FreeBSD 7.x is going to atrophy pretty soon, and I don't want to be left with an arrested system.

Could it be the UFS+ file system that my computer can't stand? Can 8.1 be "force fed" into the older standard UFS?

So, there's my situation. Has anyone ever heard of instances where 8.1 simply won't install on a given system? If so, I would like to know how those users handled the situation.

Needless to say, I'm very VERY frustrated, and I am ready to throw in the towel. Any input would be greatly appreciated at this point.


Sidebar: I'm confused that PC-BSD 8.1 (Hubble) failed to install; that distribution will shoehorn itself into just about any machine you can name.
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Old 10th February 2011
RJPugh RJPugh is offline
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<grumble>

Now that I've had a good night's sleep and time to cool off...

Will this code:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ad1 bs=64k count=1

...clean up my problem? I've read accounts of people having trouble with BSD when the file allocation table is cluttered. If this works, then I'll try a clean install of 8.1 again and hope for the best.

My important files are stashed on an external drive, fortunately.
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Old 10th February 2011
J65nko J65nko is online now
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That dd command will clear out the Master Boot Record (MBR), which holds the partition table. That usually helps.
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Old 25th February 2011
RJPugh RJPugh is offline
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Hello again!

I wanted to thank you folks for your suggestions. I did try them, but sadly, nothing worked. I've combed the web left right and center and can't find an explanation for the errors I was receiving. I'm beginning to suspect a firmware issue with my systems mobo.

I successfully installed and ran a version of 7.2-RELEASE, and if need be I'll keep using that. Assuming it still works! I attempted a global port upgrade last night and all kinds of weird things happened. The upgrade crashed at mid-point (outside interference), but I was able to reboot and log in as root in console mode. All of my files and user config files appear to be intact in the usr/home/[me] directory, the fstab mounting table still works, and the guts of the system appear to be intact. That says to me that the mess can be repaired. I tried the global port upgrade again, and when I left for work it was still grinding away. (There are a lot of outdated programs in there!) I'm hoping that when the system finally finishes, all will be back to semi-normal. Or at least to a position I can work from.

But if it isn't, well, since I can still access my files as root, I have the final option of backing up my home directory and starting fresh. Though my experience with 8.1 makes me uneasy at that prospect.

Still, just for laughs, I'm currently downloading 8.2-RELEASE and I'll see if I can upgrade or install that version. I'm also getting PC-BSD 8.2 as a "plan B." My system didn't like 8.1, but who knows, it may be okay with 8.2. I figure what have I got to loose? Worst case scenario I can always fall back on 7.2. Better to have an outdated BSD than no BSD at all, says I.
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Old 25th February 2011
RJPugh RJPugh is offline
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Follow up:

I found, in another BSD forum, that some BIOS systems and mobo firmware sets don't like GPT partitions, which is the 8.1 standard. I remember getting an error message with "GPT" in it somewhere.

FreeBSD 8.2, however, defaults to conventional MBR style partitions, and shouldn't cause these problems. Or at the very least makes them easier to deal with.

Could this be the ultimate cause of the grief I encountered earlier in the month? If so, well, in the immortal words of Shrek:

"Well that explains a lot!"
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