• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Problem with FreeBSD 6.1 install

Chaotic42

Chaotic42

Lifer
I installed the FreeBSD 6.1 system, booting from the CDs then installing over the net.

When I try to install "base" or anything else, I get an error saying "write failure on transfer! Transfered -1 of...."

I've been looking around on the internet for some solutions, but people just seem to recommend "Try it again". Right. Obviously I've done that.

Has anyone encountered this problem? Could the hard drive be corrupt?
 
CD, FTP, you name it.

I found that other people were having problems, and FreeBSD is aware, but nothing has been done since May. Here's a link: Link

I really hope that this is something on my end, because if it's an issue with FreeBSD itself and it's been out there, not being acted on for 2 months... That doesn't speak well for FreeBSD in my mind. Maybe I'm just pissy though.

I might try OpenBSD. I just need a *nix OS at home that can use a wireless network card.
 
I might try OpenBSD. I just need a *nix OS at home that can use a wireless network card.
Click to expand...

Well, Any of the Nix's can use a wireless network card. Some may require that you use windows drivers and NDISWrapper though.

pcgeek11
 
Have you checked memory? Cabling?
Download the cd iso, and check the md5 hash.

I can't remember if I have 6 or 6.1 installed in VMWare at work, but it worked just fine for me.
 
Originally posted by: pcgeek11
I might try OpenBSD. I just need a *nix OS at home that can use a wireless network card.
Click to expand...

Well, Any of the Nix's can use a wireless network card. Some may require that you use windows drivers and NDISWrapper though.

pcgeek11
Click to expand...

That's dirty.
 
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Originally posted by: pcgeek11
I might try OpenBSD. I just need a *nix OS at home that can use a wireless network card.
Click to expand...

Well, Any of the Nix's can use a wireless network card. Some may require that you use windows drivers and NDISWrapper though.

pcgeek11
Click to expand...

That's dirty.
Click to expand...

It may be dirty, but it does in fact work, and may be required IF they already have an unsupported wireless chipset and do not want to buy another...

pcgeek11

 
Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
Sry, never had experience with any of the bsds. Why not try linux?
Click to expand...

Because Linux has craptastic wireless support.
Click to expand...

Why would you say that?
Click to expand...

Because it's true.

What's the official wireless layer in the kernel? The BSDs have net80211, what does Linux have?

What wireless chipsets are supported in a vanilla kernel?
 
Originally posted by: pcgeek11
It may be dirty, but it does in fact work, and may be required IF they already have an unsupported wireless chipset and do not want to buy another...

pcgeek11
Click to expand...

The proper solution is to buy a good wireless card. Anything else is a hack and won't be worth it.
 
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
Sry, never had experience with any of the bsds. Why not try linux?
Click to expand...

Because Linux has craptastic wireless support.
Click to expand...

Why would you say that?
Click to expand...

Because it's true.

What's the official wireless layer in the kernel? The BSDs have net80211, what does Linux have?

What wireless chipsets are supported in a vanilla kernel?
Click to expand...

Everyone's pretty much moving to devicescape.

All the ones listed in the chart here plus broadcom, ti, and zydas so I've seen.
 
Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
Everyone's pretty much moving to devicescape.
Click to expand...

Cool, they finally settled on one.

All the ones listed in the chart here plus broadcom, ti, and zydas so I've seen.
Click to expand...

They must be using the atheros driver based on OpenBSD's open hal then, the non-free one would never make it into the kernel.
 
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
They must be using the atheros driver based on OpenBSD's open hal then, the non-free one would never make it into the kernel.
Click to expand...

Also new in OpenBSD 3.7 is the ath driver for the Atheros chipsets, an effort led by Reyk Floeter. Reyk originally began working on an Atheros driver for Linux, an effort that earned him threats by Atheros Communications. He notes, "I discontinued working on any WLAN drivers for Linux for several reasons. It's mostly because I got excited about OpenBSD ;-)." Later, Sam Leffler, an Atheros Communications employee at the time, developed a FreeBSD ath driver that links to a binary-only HAL object. Atheros refused to open the binary file, so through much dedicated effort Reyk reversed engineered it. The new ath driver in OpenBSD began with merging Sam's original efforts with Reyk's reverse engineered binary object, although work is currently being done to simplify the whole thing, possible now that the binary object has been reverse engineered.
Click to expand...

- M4H
 
I only see a small handfull of drivers in the kernel source...

No:
atheros
admtek
ralink
realtek

EDIT: Am I looking in the wrong place for these drivers or are they just not there?
 
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
I only see a small handfull of drivers in the kernel source...

No:
atheros
admtek
ralink
realtek

EDIT: Am I looking in the wrong place for these drivers or are they just not there?
Click to expand...

All of those are supported in the kernel except for atheros (they're code is gpl/bsd, but their hal is binary), but is still shipped with most distributions. Every other one you said is shipped with the kernel. And with other chipsets like I mentioned above supported, its not exactly craptastic. They're there.
 
Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
I only see a small handfull of drivers in the kernel source...

No:
atheros
admtek
ralink
realtek

EDIT: Am I looking in the wrong place for these drivers or are they just not there?
Click to expand...

All of those are supported in the kernel except for atheros (they're code is gpl/bsd, but their hal is binary), but is still shipped with most distributions. Every other one you said is shipped with the kernel. And with other chipsets like I mentioned above supported, its not exactly craptastic. They're there.
Click to expand...

Where? I downloaded the kernel, looked in the source, and those are the ones I didn't find. Please give me the location of the drivers. Thanks a bunch! 🙂
 
Wassa?

I've been trying to read this thread and I've not figured it out yet.

Where? I downloaded the kernel, looked in the source, and those are the ones I didn't find. Please give me the location of the drivers. Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...

The Linux kernel? I am confused because the link he posted to you was about openbsd wireless support, but you seem to be talking about Linux stuff.

The Linux developers dropped the ball on wireless support. It wasn't until a few months ago until they realy figured out that wireless cards need to be treated like new seperate devices rather then just ethernet adapters that were more complicated then normal ones.

The intel-based 80211 stack turned out not to be good for a whole class of wireless cards. Devicescape has developed their own kernel stuff on the side for some time now and is quite advanced.

For 802.11g cards there is support for Prism54 (pure hardware versions), some Intel stuff, and Broadcom 43xx cards (using softmac + intel 80211 stack) in the kernel right now. That's what I know most about, I could be missing a couple. The rest is out of vanilla kernel. There is a wireless-dev branch of the kernel now. That branch incorporates the devicescape stack and the devicespace version of broadcom wireless. Probably has ralink rt2x00 drivers, the newest versions have their own CVS though.. the ralink developers are also working with the devicescape stuff. Changes they do in their cvs is then added to the wireless-dev kernel for further testing. The rt2x00 also supporting the rt2610 and rt2750 or whatever new setuff ralink is producing. This is just off the top of my head so it's not entirely accurate.

Otherwise this page has pretty up to date information on various drivers.
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tou...x/Linux.Wireless.drivers.802.11ag.html
 
Originally posted by: drag
Wassa?

I've been trying to read this thread and I've not figured it out yet.
Click to expand...

We've veered off thanks to trolls posting about using Linux instead of addressing the problem. Just wasting time waiting on Chaotic42 to post again with any more information. 😉

The Linux kernel? I am confused because the link he posted to you was about openbsd wireless support, but you seem to be talking about Linux stuff.
Click to expand...

I said Linux's wireless support is craptastic, SleepWalkerX posted an OLD link (OpenBSD 3.7, OVER A YEAR OLD AT THIS POINT) displaying OpenBSD's (then) current wireless support. He said that Linux supports all of those and more (I'm guessing he means now as opposed to then, and despite the fact that several people seem to think Linux is falling behind).

I downloaded the current Linux kernel and looked for those drivers. They were not in there as far as I can tell, but I wouldn't mind someone telling me where they are now (as opposed to drivers/net/wireless).

The Linux developers dropped the ball on wireless support. It wasn't until a few months ago until they realy figured out that wireless cards need to be treated like new seperate devices rather then just ethernet adapters that were more complicated then normal ones.

The intel-based 80211 stack turned out not to be good for a whole class of wireless cards. Devicescape has developed their own kernel stuff on the side for some time now and is quite advanced.

For 802.11g cards there is support for Prism54 (pure hardware versions), some Intel stuff, and Broadcom 43xx cards (using softmac + intel 80211 stack) in the kernel right now. That's what I know most about, I could be missing a couple. The rest is out of vanilla kernel. There is a wireless-dev branch of the kernel now. That branch incorporates the devicescape stack and the devicespace version of broadcom wireless. Probably has ralink rt2x00 drivers, the newest versions have their own CVS though.. the ralink developers are also working with the devicescape stuff. Changes they do in their cvs is then added to the wireless-dev kernel for further testing. The rt2x00 also supporting the rt2610 and rt2750 or whatever new setuff ralink is producing. This is just off the top of my head so it's not entirely accurate.

Otherwise this page has pretty up to date information on various drivers.
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tou...x/Linux.Wireless.drivers.802.11ag.html
Click to expand...

Like I said, Linux wireless support is craptastic. 🙂
 
I expect it's a difference of perspective.
You are looking at it from 'linux support' as drivers supported by the vanilla kernel.
He is looking at it from the perspective were you can supported drivers for the Linux kernel, along with included-by-default.

I suppose if the original poster wants a 'unix' with good wifi support then OpenBSD is the logical choice.

Although I think that most of the *BSDs are nice, between Linux being faster and having better support (in terms of programs you'd regularly find on all 3 systems) then FreeBSD.. and OpenBSD's stability, cohesiveness, and superior default setup then FreeBSD is not that interesting of a choice.
 
Originally posted by: drag
I expect it's a difference of perspective.
You are looking at it from 'linux support' as drivers supported by the vanilla kernel.
He is looking at it from the perspective were you can supported drivers for the Linux kernel, along with included-by-default.
Click to expand...

If they're not good enough to make it into the kernel... 😉
 
If they're not good enough to make it into the kernel...
Click to expand...

That's part of the problem, some of them (like the RaLink ones) were released from the hardware company under the GPL but the quality of the code was terrible and needs to be reworked before it can be put in the kernel. For instance the rt2500 driver had problems with SMP that would cause it to hard lock the machine after a few minutes of use that were only fixed within the past 2 months or so.
 
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Originally posted by: drag
Wassa?

I've been trying to read this thread and I've not figured it out yet.
Click to expand...

We've veered off thanks to trolls posting about using Linux instead of addressing the problem. Just wasting time waiting on Chaotic42 to post again with any more information. 😉
Click to expand...

Sorry, the chipset heatsink fell off of my main system, and I've been trying to get it fixed. 🙂

I haven't really messed with the BSD system for a few days. It seems stable, the error only happens when I'm getting the "base" package. Everything else seems to work fine. I haven't had time to mess with the kernel much though.

As far as linux goes, I'm trying to diversify.

I should mention that I need SMP support. IIRC, OpenBSD didn't have SMP support last time I checked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top