Re: cannot create partition entries for /dev/ad3

Derek Ragona wrote:

>If you read the early adopters doc at:

>http://www.freebsd.org/releases/5.1R/early-adopter.html

>You will se it clearly says:
>"MAKEDEV is no longer available, nor is it required. FreeBSD 5.X uses a 
>device filesystem, which automatically creates device nodes on demand. For 
>more information, please see 
><http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=devfs&sektion=5&manpath=FreeBSD+5.1-release>devfs(5) <http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=devfs&sektion=5&manpath=FreeBSD+5.1-release%3Edevfs%285%29>"

I read that too. That appears to be just about all the information about the new devfs that there is,
short of reading the source code.

Here is the result of clicking on that "more information" link:

"


  FreeBSD Hypertext Man Pages <http://www.FreeBSD.org>

*/Man Page or Keyword Search:/*
Man <http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=man&sektion=1&apropos=0>
Apropos 
<http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=apropos&sektion=1&apropos=0> 
Keyword Search (all sections) Output format

Index Page and Help 
<http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?manpath=FreeBSD+4.8-RELEASE> |FAQ 
<http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi/faq.html> |Copyright 
<http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi/copyright.html>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry, no data found for `devfs(5)'. You may look for other FreeBSD 
Search Services <http://www.freebsd.org/search/>.

"

That's a bit unfair, perhaps; the result shows 4.8-RELEASE selected. But that's what the link does.

>Any new version of an OS, particularly a free one, as FreeBSD is, will have 
>issues.  Particularly with the recent rapidity of new hardware, SATA 
>drives, SATA card, RAID cards, etc.

The disks I'm dealing with are all well-known entirely standard IDE drives.

>There are places to "purchase" copies of FreeBSD other than CompUSA where 
>you can get 4.X or 5.X versions.  Or you can download and burn your own 
>CD's.  You sound upset that you bought FreeBSD, if you are be upset perhaps 
>you should be with CompUSA who made the money off the sale.

I was being rhetorical. I am chiding PHK for suggesting that the fix for my problem
is to backstep the OS version - because that implies that 5.X should be recalled
off the shelves. The book (FreeBSD Companion) included with the boxed version
will still not be aware of version 5's lack of a MAKEDEV, and so Mr & Mrs. Smith
who walk in and buy 5.1 and try to do what the book says to do will be sorely
disappointed. The books will catch up in their glacial way, but in the meantime
I'd like to be able to read something about the operation of this new mechanism
that will help me understand what is most likely wrong in my system.

Poul says, maybe just stay with 4.8 until you have read the documentation.
I asked, what documentation?

Well, what documentation? Somebody somewhere, even if only in an email, will have described
how the new devfs mechanism obviates the need for MAKEDEV. Maybe my 5.0 /is/ sick,
but I suspect not. I booted with ad3 being an already-formatted disk from another system
and the only ad3 entry in /dev/ is /dev/ad3. No /dev/ad3s1 or any other entry. I added
"device bktr" and "device pcm" into the kernel config file and the devices are physically there,
but /dev/bktr0 doesn't exist either. So I wonder what MANUAL operation I can perform
to fix the problems. I am entirely willing to read anything that will inform me what
revised protocol goes on with this stuff so I can tell what I'll need to do to get over
this hump.