Acer Aspire X1470 - FreeBSD - 2012 archive

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2012 archive.

2012-08-03: ada0p2 - install EFI shell:

root@kg-vm2# cp -v /home/tingo/dl/Shell.efi /mnt/EFI/shellx64.efi
/home/tingo/dl/Shell.efi -> /mnt/EFI/shellx64.efi

I don't know if it will work. It doesn't show up, let's try to use it as boot loader:

root@kg-vm2# mkdir -p /mnt/EFI/boot
root@kg-vm2# cp -v /mnt/EFI/shellx64.efi /mnt/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi
/mnt/EFI/shellx64.efi -> /mnt/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi

unmount and reboot. It didn't work, either. Lets try the old (1.0) shell:

root@kg-vm2# mount -t msdosfs /dev/ada0p5 /mnt
root@kg-vm2# cp -v /home/tingo/dl/Shell_Full.efi /mnt/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi
/home/tingo/dl/Shell_Full.efi -> /mnt/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi

umount, reboot, test. Nope, that one didn't work either. Crap. After more reading, try to put the shell at the root:

root@kg-vm2# mv /mnt/EFI/shellx64.efi /mnt
root@kg-vm2# ls l /mnt
ls: l: No such file or directory
/mnt:
EFI        shellx64.efi

If that doesn't work, try to boot it next. It didn't work. Now try booting it instead:

root@kg-vm2# mount -t msdosfs /dev/ada0p5 /mnt
root@kg-vm2# mkdir /mnt/boot
root@kg-vm2# ls -l /home/tingo/dl/S*
-rw-r--r--  1 tingo  tingo  847232 May 30 22:10 /home/tingo/dl/Shell.efi
-rw-r--r--  1 tingo  tingo  771072 May 30 11:08 /home/tingo/dl/Shell_Full.efi

copy the old shell:

root@kg-vm2# cp -v /home/tingo/dl/Shell_Full.efi /mnt/boot/bootx64.efi
/home/tingo/dl/Shell_Full.efi -> /mnt/boot/bootx64.efi
root@kg-vm2# umount /mnt

Will it work? Nope, it didn't.

2012-08-03: ada0p2 - Let's try to make an EFI system partition: before change:

root@kg-vm2# gpart show ada0
=>       34  250069613  ada0  GPT  (119G)
         34        128     1  freebsd-boot  (64k)
        162  119537664     2  freebsd-ufs  (57G)
  119537826    8388608     3  freebsd-swap  (4.0G)
  127926434  121634816     4  freebsd-ufs  (58G)
  249561250     508397        - free -  (248M)

Ok, create one:

root@kg-vm2# gpart add -t efi -s 100M ada0
ada0p5 added

show changes:

root@kg-vm2# gpart show ada0
=>       34  250069613  ada0  GPT  (119G)
         34        128     1  freebsd-boot  (64k)
        162  119537664     2  freebsd-ufs  (57G)
  119537826    8388608     3  freebsd-swap  (4.0G)
  127926434  121634816     4  freebsd-ufs  (58G)
  249561250     204800     5  efi  (100M)
  249766050     303597        - free -  (148M)

format it:

root@kg-vm2# newfs_msdos -F32 /dev/ada0p5
newfs_msdos: trim 50 sectors to adjust to a multiple of 63
/dev/ada0p5: 204512 sectors in 12782 FAT32 clusters (8192 bytes/cluster)
BytesPerSec=512 SecPerClust=16 ResSectors=32 FATs=2 Media=0xf0 SecPerTrack=63 Heads=16 HiddenSecs=0 HugeSectors=204750 FATsecs=100 RootCluster=2 FSInfo=1 Backup=2

and now? Let's see what disktype thinks:

root@kg-vm2# disktype /dev/ada0p5

--- /dev/ada0p5
Character device, size 100 MiB (104857600 bytes)
FAT16 file system (hints score 5 of 5)
  Volume size 99.86 MiB (104710144 bytes, 12782 clusters of 8 KiB)

Ok. mount it:

root@kg-vm2# mount -t msdosfs /dev/ada0p5 /mnt
root@kg-vm2# df -h
Filesystem     Size    Used   Avail Capacity  Mounted on
/dev/ada0p2     56G    6.7G     44G    13%    /
devfs          1.0k    1.0k      0B   100%    /dev
/dev/ada0p5     99M     24k     99M     0%    /mnt

looks ok. create a directory:

root@kg-vm2# mkdir -p /mnt/EFI/FreeBSD
root@kg-vm2# ls -l /mnt
total 8
drwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  8192 Aug  3 14:30 EFI
root@kg-vm2# ls -l /mnt/*
total 8
drwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  8192 Aug  3 14:30 FreeBSD

I wonder if that make any difference when booting? No, it did not. I still get: "ERROR: No boot disk has been detected or the disk has failed.". Good, I still need to put a EFI bootloader into that directory.

2012-05-08: ada0p2 - I installed Xfce 4.10 by following instructions from the freebsd-ports mailing list. after the install, things looks like this (ports wise):

root@kg-vm2# make clean
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-wm-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-session-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-panel-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-desktop-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-settings-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for orage-4.8.3
===>  Cleaning for mousepad-0.2.16_8
===>  Cleaning for Terminal-0.4.8
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-appfinder-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-mixer-4.8.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-print-4.6.1_7
===>  Cleaning for squeeze-0.2.3_2
===>  Cleaning for libxfce4menu-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for libxfce4util-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-conf-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for gnupg-2.0.19
===>  Cleaning for garcon-0.2.0
===>  Cleaning for libexo-0.8.0
===>  Cleaning for Thunar-1.4.0
===>  Cleaning for libxfce4gui-4.10.0
===>  Cleaning for libassuan-2.0.2
===>  Cleaning for libksba-1.2.0
===>  Cleaning for pth-2.0.7
===>  Cleaning for curl-7.24.0
===>  Cleaning for xfce4-tumbler-0.1.25
===>  Cleaning for xfce-4.10

startxfce4 works, but there are many missing icons both in panels, and in the menu. That's it.

2012-04-24: ada0p2 - and when testing Xfce as my normal user, using startxfce4 - it works.

2012-04-24: ada0p2 - trying to get Xorg running. The gfx card identifies like so:

root@kg-vm2# pciconf -lv | grep -A 3 vga
vgapci0@pci0:0:1:0:    class=0x030000 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x964a1002 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'ATI Technologies Inc'
    class      = display
    subclass   = VGA
but trying  Xorg -configure  ends with
Abort trap (core dumped)

and /var/log/Xorg.0.log contains:

root@kg-vm2# more /var/log/Xorg.0.log

X.Org X Server 1.7.7
Release Date: 2010-05-04
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
Build Operating System: FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64
Current Operating System: FreeBSD kg-vm2 9.0-STABLE FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE #0: Sat Mar 24 19:39:15 CET 2012     root@kg-vm2:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC amd64
Build Date: 10 April 2012  01:04:02AM

Current version of pixman: 0.24.2
        Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
        to make sure that you have the latest version.
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
        (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
        (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Tue Apr 24 20:08:56 2012
(II) Loader magic: 0x7b73a0
(II) Module ABI versions:
        X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
        X.Org Video Driver: 6.0
        X.Org XInput driver : 7.0
        X.Org Server Extension : 2.0
(--) Using syscons driver with X support (version 2.0)
(--) using VT number 9

(--) PCI:*(0:0:1:0) 1002:964a:1025:061d Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI BeaverCreek [Radeon HD 6530D] rev 0, Mem @ 0xc0000000/268435456, 0xfef00000/262144, I/O @ 0x0000f000/256, BIOS @ 0x????????/65536
List of video drivers:
        radeon
        ati
        vesa
(II) LoadModule: "radeon"
(II) Loading /usr/local/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/radeon_drv.so
(II) Module radeon: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
        compiled for 1.7.7, module version = 6.14.3
        Module class: X.Org Video Driver
        ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 6.0
(II) LoadModule: "ati"
(II) Loading /usr/local/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/ati_drv.so
(II) Module ati: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
        compiled for 1.7.7, module version = 6.14.3
        Module class: X.Org Video Driver
        ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 6.0
(II) LoadModule: "vesa"
(II) Loading /usr/local/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/vesa_drv.so
(II) Module vesa: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
        compiled for 1.7.7, module version = 2.3.0
        Module class: X.Org Video Driver
        ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 6.0
(II) Primary Device is: PCI 00@00:01:0
(II) RADEON: Driver for ATI Radeon chipsets:
        ATI Radeon Mobility X600 (M24) 3150 (PCIE), ATI FireMV 2400 (PCI),
        ATI Radeon Mobility X300 (M24) 3152 (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL M24 GL 3154 (PCIE), ATI FireMV 2400 3155 (PCI),
        ATI Radeon X600 (RV380) 3E50 (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL V3200 (RV380) 3E54 (PCIE), ATI Radeon IGP320 (A3) 4136,
        ATI Radeon IGP330/340/350 (A4) 4137, ATI Radeon 9500 AD (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9500 AE (AGP), ATI Radeon 9600TX AF (AGP),
        ATI FireGL Z1 AG (AGP), ATI Radeon 9800SE AH (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9800 AI (AGP), ATI Radeon 9800 AJ (AGP),
        ATI FireGL X2 AK (AGP), ATI Radeon 9600 AP (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9600SE AQ (AGP), ATI Radeon 9600XT AR (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9600 AS (AGP), ATI FireGL T2 AT (AGP), ATI Radeon 9650,
        ATI FireGL RV360 AV (AGP), ATI Radeon 7000 IGP (A4+) 4237,
        ATI Radeon 8500 AIW BB (AGP), ATI Radeon IGP320M (U1) 4336,
        ATI Radeon IGP330M/340M/350M (U2) 4337,
        ATI Radeon Mobility 7000 IGP 4437, ATI Radeon 9000/PRO If (AGP/PCI),
        ATI Radeon 9000 Ig (AGP/PCI), ATI Radeon X800 (R420) JH (AGP),
        ATI Radeon X800PRO (R420) JI (AGP),
        ATI Radeon X800SE (R420) JJ (AGP), ATI Radeon X800 (R420) JK (AGP),
        ATI Radeon X800 (R420) JL (AGP), ATI FireGL X3 (R420) JM (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9800 (M18) JN (AGP),
        ATI Radeon X800 SE (R420) (AGP), ATI Radeon X800XT (R420) JP (AGP),
        ATI Radeon X800 VE (R420) JT (AGP), ATI Radeon X850 (R480) (AGP),
        ATI Radeon X850 XT (R480) (AGP), ATI Radeon X850 SE (R480) (AGP),
        ATI Radeon X850 PRO (R480) (AGP), ATI Radeon X850 XT PE (R480) (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility M7 LW (AGP),
        ATI Mobility FireGL 7800 M7 LX (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility M6 LY (AGP), ATI Radeon Mobility M6 LZ (AGP),
        ATI FireGL Mobility 9000 (M9) Ld (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 (M9) Lf (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 (M9) Lg (AGP), ATI Radeon 9700 Pro ND (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9700/9500Pro NE (AGP), ATI Radeon 9600TX NF (AGP),
        ATI FireGL X1 NG (AGP), ATI Radeon 9800PRO NH (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9800 NI (AGP), ATI FireGL X2 NK (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9800XT NJ (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9600/9700 (M10/M11) NP (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9600 (M10) NQ (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9600 (M11) NR (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9600 (M10) NS (AGP),
        ATI FireGL Mobility T2 (M10) NT (AGP),
        ATI FireGL Mobility T2e (M11) NV (AGP), ATI Radeon QD (AGP),
        ATI Radeon QE (AGP), ATI Radeon QF (AGP), ATI Radeon QG (AGP),
        ATI FireGL 8700/8800 QH (AGP), ATI Radeon 8500 QL (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9100 QM (AGP), ATI Radeon 7500 QW (AGP/PCI),
        ATI Radeon 7500 QX (AGP/PCI), ATI Radeon VE/7000 QY (AGP/PCI),
        ATI Radeon VE/7000 QZ (AGP/PCI), ATI ES1000 515E (PCI),
        ATI Radeon Mobility X300 (M22) 5460 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon Mobility X600 SE (M24C) 5462 (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL M22 GL 5464 (PCIE), ATI Radeon X800 (R423) UH (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X800PRO (R423) UI (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X800LE (R423) UJ (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X800SE (R423) UK (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X800 XTP (R430) (PCIE), ATI Radeon X800 XL (R430) (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X800 SE (R430) (PCIE), ATI Radeon X800 (R430) (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL V7100 (R423) (PCIE), ATI FireGL V5100 (R423) UQ (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL unknown (R423) UR (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL unknown (R423) UT (PCIE),
        ATI Mobility FireGL V5000 (M26) (PCIE),
        ATI Mobility FireGL V5000 (M26) (PCIE),
        ATI Mobility Radeon X700 XL (M26) (PCIE),
        ATI Mobility Radeon X700 (M26) (PCIE),
        ATI Mobility Radeon X700 (M26) (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X550XTX 5657 (PCIE), ATI Radeon 9100 IGP (A5) 5834,
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9100 IGP (U3) 5835,
        ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 5954 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon XPRESS 200M 5955 (PCIE), ATI Radeon 9250 5960 (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9200 5961 (AGP), ATI Radeon 9200 5962 (AGP),
        ATI Radeon 9200SE 5964 (AGP), ATI FireMV 2200 (PCI),
        ATI ES1000 5969 (PCI), ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 5974 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon XPRESS 200M 5975 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 5A41 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon XPRESS 200M 5A42 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 5A61 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon XPRESS 200M 5A62 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X300 (RV370) 5B60 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X600 (RV370) 5B62 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X550 (RV370) 5B63 (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL V3100 (RV370) 5B64 (PCIE),
        ATI FireMV 2200 PCIE (RV370) 5B65 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9200 (M9+) 5C61 (AGP),
        ATI Radeon Mobility 9200 (M9+) 5C63 (AGP),
        ATI Mobility Radeon X800 XT (M28) (PCIE),
        ATI Mobility FireGL V5100 (M28) (PCIE),
        ATI Mobility Radeon X800 (M28) (PCIE), ATI Radeon X850 5D4C (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X850 XT PE (R480) (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X850 SE (R480) (PCIE), ATI Radeon X850 PRO (R480) (PCIE),
        ATI unknown Radeon / FireGL (R480) 5D50 (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X850 XT (R480) (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X800XT (R423) 5D57 (PCIE),
        ATI FireGL V5000 (RV410) (PCIE), ATI Radeon X700 XT (RV410) (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X700 PRO (RV410) (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X700 SE (RV410) (PCIE), ATI Radeon X700 (RV410) (PCIE),
        ATI Radeon X700 SE (RV410) (PCIE), ATI Radeon X1800,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 XT, ATI Mobility Radeon X1800,
        ATI Mobility FireGL V7200, ATI FireGL V7200, ATI FireGL V5300,
        ATI Mobility FireGL V7100, ATI Radeon X1800, ATI Radeon X1800,
        ATI Radeon X1800, ATI Radeon X1800, ATI Radeon X1800,
        ATI FireGL V7300, ATI FireGL V7350, ATI Radeon X1600, ATI RV505,
        ATI Radeon X1300/X1550, ATI Radeon X1550, ATI M54-GL,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X1400, ATI Radeon X1300/X1550,
        ATI Radeon X1550 64-bit, ATI Mobility Radeon X1300,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X1300, ATI Mobility Radeon X1300,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X1300, ATI Radeon X1300, ATI Radeon X1300,
        ATI RV505, ATI RV505, ATI FireGL V3300, ATI FireGL V3350,
        ATI Radeon X1300, ATI Radeon X1550 64-bit, ATI Radeon X1300/X1550,
        ATI Radeon X1600, ATI Radeon X1300/X1550, ATI Mobility Radeon X1450,
        ATI Radeon X1300/X1550, ATI Mobility Radeon X2300,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X2300, ATI Mobility Radeon X1350,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X1350, ATI Mobility Radeon X1450,
        ATI Radeon X1300, ATI Radeon X1550, ATI Mobility Radeon X1350,
        ATI FireMV 2250, ATI Radeon X1550 64-bit, ATI Radeon X1600,
        ATI Radeon X1650, ATI Radeon X1600, ATI Radeon X1600,
        ATI Mobility FireGL V5200, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600,
        ATI Radeon X1650, ATI Radeon X1650, ATI Radeon X1600,
        ATI Radeon X1300 XT/X1600 Pro, ATI FireGL V3400,
        ATI Mobility FireGL V5250, ATI Mobility Radeon X1700,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X1700 XT, ATI FireGL V5200,
        ATI Mobility Radeon X1700, ATI Radeon X2300HD,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2300, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2300,
        ATI Radeon X1950, ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1950,
        ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1900,
        ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1900,
        ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1900,
        ATI AMD Stream Processor, ATI Radeon X1900, ATI Radeon X1950,
        ATI RV560, ATI RV560, ATI Mobility Radeon X1900, ATI RV560,
        ATI Radeon X1950 GT, ATI RV570, ATI RV570, ATI FireGL V7400,
        ATI RV560, ATI Radeon X1650, ATI Radeon X1650, ATI RV560,
        ATI Radeon 9100 PRO IGP 7834, ATI Radeon Mobility 9200 IGP 7835,
        ATI Radeon X1200, ATI Radeon X1200, ATI Radeon X1200,
        ATI Radeon X1200, ATI Radeon X1200, ATI RS740, ATI RS740M, ATI RS740,
        ATI RS740M, ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT,
        ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, ATI Radeon HD 2900 Pro, ATI Radeon HD 2900 GT,
        ATI FireGL V8650, ATI FireGL V8600, ATI FireGL V7600,
        ATI Radeon 4800 Series, ATI Radeon HD 4870 x2,
        ATI Radeon 4800 Series, ATI Radeon HD 4850 x2,
        ATI FirePro V8750 (FireGL), ATI FirePro V7760 (FireGL),
        ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4850, ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4850 X2,
        ATI Radeon 4800 Series, ATI FirePro RV770, AMD FireStream 9270,
        AMD FireStream 9250, ATI FirePro V8700 (FireGL),
        ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4870, ATI Mobility RADEON M98,
        ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4870, ATI Radeon 4800 Series,
        ATI Radeon 4800 Series, ATI FirePro M7750, ATI M98, ATI M98, ATI M98,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650, ATI Radeon RV730 (AGP),
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670, ATI FirePro M5750,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670, ATI Radeon RV730 (AGP),
        ATI RV730XT [Radeon HD 4670], ATI RADEON E4600,
        ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series, ATI RV730 PRO [Radeon HD 4650],
        ATI FirePro V7750 (FireGL), ATI FirePro V5700 (FireGL),
        ATI FirePro V3750 (FireGL), ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850, ATI FirePro M7740, ATI RV740,
        ATI Radeon HD 4770, ATI Radeon HD 4700 Series, ATI Radeon HD 4770,
        ATI FirePro M5750, ATI RV610, ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT,
        ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro, ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO AGP, ATI FireGL V4000,
        ATI RV610, ATI Radeon HD 2350, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 XT,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400, ATI RADEON E2400, ATI RV610,
        ATI FireMV 2260, ATI RV670, ATI Radeon HD3870,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3850, ATI Radeon HD3850,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3850 X2, ATI RV670,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2,
        ATI Radeon HD3870 X2, ATI FireGL V7700, ATI Radeon HD3850,
        ATI Radeon HD3690, AMD Firestream 9170, ATI Radeon HD 4550,
        ATI Radeon RV710, ATI Radeon RV710, ATI Radeon RV710,
        ATI Radeon HD 4350, ATI Mobility Radeon 4300 Series,
        ATI Mobility Radeon 4500 Series, ATI Mobility Radeon 4500 Series,
        ATI FirePro RG220, ATI Mobility Radeon 4330, ATI RV630,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT,
        ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT AGP, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro AGP,
        ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro, ATI Gemini RV630,
        ATI Gemini Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT, ATI FireGL V5600,
        ATI FireGL V3600, ATI Radeon HD 2600 LE,
        ATI Mobility FireGL Graphics Processor, ATI Radeon HD 3470,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3430, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series,
        ATI Radeon HD 3450, ATI Radeon HD 3450, ATI Radeon HD 3430,
        ATI Radeon HD 3450, ATI FirePro V3700, ATI FireMV 2450,
        ATI FireMV 2260, ATI FireMV 2260, ATI Radeon HD 3600 Series,
        ATI Radeon HD 3650 AGP, ATI Radeon HD 3600 PRO,
        ATI Radeon HD 3600 XT, ATI Radeon HD 3600 PRO,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670,
        ATI Mobility FireGL V5700, ATI Mobility FireGL V5725,
        ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics, ATI Radeon 3100 Graphics,
        ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics, ATI Radeon 3100 Graphics,
        ATI Radeon HD 3300 Graphics, ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics,
        ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics, SUMO, SUMO, SUMO2, SUMO2, SUMO2, SUMO2,
        SUMO, SUMO, SUMO, SUMO, SUMO, ATI Radeon HD 4200, ATI Radeon 4100,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200, ATI Mobility Radeon 4100,
        ATI Radeon HD 4290, ATI Radeon HD 4250, AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics,
        AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics, AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics,
        AMD Radeon HD 6250 Graphics, AMD Radeon HD 6300 Series Graphics,
        AMD Radeon HD 6200 Series Graphics, CYPRESS,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter, AMD Firestream 9370,
        AMD Firestream 9350, ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series,
        ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series, ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series,
        ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series, ATI Radeon HD 5900 Series,
        ATI Radeon HD 5900 Series, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series, ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series,
        ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series, ATI Radeon HD 6700 Series,
        ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series, ATI Radeon HD 6700 Series,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter, ATI Radeon HD 5670,
        ATI Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5500 Series, REDWOOD,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series,
        ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series, ATI Mobility Radeon Graphics,
        ATI Mobility Radeon Graphics, CEDAR,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter,
        ATI FirePro (FireGL) Graphics Adapter, ATI FirePro 2270, CEDAR,
        ATI Radeon HD 5450, CEDAR, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN,
        CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series,
        AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series, CAYMAN, CAYMAN, CAYMAN,
        AMD Radeon HD 6900M Series, Mobility Radeon HD 6000 Series, BARTS,
        BARTS, Mobility Radeon HD 6000 Series,
        Mobility Radeon HD 6000 Series, BARTS, BARTS, BARTS, BARTS,
        AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series, AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series,
        AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS,
        TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, TURKS, CAICOS,
        CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS,
        CAICOS, CAICOS, CAICOS
(II) VESA: driver for VESA chipsets: vesa
(++) Using config file: "/root/xorg.conf.new"
(==) ServerLayout "X.org Configured"
(**) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
(**) |   |-->Monitor "Monitor0"
(**) |   |-->Device "Card0"
(**) |-->Input Device "Mouse0"
(**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard0"
(==) Not automatically adding devices
(==) Not automatically enabling devices
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/misc/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/misc/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/" does not exist.
        Entry deleted from font path.
(**) FontPath set to:
        /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/,
        /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/OTF,
        /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/,
        /usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/OTF
(**) ModulePath set to "/usr/local/lib/xorg/modules"
(II) GPU only supported with KMS, using vesa instead.
Segmentation fault: 11 at address 0x0

Fatal server error:
Caught signal 11 (Segmentation fault: 11). Server aborting


Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
         at http://wiki.x.org
 for help.
Please also check the log file at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information.

But it did produce a xorg.conf.new file, containing the radeon driver. When I do Xorg -config /root/xorg.conf.new I get this in the log file:

(II) GPU only supported with KMS, using vesa instead.
(WW) VGA arbiter: cannot open kernel arbiter, no multi-card support
(II) UnloadModule: "radeon"
(EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.
So what happens if I change the xorg.conf file to use vesa driver?
First I had to install a few ports (twm,xclock, xterm) or startx wouldn't ... start. After that, startx works, and I get this in the X log file:
(II) VESA(0): VESA BIOS detected
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE Version 3.0
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE Total Mem: 16384 kB
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE OEM: AMD ATOMBIOS
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE OEM Software Rev: 12.43
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE OEM Vendor: (C) 1988-2010, AMD Technologies Inc.
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE OEM Product: SUMO
(II) VESA(0): VESA VBE OEM Product Rev: 01.00
..
(==) VESA(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
(==) VESA(0): RGB weight 888
(==) VESA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(==) VESA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
...
(II) VESA(0): Total Memory: 256 64KB banks (16384kB)
(II) VESA(0): Monitor0: Using hsync range of 32.00-91.00 kHz
(II) VESA(0): Monitor0: Using vrefresh range of 58.00-85.00 Hz
(II) VESA(0): Monitor0: Using maximum pixel clock of 160.00 MHz
(WW) VESA(0): Unable to estimate virtual size
...
(--) VESA(0): Virtual size is 1280x1024 (pitch 1280)
(**) VESA(0): *Built-in mode "1280x1024"
(**) VESA(0): *Built-in mode "1152x864"
(**) VESA(0): *Built-in mode "1024x768"
(**) VESA(0): *Built-in mode "800x600"
(**) VESA(0): *Built-in mode "640x480"
(**) VESA(0): Display dimensions: (360, 290) mm
(**) VESA(0): DPI set to (90, 89)
(**) VESA(0): Using "Shadow Framebuffer"
...
(II) VESA(0): Setting up VESA Mode 0x124 (1280x1024)

So that works.

2012-04-09: ada0p2 - testing some old hard drives (I'm using a ide-to-usb adapter). First, A Maxtor 30GB DiamondMax 40 Plus drive. From /var/log/messages: (also, this drive is a bit noisy)

Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: usbd_set_config_index: could not read device status: USB_ERR_SHORT_XFER
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: ugen3.3: <JMicron> at usbus3
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: umass2: <MSC Bulk-Only Transfer> on usbus3
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: umass2:  SCSI over Bulk-Only; quirks = 0x4000
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: umass2:9:2:-1: Attached to scbus9
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: da2 at umass-sim2 bus 2 scbus9 target 0 lun 0
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: da2: <Maxtor 5 3073H6 0SC0> Fixed Direct Access SCSI-2 device
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: da2: 40.000MB/s transfers
Apr  9 20:27:44 kg-vm2 kernel: da2: 28629MB (58633344 512 byte sectors: 255H 63S/T 3649C)

Ok. What does smartctl say?

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -H /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

Cool. Do some tests:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -t offline /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART off-line routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART off-line routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.

No time information? Ok, run the "short" test:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -t short /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.
Please wait 2 minutes for test to complete.
Test will complete after Mon Apr  9 20:43:28 2012

Use smartctl -X to abort test.

and wait until it completes. Well, hard to say if the drive is good or not, the previous tests didn't give a good answer. Second test, an old IBM DeskStar 60 GB, IC35L060AVER07-0 drive, from /var/log/messages (this drive make about the same amount of noise as the Maxtor one):

Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: usbd_set_config_index: could not read device status: USB_ERR_SHORT_XFER
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: ugen3.3: <JMicron> at usbus3
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: umass2: <MSC Bulk-Only Transfer> on usbus3
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: umass2:  SCSI over Bulk-Only; quirks = 0x4000
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: umass2:9:2:-1: Attached to scbus9
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: da2 at umass-sim2 bus 2 scbus9 target 0 lun 0
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: da2: <IC35L060 AVER07-0 A44A> Fixed Direct Access SCSI-2 device
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: da2: 40.000MB/s transfers
Apr  9 21:01:32 kg-vm2 kernel: da2: 58644MB (120103200 512 byte sectors: 255H 63S/T 7476C)

smartctl info:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -H /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
from smartctl -a info section:
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     IBM Deskstar 60GXP
Device Model:     IC35L060AVER07-0
Serial Number:    SZPTZT45777
Firmware Version: ER6OA44A
User Capacity:    61,492,838,400 bytes [61.4 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   5
ATA Standard is:  ATA/ATAPI-5 T13 1321D revision 1
Local Time is:    Mon Apr  9 21:05:38 2012 CEST

==> WARNING: IBM Deskstar 60GXP drives may need upgraded SMART firmware.
Please see http://haque.net/dtla_update/ and
http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-42215.html

testing:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -t offline /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART off-line routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART off-line routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.
Please wait 2042 seconds for test to complete.
Test will complete after Mon Apr  9 21:48:40 2012

Use smartctl -X to abort test.

and result:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -l selftest /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      9927         -

Ok. Now the "short" test:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -t short /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.
Please wait 1 minutes for test to complete.
Test will complete after Mon Apr  9 22:53:48 2012

Use smartctl -X to abort test.

and result:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -l selftest /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     23534         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      9927         -

Nice. Finally, let's look at the error log:

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -l error /dev/da2
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

all good.

2012-04-09: ada0p2 - installing ports: portupgrade, smartmontools (and all the prerequisites). So, after installing portupgrade, I now have 17 ports installed:

root@kg-vm2# pv | wc -l
      17
root@kg-vm2# portversion -v
autoconf-2.68               =  up-to-date with port
autoconf-wrapper-20101119   =  up-to-date with port
automake-1.11.1             =  up-to-date with port
automake-wrapper-20101119   =  up-to-date with port
db41-4.1.25_4               =  up-to-date with port
dmidecode-2.11              =  up-to-date with port
gettext-0.18.1.1            =  up-to-date with port
gmake-3.82                  =  up-to-date with port
help2man-1.40.6             =  up-to-date with port
libiconv-1.13.1_2           =  up-to-date with port
libtool-2.4.2               =  up-to-date with port
m4-1.4.16,1                 =  up-to-date with port
p5-Locale-gettext-1.05_3    =  up-to-date with port
perl-5.12.4_4               =  up-to-date with port
portupgrade-2.4.9.3,2       =  up-to-date with port
ruby-1.8.7.358,1            =  up-to-date with port
ruby18-bdb-0.6.6            =  up-to-date with port

I had dmidecode installed already, so that's an overhead of 15 ports for portupgrade. Let's install smartmontools:

root@kg-vm2# portinstall -R smartmontools

afterwards, set up smartd monitoring:

root@kg-vm2# cp /usr/local/etc/smartd.conf.sample /usr/local/etc/smartd.conf
root@kg-vm2# chmod u+w /usr/local/etc/smartd.conf

and put smartd_enable="YES" into /etc/rc.conf. Then start smartd:

root@kg-vm2# service smartd status
smartd is not running.
root@kg-vm2# service smartd start
Starting smartd.
(pass1:ahcich1:0:0:0): ATA_IDENTIFY. ACB: ec 00 00 00 00 40 00 00 00 00 01 00
(pass1:ahcich1:0:0:0): CAM status: ATA Status Error
(pass1:ahcich1:0:0:0): ATA status: 51 (DRDY SERV ERR), error: 04 (ABRT )
(pass1:ahcich1:0:0:0): RES: 51 04 00 14 eb 40 00 00 00 03 00
root@kg-vm2# service smartd status
smartd is running as pid 36124.

Hmm, funny messages there.

root@kg-vm2# smartctl -H /dev/ada0
smartctl 5.42 2011-10-20 r3458 [FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

At least it looks like smartctl works.

2012-04-02: ada0p4 - FreeBSD 8.3-RC2 first boot. dmesg: normal, verbose. I booted from the usb memory stick again, escaped to the boot prompt and did:

set currdev=disk1p4
unload kernel
load kernel
load ahci
boot -v

and it boots. Cool! A bit more fixing (adding a user and getting the right keys into /etc/ssh) and I can ssh into the machine.

root@kg-vm2# uname -a
FreeBSD kg-vm2 8.3-RC2 FreeBSD 8.3-RC2 #0: Sat Mar 24 16:15:47 UTC 2012     root@mason.cse.buffalo.edu:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC  amd64

That's it.

2012-04-02: ada0p4 - manual install of FreeBSD 8.3-RC. Everything is done from the fixit shell (Fixit#) with the usb distribution mounted on /dist. First I newfs /dev/ada0p4:

Fixit# newfs /dev/ada0p4

then I mount it:

Fixit# mount /dev/ada0p4 /mnt

set the DESTDIR:

Fixit# export DESTDIR=/mnt

Go to the top directory

Fixit# cd /dist/8.3-RC2

install base:

Fixit# cd base; ./install.sh; cd ..
Youe are about to extract the base distribution into /mnt - are you SURE
you want to do this over your installed system (y/n)?

answer yes. Repeat for doc, games, lib32, manpages (I skipped catpages, dict, info, ports and proflibs). Finally, do kernels and src:

Fixit# cd kernels
Fixit# ./install.sh
You must specify which kernel to extract.

Ok

Fixit# ./install.sh generic

That looks wrong. Try it like this:

Fixit# ./install.sh GENERIC
You are about to extract the GENERIC kernel distribution into /mnt/boot/GENERIC - are you SURE
you want to do this over your installed system (y/n)?

answer yes But after thinking a bit, I want kernel instead. redo:

Fixit# ./install.sh kernel
You are about to extract the kernel kernel distribution into /mnt/boot/GENERIC - are you SURE
you want to do this over your installed system (y/n)?
Saving existing /mnt/boot/kernel as /mnt/boot/kernel.sav
cat: kernel.??: No such file or directory

Oh well then. Now, do src:

Fixit# cd ../src
Fixit# ./install.sh
You must specify which components of src to extract
possible subcomponents are:

base bin cddl contrib crypto etc games gnu include krb5
lib libexec release rescue sbin secure share sys tools ubin
usbin

You may also specify all to extract all subcomponents.

Very well:

Fixit# ./install.sh all
Extracting sources into /mnt/usr/src...
  Extracting source component: base
  Extracting source component: bin
  Extracting source component: cddl
  Extracting source component: contrib
  Extracting source component: crypto
  Extracting source component: etc
  Extracting source component: games
  Extracting source component: gnu
  Extracting source component: include
  Extracting source component: krb5
  Extracting source component: lib
  Extracting source component: libexec
  Extracting source component: release
  Extracting source component: rescue
  Extracting source component: sbin
  Extracting source component: secure
  Extracting source component: sys
  Extracting source component: tools
  Extracting source component: ubin
  Extracting source component: usbin
Done extracting sources.

Ok, then it is just the fixing up that remains.

Fixit# cd /mnt/boot
Fixit# mv GENERIC kernel

created /mnt/boot/loader.conf and added ahci_load="YES" to it. Copied /etc/dhclient.conf and /etc/rc.conf from ada0p2. I also copied /etc/fstab, but changed the root line to mount /dev/ada0p4 instead of /dev/ada0p2. Have I forgotten anything?

2012-04-02: I wrote FreeBSD 8.3-RC2 to a usb memory stick with the command:

root@kg-v7# dd if=/home/tingo/dl/FreeBSD-8.3-RC2-amd64-memstick.img of=/dev/da0 bs=10240 conv=sync
dd: /dev/da0: end of device
98561+0 records in
98560+0 records out
1009254400 bytes transferred in 391.763495 secs (2576183 bytes/sec)

Looks like the (1GB) usb memstick is a bit to small. We'll see if that impacts anything or not. Ok, the memory stick boots, and after a device re-scan I can mount the "Fixit" live system from the usb stick. Cool! Let's see, the internal SSD is detected as ad4; not good. Trying to load ahci doesn't change that. Trying to load ataahci says that this is already present in the kernel. But loading ahci from the boot prompt (before the kernel boots) helps a lot. Now the SSD is detected as ada0. Cool! sysinstall still runs fdisk (which doesn't understand GPT partions), so I'll need to do a manual install.

2012-04-01: da1s2 - I booted FreeBSD 9.0-RC1 from slice 2 as well. dmesg output normal, verbose.

root@kg-vm2# uname -a
FreeBSD kg-vm2.kg4.no 9.0-RC1 FreeBSD 9.0-RC1 #0: Thu Nov 24 22:48:50 CET 2011     root@kg-f3.kg4.no:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC  amd64

This drive is MBR partitioned, and the machine boots it without problems, using the boot menu (via F12):

root@kg-vm2# gpart show da1
=>       63  117210177  da1  MBR  (55G)
         63   29350692    1  freebsd  (14G)
   29350755   29360079    2  freebsd  [active]  (14G)
   58710834   58499406       - free -  (27G)
root@kg-vm2# gpart show -p da1
=>       63  117210177    da1  MBR  (55G)
         63   29350692  da1s1  freebsd  (14G)
   29350755   29360079  da1s2  freebsd  [active]  (14G)
   58710834   58499406         - free -  (27G)

So it seems it is just the GPT partitioning this bios has troubles with.

2012-04-01: da1s1 - I booted FreeBSD 8.2-stable from an external drive, connected via a usb to sata adapter. dmesg output: normal, verbose. After fixing /etc/fstab (the internal card reader shows up as da0), /etc/rc.conf (hostname), /etc/dhclient.conf and the host keys in /etc/ssh (I just copied them from /dev/ada0p2) the machine booted nicely into FreeBSD, via the F12 boot menu.

root@kg-vm2# uname -a
FreeBSD kg-vm2.kg4.no 8.2-STABLE FreeBSD 8.2-STABLE #0: Sat Nov  5 01:54:44 CET 2011     root@kg-f3.kg4.no:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC  amd64

2012-03-24: ada0p2 - I updated to FreeBSD 9.0-stable via csup, make world. dmesg output: normal, verbose.

root@kg-vm2# uname -a
FreeBSD kg-vm2 9.0-STABLE FreeBSD 9.0-STABLE #0: Sat Mar 24 19:39:15 CET 2012     root@kg-vm2:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC  amd64
root@kg-vm2# gpart show -p ada0
=>       34  250069613    ada0  GPT  (119G)
         34        128  ada0p1  freebsd-boot  (64k)
        162  119537664  ada0p2  freebsd-ufs  (57G)
  119537826    8388608  ada0p3  freebsd-swap  (4.0G)
  127926434  121634816  ada0p4  freebsd-ufs  (58G)
  249561250     508397          - free -  (248M)

2012-03-24: ada0p2 - FreeBSD 9.0-release installed (even if I can't boot from it automatically). dmesg output: normal, verbose.

root@kg-vm2# uname -a
FreeBSD kg-vm2 9.0-RELEASE FreeBSD 9.0-RELEASE #0: Tue Jan  3 07:46:30 UTC 2012     root@farrell.cse.buffalo.edu:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC  amd64

more info:

root@kg-vm2# pciconf -lv
hostb0@pci0:0:0:0:    class=0x060000 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x17051022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h Processor Root Complex'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
vgapci0@pci0:0:1:0:    class=0x030000 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x964a1002 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'ATI Technologies Inc'
    class      = display
    subclass   = VGA
hdac0@pci0:0:1:1:    class=0x040300 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x17141002 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'ATI Technologies Inc'
    class      = multimedia
    subclass   = HDA
pcib1@pci0:0:7:0:    class=0x060400 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x170c1022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x01
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h Processor Root Port'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = PCI-PCI
xhci0@pci0:0:16:0:    class=0x0c0330 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78121022 rev=0x03 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson USB XHCI Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = USB
xhci1@pci0:0:16:1:    class=0x0c0330 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78121022 rev=0x03 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson USB XHCI Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = USB
ahci0@pci0:0:17:0:    class=0x010601 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78011022 rev=0x40 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson SATA Controller [AHCI mode]'
    class      = mass storage
    subclass   = SATA
ohci0@pci0:0:18:0:    class=0x0c0310 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78071022 rev=0x11 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson USB OHCI Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = USB
ehci0@pci0:0:18:2:    class=0x0c0320 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78081022 rev=0x11 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson USB EHCI Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = USB
ohci1@pci0:0:19:0:    class=0x0c0310 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78071022 rev=0x11 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson USB OHCI Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = USB
ehci1@pci0:0:19:2:    class=0x0c0320 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78081022 rev=0x11 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson USB EHCI Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = USB
none0@pci0:0:20:0:    class=0x0c0500 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x780b1022 rev=0x13 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson SMBus Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = SMBus
hdac1@pci0:0:20:2:    class=0x040300 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x780d1022 rev=0x01 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson Azalia Controller'
    class      = multimedia
    subclass   = HDA
isab0@pci0:0:20:3:    class=0x060100 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x780e1022 rev=0x11 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson LPC Bridge'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = PCI-ISA
pcib2@pci0:0:20:4:    class=0x060401 card=0x00000000 chip=0x780f1022 rev=0x40 hdr=0x01
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson PCI Bridge'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = PCI-PCI
ohci2@pci0:0:20:5:    class=0x0c0310 card=0x061d1025 chip=0x78091022 rev=0x11 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Hudson USB OHCI Controller'
    class      = serial bus
    subclass   = USB
hostb1@pci0:0:24:0:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17001022 rev=0x43 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 0'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
hostb2@pci0:0:24:1:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17011022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 1'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
hostb3@pci0:0:24:2:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17021022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 2'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
hostb4@pci0:0:24:3:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17031022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 3'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
hostb5@pci0:0:24:4:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17041022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 4'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
hostb6@pci0:0:24:5:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17181022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 6'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
hostb7@pci0:0:24:6:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17161022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 5'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
hostb8@pci0:0:24:7:    class=0x060000 card=0x00000000 chip=0x17191022 rev=0x00 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]'
    device     = 'Family 12h/14h Processor Function 7'
    class      = bridge
    subclass   = HOST-PCI
re0@pci0:1:0:0:    class=0x020000 card=0x80001025 chip=0x816810ec rev=0x06 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.'
    device     = 'RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet

even more info. I installed a ports tree, by using portsnap fetch:

root@kg-vm2# portsnap fetch
Looking up portsnap.FreeBSD.org mirrors... 5 mirrors found.
Fetching public key from portsnap1.FreeBSD.org... done.
Fetching snapshot tag from portsnap1.FreeBSD.org... done.
Fetching snapshot metadata... done.
Fetching snapshot generated at Sat Mar 24 01:11:05 CET 2012:
44aebb747c3d4a4b31e71b5a39b87313b9048edb68366f100% of   66 MB  902 kBps 00m00s
Extracting snapshot... done.
Verifying snapshot integrity... done.
Fetching snapshot tag from portsnap1.FreeBSD.org... done.
Fetching snapshot metadata... done.
Updating from Sat Mar 24 01:11:05 CET 2012 to Sat Mar 24 16:35:59 CET 2012.
Fetching 4 metadata patches... done.
Applying metadata patches... done.
Fetching 0 metadata files... done.
Fetching 9 patches..... done.
Applying patches... done.
Fetching 0 new ports or files... done.
and portsnap extract:
...
/usr/ports/x11/yelp/
/usr/ports/x11/zenity/
Building new INDEX files... done.

After that I installed sysutils/dmidecode and ran it:

root@kg-vm2# dmidecode
# dmidecode 2.11
SMBIOS 2.7 present.
30 structures occupying 1644 bytes.
Table at 0x000EB390.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes
BIOS Information
    Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
    Version: P01-A4
    Release Date: 12/20/2011
    Address: 0xF0000
    Runtime Size: 64 kB
    ROM Size: 2048 kB
    Characteristics:
        PCI is supported
        APM is supported
        BIOS is upgradeable
        BIOS shadowing is allowed
        Boot from CD is supported
        Selectable boot is supported
        BIOS ROM is socketed
        EDD is supported
        5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
        3.5"/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
        3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
        Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
        Serial services are supported (int 14h)
        Printer services are supported (int 17h)
        ACPI is supported
        USB legacy is supported
        BIOS boot specification is supported
        Targeted content distribution is supported
        UEFI is supported
    BIOS Revision: 4.6

Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
    Manufacturer: Acer
    Product Name: Aspire X1470
    Version:        
    Serial Number: PTSJFE2004201094529200
    UUID: 3C410FF8-5795-1220-0106-173616000000
    Wake-up Type: Power Switch
    SKU Number: 
    Family: Acer Desktop

Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 15 bytes
Base Board Information
    Manufacturer: Acer
    Product Name: Aspire X1470
    Version:        
    Serial Number:                      
    Asset Tag: To be filled by O.E.M.
    Features:
        Board is a hosting board
        Board is replaceable
    Location In Chassis: To be filled by O.E.M.
    Chassis Handle: 0x0003
    Type: Motherboard
    Contained Object Handles: 0

Handle 0x0003, DMI type 3, 22 bytes
Chassis Information
    Manufacturer: Acer
    Type: Desktop
    Lock: Not Present
    Version:        
    Serial Number:                      
    Asset Tag:                      
    Boot-up State: Safe
    Power Supply State: Safe
    Thermal State: Safe
    Security Status: None
    OEM Information: 0x00000000
    Height: Unspecified
    Number Of Power Cords: 1
    Contained Elements: 0
    SKU Number: To be filled by O.E.M.

Handle 0x0004, DMI type 9, 17 bytes
System Slot Information
    Designation: PCIE#1
    Type: x16 PCI Express 2 x16
    Current Usage: Available
    Length: Long
    ID: 0
    Characteristics:
        3.3 V is provided
        Opening is shared
        PME signal is supported
    Bus Address: 0000:ab:01.0

Handle 0x0005, DMI type 9, 17 bytes
System Slot Information
    Designation: PCIE#2
    Type: x1 PCI Express 2 x1
    Current Usage: Available
    Length: Short
    ID: 1
    Characteristics:
        3.3 V is provided
        Opening is shared
        PME signal is supported
    Bus Address: 0000:bf:1c.3

Handle 0x0006, DMI type 10, 14 bytes
On Board Device 1 Information
    Type: Video
    Status: Enabled
    Description: Onboard ATI Graphics
On Board Device 2 Information
    Type: Ethernet
    Status: Enabled
    Description: Onboard Realtek LAN
On Board Device 3 Information
    Type: Sound
    Status: Enabled
    Description: Onboard Realtek HD Audio Device
On Board Device 4 Information
    Type: SATA Controller
    Status: Enabled
    Description: ATI SATA Controller
On Board Device 5 Information
    Type: Other
    Status: Enabled
    Description: USB 3.0 Controller

Handle 0x0007, DMI type 11, 5 bytes
OEM Strings
    String 1: AMD A75

Handle 0x0008, DMI type 12, 5 bytes
System Configuration Options
    Option 1: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

Handle 0x0009, DMI type 16, 23 bytes
Physical Memory Array
    Location: System Board Or Motherboard
    Use: System Memory
    Error Correction Type: None
    Maximum Capacity: 16 GB
    Error Information Handle: Not Provided
    Number Of Devices: 4

Handle 0x000A, DMI type 19, 31 bytes
Memory Array Mapped Address
    Starting Address: 0x00000000000
    Ending Address: 0x003FFFFFFFF
    Range Size: 16 GB
    Physical Array Handle: 0x0009
    Partition Width: 255

Handle 0x000B, DMI type 17, 34 bytes
Memory Device
    Array Handle: 0x0009
    Error Information Handle: Not Provided
    Total Width: 64 bits
    Data Width: 64 bits
    Size: 4096 MB
    Form Factor: DIMM
    Set: None
    Locator: DIMM1
    Bank Locator: BANK1
    Type: DDR3
    Type Detail: Synchronous
    Speed: 1333 MHz
    Manufacturer: Kingston      
    Serial Number: 863ACF47 
    Asset Tag:                      
    Part Number: KHX1600C9D3/4GX      
    Rank: 2
    Configured Clock Speed: 667 MHz

Handle 0x000C, DMI type 20, 35 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
    Starting Address: 0x00000000000
    Ending Address: 0x000FFFFFFFF
    Range Size: 4 GB
    Physical Device Handle: 0x0011
    Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x000A
    Partition Row Position: <OUT OF SPEC>
    Interleave Position: Unknown
    Interleaved Data Depth: Unknown

Handle 0x000D, DMI type 17, 34 bytes
Memory Device
    Array Handle: 0x0009
    Error Information Handle: Not Provided
    Total Width: 64 bits
    Data Width: 64 bits
    Size: 4096 MB
    Form Factor: DIMM
    Set: None
    Locator: DIMM2
    Bank Locator: BANK2
    Type: DDR3
    Type Detail: Synchronous
    Speed: 1333 MHz
    Manufacturer: Kingston      
    Serial Number: 8A39E841 
    Asset Tag:                      
    Part Number: KHX1600C9D3/4GX      
    Rank: 2
    Configured Clock Speed: 667 MHz

Handle 0x000E, DMI type 20, 35 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
    Starting Address: 0x00100000000
    Ending Address: 0x001FFFFFFFF
    Range Size: 4 GB
    Physical Device Handle: 0x000D
    Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x000A
    Partition Row Position: <OUT OF SPEC>
    Interleave Position: Unknown
    Interleaved Data Depth: Unknown

Handle 0x000F, DMI type 17, 34 bytes
Memory Device
    Array Handle: 0x0009
    Error Information Handle: Not Provided
    Total Width: 64 bits
    Data Width: 64 bits
    Size: 4096 MB
    Form Factor: DIMM
    Set: None
    Locator: DIMM3
    Bank Locator: BANK3
    Type: DDR3
    Type Detail: Synchronous
    Speed: 1333 MHz
    Manufacturer: Kingston      
    Serial Number: 883ACB47 
    Asset Tag:                      
    Part Number: KHX1600C9D3/4GX      
    Rank: 2
    Configured Clock Speed: 667 MHz

Handle 0x0010, DMI type 20, 35 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
    Starting Address: 0x00200000000
    Ending Address: 0x002FFFFFFFF
    Range Size: 4 GB
    Physical Device Handle: 0x000F
    Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x000A
    Partition Row Position: <OUT OF SPEC>
    Interleave Position: Unknown
    Interleaved Data Depth: Unknown

Handle 0x0011, DMI type 17, 34 bytes
Memory Device
    Array Handle: 0x0009
    Error Information Handle: Not Provided
    Total Width: 64 bits
    Data Width: 64 bits
    Size: 4096 MB
    Form Factor: DIMM
    Set: None
    Locator: DIMM4
    Bank Locator: BANK4
    Type: DDR3
    Type Detail: Synchronous
    Speed: 1333 MHz
    Manufacturer: Kingston      
    Serial Number: 8C394542 
    Asset Tag:                      
    Part Number: KHX1600C9D3/4GX      
    Rank: 2
    Configured Clock Speed: 667 MHz

Handle 0x0012, DMI type 20, 35 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
    Starting Address: 0x00300000000
    Ending Address: 0x003FFFFFFFF
    Range Size: 4 GB
    Physical Device Handle: 0x000B
    Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x000A
    Partition Row Position: <OUT OF SPEC>
    Interleave Position: Unknown
    Interleaved Data Depth: Unknown

Handle 0x0013, DMI type 24, 5 bytes
Hardware Security
    Power-On Password Status: Disabled
    Keyboard Password Status: Not Implemented
    Administrator Password Status: Disabled
    Front Panel Reset Status: Not Implemented

Handle 0x0014, DMI type 32, 20 bytes
System Boot Information
    Status: No errors detected

Handle 0x0015, DMI type 41, 11 bytes
Onboard Device
    Reference Designation: Onboard ATI Graphics
    Type: Video
    Status: Enabled
    Type Instance: 1
    Bus Address: f000:01:00.0

Handle 0x0016, DMI type 41, 11 bytes
Onboard Device
    Reference Designation: Onboard Realtek LAN
    Type: Ethernet
    Status: Enabled
    Type Instance: 1
    Bus Address: f000:03:00.0

Handle 0x0017, DMI type 41, 11 bytes
Onboard Device
    Reference Designation: Onboard Realtek HD Audio Device
    Type: Sound
    Status: Enabled
    Type Instance: 1
    Bus Address: f000:00:0e.2

Handle 0x0018, DMI type 41, 11 bytes
Onboard Device
    Reference Designation: ATI SATA Controller
    Type: SATA Controller
    Status: Enabled
    Type Instance: 1
    Bus Address: f000:00:0b.0

Handle 0x0019, DMI type 41, 11 bytes
Onboard Device
    Reference Designation: USB 3.0 Controller
    Type: Other
    Status: Enabled
    Type Instance: 1
    Bus Address: f000:00:0a.0

Handle 0x001A, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
    Socket Designation: L2 CACHE
    Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2
    Operational Mode: Write Back
    Location: Internal
    Installed Size: 4096 kB
    Maximum Size: 4096 kB
    Supported SRAM Types:
        Pipeline Burst
    Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
    Speed: 1 ns
    Error Correction Type: Multi-bit ECC
    System Type: Unified
    Associativity: 16-way Set-associative

Handle 0x001B, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
    Socket Designation: L1 CACHE
    Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1
    Operational Mode: Write Back
    Location: Internal
    Installed Size: 512 kB
    Maximum Size: 512 kB
    Supported SRAM Types:
        Pipeline Burst
    Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
    Speed: 1 ns
    Error Correction Type: Multi-bit ECC
    System Type: Unified
    Associativity: 2-way Set-associative

Handle 0x001D, DMI type 4, 42 bytes
Processor Information
    Socket Designation: P0
    Type: Central Processor
    Family: Other
    Manufacturer: AMD
    ID: 10 0F 30 00 FF FB 8B 17
    Version: AMD A6-3620 APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
    Voltage: 1.3 V
    External Clock: 100 MHz
    Max Speed: 2200 MHz
    Current Speed: 2200 MHz
    Status: Populated, Enabled
    Upgrade: Other
    L1 Cache Handle: 0x001B
    L2 Cache Handle: 0x001A
    L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided
    Serial Number: Not Specified
    Asset Tag: Not Specified
    Part Number: Not Specified
    Core Count: 4
    Core Enabled: 4
    Thread Count: 4
    Characteristics:
        64-bit capable

Handle 0x001E, DMI type 127, 4 bytes
End Of Table

That's it.

2012-03-24: ada0p2 - I upgraded the bios to the latest available (see main page), too see if that fixes any boot problems. It does not. The bios still reports "ERROR: No boot disk has been detected or the disk has failed." when I try to boot from the SSD. I still can boot it via the install usb stick, by interrupting the boot loader, setting currdev to disk1p2 (set currdev=disk1p2:), unload the kernel and loading it again (load /boot/kernel/kernel, boot).

2012-03-24: ada0p2 - after the install, the machine refused to boot from the hard drive. I booted from the usb stick again, fiddled with the boot menu until I got a mountroot prompt and set mount root to ufs:/dev/ada0p2, which booted from my slice. Nice! Then I did:

kg-vm2# gpart bootcode -b /boot/pmbr -p /boot/gptboot -i 1 ada0
bootcode written to ada0

Will that fix it? Nope, I still get "ERROR: No boot disk has been detected or the disk has failed." From the BIOS. I use F12, and select "EFI: M4-CT128M4SSD2" and get the same error. Crap.

2012-03-24: install FreeBSD 9.0. I used "F12" to display the boot menu and boot from the usb stick. Played around a bit in the livecd, most things seem to be detected properly, so I'm just going to install FreeBSD 9.0 now. Selected Norwegian keyboard layout, named the machine "kg-vm2". I used guided partitioning, deleted the suggested partitions, created a 57GB partition for / (root), 4 GB for swap, and another 58 GB for future use. The disk (SSD) is gpt-partitioned. The new installer allowed me to select services to be started at boot, I selected sshd, moused and ntpd. I also enabled crashdumps. Added a user (no provision for setting up own groups in the installer).

2012-03-24: I wrote FreeBSD 9.0-release to a usb memory stick (1 GB, da4: Removable Direct Access SCSI-2 device) with the command:

root@kg-v7# dd if=/home/tingo/dl/FreeBSD-9.0-RELEASE-amd64-memstick.img of=/dev/da0 bs=10240 conv=sync
66963+1 records in
66964+0 records out
685711360 bytes transferred in 265.565451 secs (2582080 bytes/sec)