[nycbug-talk] freebsd and gpt

[Isaac Levy]

On Dec 19, 2008, at 2:06 AM, Andy Kosela wrote:

> On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 12:46 AM, Alex Pilosov <alex at pilosoft.com>  
> wrote:
>> Freebsd sysinstall doesn't support GPT? Freebsd loader in 7.0 doesn't
>> support booting off GPT partition?
>
>> From 6.4-RELEASE announcement:
> - boot loader changes allow, among other things, booting from USB
> devices and booting from GPT-labeled devices with GPT-enabled BIOSes.
>
> So it seems FreeBSD *has* the ability to boot off GPT, although
> personally I did not test it.

Yes- FreeBSD absolutely has the ability to boot off GPT.  However, the  
FreeBSD installer software, indeed does not yet recognize GPT.

I submitted a PR about it just now- it'll be up in the system soon if  
not yet,
http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=129762

This way someone will get around to fixing sysinstall, so newbies can  
install on harddrives larger than 2TB.  It'll hopefully (likely) get  
dealt with before > 2TB SATA drives hit the street...

--
Alex- while I know you like to stab, and I like to brawl with you ;)   
Wining about the problem however is a bit inane, (a UNIX veteran like  
yourself can deal with gpt(8) man page etc... and get it installed).   
Or even, you can use the MBR hack, (necessary for BIOS based machines!)

However, your problem is extremely valid- in 2 cases:
- if you are trying to install on a volume greater than 2TB
(currently not a task for newbies, or even most users)
- if you have a machine with GPT already installed via Linux or other OS

--
(Dreamy mumble- BTW what the heck am I doing here?  Rewarding the  
*stabs* with a PR?  Should I run a box of holiday cookies by Pilosoft  
this AM to boot?  /me slaps self)  Alex: no need to stab so rude when  
posting, please.

Rocket-
.ike