Wish me luck (source level upgrade of FreeBSD box)

[Maladict]

I don't do this very often.  And it's a major version upgrade so more scope for terrible disasters.

Fortunately I haven't migrated anything to this box yet (it's been sat switched off and idle) but I've decided the 2001 vintage 1400MHz Althlon with 512MB of RAM is just too puny now.

I've already downloaded the sources, and compiled the world and the new kernel.  It's time to go single user and start installing it.  What could possibly go wrong?

[Maladict]

Well, I got a bunch of errors from installkernel.  Fine.

When I reboot, I get nothing.  Not even the bios going "beep".  Oh.

Oh well.  I haven't got time to fault diagnose a stone dead PC right now.  I've got as far as removing all the cards, resetting the CMOS, to no avail.  So either the BIOS has become trashed somehow, or something critical has failed.

 

Not got time to fault diagnose a dead PC right now.  So it'll have to wait.

[nuttycyclist]

lol

what's the old saying?   "If it ain't broke don't fix it."   And I don't think "old and original" = "broke" 

[Maladict]

lol

what's the old saying?   "If it ain't broke don't fix it."   And I don't think "old and original" = "broke" 

Hah.   

Well, I had spent some time last night fault finding, got as far as only one RAM module in, no cards of any kind, and I tried a CMOS reset; no joy.

Tonight I took it further, no RAM at all, disconnected both drives, tried a longer CMOS reset cycle.  Tried loosening and reseating the CPU heatsink.  Still no joy.  Then I looked at the BIOS chip.  In its socket.  And I pressed it with my finger; there was that creaking noise you get when a chip realigns itself in a socket.  Ah-hah!  And hey presto, when I press the power button this time I get an annoyed sequence of beeps which I am pretty sure means "where are all my RAM and stuff?"

So tis fixed.

Sockets should be banned.  Having a real BIOS and an emergency backup BIOS chip seems like a more reliable solution like what my Windows PC does.