Re: https://github.com/pftf/RPi4 unusable for FreeBSD since at least Sept 2023

Hi Mark,

On Fri, 19 Jan 2024, at 18:34, Mark Millard wrote:

> I gather this was during the bsdinstall run, not
> during a RPi* boot attempt.

yes

>> 2. I tried latest 14-stable
>
> Do you mean an official snapshot of 14-stable dd'd to media?
> Otherwise what was done is unclear: unable to know what to
> do to try replicating the problem.

Yes. All images used were official ones either -release or -snapshot.

> FreeBSD does not handle the bounce buffers correctly when
> UEFI/ACPI is used. Only U-Boot is officially supported.
> Ignoring other currently existing problems with booting
> UEFI/ACPI, even if/when it boots, the file system I/O is
> subject to random corruptions from the mishandling.
> (Sufficiently large file use can make the existence of
> some corruptions reliable, but where varies.)
>
> To have a reliable RPi* system that is unpatched, avoid any
> form of UEFI with ACPI, including EDK2.

I didn't realise at the time EDK2 was explicitly UEFI. I was sure to select
FDT from its TUI. I also didn't know if ACPI is being used. How would I tell?

I want the system to always run headless and reliably, and am not concerned
or knowledgable enough to differentiate 'legacy' or 'uefi', as long as 
the system works and is accessible via serial console. 

> I suggest checking on bootability via official snapshots
> dd'd to media. If that works, then smeothing more specific
> is going on for the other forms of producing media that are
> being tried.

I suspect my complete failure to boot is down to a layer 8 problem.

The initial problem I sought to address was why, on a current snapshot, the
boot went to tftp first, see 
https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-arm/2024-January/003487.html

The situation I now have is 14-stable booting with 13.1-R msdos materials [1]
which is reliable so far and doesn't try tftp first. It uses config.txt
for overclocking. I don't know if this is uefi or legacy but i suspect it's
legacy. The serial console works.

[1] Is it ok or optimal to use 13.1 msdos materials with 14-stable ?
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