i386/125516: 7.0-RELEASE install dies (probably same problem as PR 113160)

[Ronald F. Guilmette]

>Number:         125516
>Category:       i386
>Synopsis:       7.0-RELEASE install dies (probably same problem as PR 113160)
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       serious
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    freebsd-i386
>State:          open
>Quarter:        
>Keywords:       
>Date-Required:
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Fri Jul 11 19:30:01 UTC 2008
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Ronald F. Guilmette
>Release:        FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE i386
>Organization:
Infinite Monkeys & Co. LLC
>Environment:
	7.0-RELEASE i386
>Description:
	This looks like the exact same problem as in PR 113160.  (I think that
	PR should be reopened.  See below.)

	I have an older Athlon XP system based on an ASUS A7N266-VM/AA
	motherboard, and when trying to install from the 7.0-RELEASE disk #1,
	the install process gets down past the Stage 3 boot and starts to boot
	the install kernel, which then recognizes all of the hardware, but
	then, just after it has done all of that, the process dies rather
	mysteriously and just puts up the standard mountroot (brief)
	instructions followed by a mountroot> prompt.

>How-To-Repeat:
	Just try to boot from a 7.0-RELEASE CD on an ASUS A7N266-VM/AA based
	system and I do believe you will see the problem.  I have tried to
	pin down the problem by using multiple different CDs and multiple
	different CD ROM drives (because I thought at first that the problem
	might be related to the CD or CD drive) and that just isn't the problem.
	It is clear that the real problem is 7.0's interaction with this
	specific motherboard.

>Fix:
	I believe that PR 113160 should be reopened and a proper sort of fix
	should be developed.  Just telling people to diable the 15M-16M
	memory hole is *not* a solution, in particular on _this_ motherboard,
	where ASUS, in its infinite wisdom, decided to "customize" the BIOS
	by, among other things, removing any such option.  To be clear, on
	this motherboard (ASUS A7N266-VM/AA) there simply *is* no option in
	the BIOS to disable the 15M-16M memory hole.  (I searched every one
	of the BIOS menus, twice, and it just ain't there.)  So as of now,
	all owners of A7N266-VM/AA based systems are screwed... none of us
	can get 7.0-RELEASE installed on a blank/fresh A7N266-VM/AA system.

	Surely there _must_ be a way to work around the presence of a memory
	hole at 15M-16M, yes?  I mean how hard can that be?  (I hate to have
	to just throw this motherboard in the trash!)

	Why is it that with a 6.1-RELEASE CD (and on the exact same hardware),
	I _can_ get down all the way to the Install menu with no crashing?
	What changed between 6.1 and 7.0 as regards to that 15M-16M range?
>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted: