Loader/installer problems - can't load 'kernel'

[Torfinn Ingolfsen]

On Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:06:48 -0400
Chris Carr <carrch at mac.com> wrote:

> I've tried to install FreeBSD 8.2 on two different Macs which both  

Which models? Be specific, different models can behave differently.

> have bad optical drives. So I am trying to perform the install from  
> removable media. I've tried USB flash drive and an external firewire  
> HD. Neither is working. I can get the loader to boot (manually through  

I think that for firewire devices to work (past the boot menu stage), you need to load the sbp module.
Use the menu to get to a boot prompt, then do "load sbp", then "boot".
Now, see if that will alllow you to install from a firewire device.

> I can use dir <OF device tree path>,:\ to list the contents of the  
> install CD on the flash drive. I've passed the argument of the <OF  
> device tree path> to the loader when I run the boot command.

FWIW, to make this work, I had to make an alias ("ud") in OF.
Using the complete OF device tree path with the boot command didn't work for some reason.
With the alias, it worked every time on the machines I have tried it on.
Not all Macs are the same, YMMV.
-- 
Regards,
Torfinn Ingolfsen