# Hardware compatibility



## JokerBoy (Jun 6, 2009)

hello,

i need some help, i don`t know what`s wrong with my pc, i have installed freebsd 6.4, 7.1 and 7.2 several times, but everytime after a succesful installation, something is corupted, an example is "Exec format error. binary file not executable.". once ifconfig was working, but make don`t, and aftel a reinstall, make works, but ifconfig don`t.. :\

here is a report with my info about the hardware from my pc. 

```
Motherboard:
      CPU Type                                          AMD Athlon 64, 2200 MHz (11 x 200) 3500+
      Motherboard Name                                  MSI K9N Ultra (MS-7250 v2)  (3 PCI, 3 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
      Motherboard Chipset                               nVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra, AMD Hammer
      System Memory                                     2048 MB  (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM)
      DIMM2: Samsung M3 78T5663RZ3-CE6                  2 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM  (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz)  (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
      BIOS Type                                         AMI (04/07/08)
      Communication Port                                Communications Port (COM1)
      Communication Port                                Printer Port (LPT1)

    Display:
      Video Adapter                                     Radeon X300/X550/X1050 Series  (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM)  (128 MB)
      3D Accelerator                                    ATI Radeon X550/X1050 (RV370)

    Multimedia:
      Audio Adapter                                     Realtek ALC883 @ nVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra (MCP55U) - High Definition Audio Controller

    Storage:
      IDE Controller                                    Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
      Storage Controller                                NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
      Storage Controller                                NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
      Storage Controller                                NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
      Disk Drive                                        WDC WD64 01AALS-00L3B SCSI Disk Device  (596 GB)
      Disk Drive                                        WDC WD80 0JD-08LSA0 SCSI Disk Device  (74 GB)
      Optical Drive                                     HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH22NS30 SCSI CdRom Device  (DVD+R9:16x, DVD-R9:12x, DVD+RW:22x/8x, 
                                                        DVD-RW:22x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
      SMART Hard Disks Status                           OK

    Partitions:
      C: (NTFS)                                         40964 MB (26649 MB free)
      D: (NTFS)                                         250.0 GB (236.6 GB free)
      E: (NTFS)                                         346.2 GB (262.8 GB free)
      Total Size                                        636.2 GB (525.4 GB free)

    Input:
      Keyboard                                          Standard PS/2 Keyboard
      Mouse                                             Microsoft PS/2 Mouse

    Network:
      Network Adapter                                   NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
      Network Adapter                                   NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller

    Peripherals:
      USB1 Controller                                   nVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra (MCP55U) - OHCI USB 1.1 Controller
      USB2 Controller                                   nVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra (MCP55U) - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller
```
thank you, 
JokerBoy.


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## BuSerD (Jun 6, 2009)

I only see NTFS partitions. Thats not really important for your issue but i was wondering where you installed freebsd. As for the issue at hand; did you verify the md5 of the iso you used to install freebsd and are you able to zero out the drive to which you are installing? If you did not verify the md5 start there and if you are unable to zero out the drive i would suggest sticking with the defaults in sysinstall to verify that one(or more) of your customizations is not responsible for this.


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## JokerBoy (Jun 6, 2009)

now i am on windows, that`s a report exported from everest, but that isn`t important now. 

i have installed many times freebsd, even on the entire hard drive (the small one, 80 gb), the same thing, "Exec format error. binary file not executable.", every time, different applications give this error. 

if i checked the md5 checksum? course i did, i always check that! i have 2 dvd`s and 2 cd`s with freebsd, so this is out of the question.

zero out the drive? how can i do that? wipe all data from that partition? or dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda from linux? a already did this, several times, same thing, "Exec format error. binary file not executable.".


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## pablo (Jun 7, 2009)

Have you try to boot from LiveCD? Some kinda like Frenzy  http://frenzy.org.ua/docuwiki/doku.php?id=doc_en.


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## JokerBoy (Jun 7, 2009)

any kind of livecd distros works cuz they are loading from the ram memory, not from the hdd..

Some kinda like Frenzy? freesbie maybe? i`ll give it a try.

i think it`s the serial-ata controller, something else i don`t know what would be the reason for that error "Exec format error. binary file not executable.".


sometimes i receive errors regarding *.so, the freebsd libraries.


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## phoenix (Jun 8, 2009)

Sounds like a memory issue.  Boot off a LiveCD and run memtest86+ a few times.  I'm willing to bet you'll find dead RAM.


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## JokerBoy (Jun 9, 2009)

thanks for your reply mate.

and no, is not a memory issue. 

"Pass complete, no errors, press Esc to exit"  

 could it be the hard drive?


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## phoenix (Jun 9, 2009)

Hrm, well so much for that.  

It could be a harddrive issue, where random bits are getting flipped or files getting corrupted on write.  That's a lot harder to diagnose, though.

If there's no data on the drive that you want to keep, you can try the following, which will touch every block on the drive, and force the firmware to re-map any bad blocks:

boot off a LiveCD like Frenzy or FreeSBIE or even the LiveFS CD from FreeBSD
drop to a shell prompt
run `# dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/adX bs=1M count=<sizeofdisk>` where adX is the device number for the drive.  You may not need the count= option
after that, run the same dd command, but use /dev/random instead of /dev/zero
The second dd command may not be needed.

Alternatively, if you have another harddrive you can test with, do an install to there.  If it works, then it's the drive that's dead/dying.  If it doesn't work, then it's something else (drive controller?  drive cables?  CPU?)


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## yuh (Jun 24, 2009)

Hello, have same problem on MSI K9N Ultra, I tryed new memory, new hdds, but nothing have changed, still Exec format error after loading, at first time on /bin/sh, at second time on ifconfig/ Seems trouble in motherboard.


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## JokerBoy (Jun 29, 2009)

hmm, @yuh, it`s time for us to buy an another motherboard 


@phoenix - already did that @ dd ..

well, problem solved x( )


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## JokerBoy (Aug 30, 2009)

yuh, have you tried 8.0-BETA? any changes?


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## papanyanz (Sep 4, 2009)

Maybe overclocked CPU or other things ? Try to run at lowest possible frequency/voltage for CPU,downgrade RAM timings too and then try.


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## papanyanz (Sep 4, 2009)

I think these can be tuned in BIOS ...


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## JokerBoy (Sep 11, 2009)

no, all the things in my BIOS are set to default. hmm, if the MB is not supported, all the effort is for nothing. right now i`m downloading 8.0-BETA4 dvd iso file, i`ll give it a try, maybe maybe.. 

the best solution in this case is to change my motherboard.. 

if the freebsd developers would add support for my hardware in the near future that would really great..


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## papanyanz (Sep 13, 2009)

Once(only) i have symptoms  - when i was entering to system as a root - under KDE (i was thinking - there is nothing horrible if i don't do anything wrong MYSELF - MYTH!!!).
What if you try to install BSD to another HardDisk ?


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## JokerBoy (Sep 13, 2009)

i have 2 HDD`s, one for OS and the other one for storage.. and i can`t install nothing on the hdd for storage.. important stuff..

i tried yesterday to install pc-bsd 7.1.1, after a successful installation, when i wanted to boot my brand new OS, i get a error "can't load kernel"  then, i tried to install freebsd 7.2-release, this one is rebooting everytime i try to boot him. :\

anyway, i`m sick of how many times i have installed freebsd  

papanyanz - but always i run the commands as a normal user (and su), it`s dangerous to use root :\ 

waiting forward for 8.0-RELEASE..


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## papanyanz (Sep 14, 2009)

JokerBoy said:
			
		

> papanyanz - but always i run the commands as a normal user (and su), it`s dangerous to use root :\


It's also dangerous to run X apps with su(hard to definine which - i mean if you're running dolphin with su - it's equally harmfull).
What about your system's cpu temperature/fan speeds/valtages ?
are they ok? what about BIOS (upgrade?).
how can i guess - you can run windows without issues ?


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## JokerBoy (Sep 14, 2009)

i wasn`t never able to start x.. erorr regarding `desktop 0:0 etc`..

system temperature : 38C
cpu temperature : 44C

bios version v3.10 (it`s the latest version! )
build date 04/07/08

sysfan speed: 3125 rpm
cpufan speed: 0 rpm

hmm, i have just one cooler on my system, and that it`s the cpu cooler. :-? weird..

cpu Vcore : 1.248 V
+12.0V : 12.513 V
+5.0V : 5.145 V
+3.3V : 3.328 V

all the settings from the bios are set to default :|

right now i`m dual bootin` win xp with slackware64, i haven`t any problems with windows/linux, just with *bsd..


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## papanyanz (Sep 15, 2009)

> cpu Vcore : 1.248 V
> +12.0V : 12.513 V
> +5.0V : 5.145 V
> +3.3V : 3.328 V


I think voltages are a little bit high,but if you can run other OS without any problems - there must be all right.I'm not sure-there is one more option for hardware to test - power supply - if it doesn't filtering electricity from interferÐµnces - it may cause real problem (once i've seen "crazy behaviour").
If you use UPS - this may work properly with windows/linux,but if bsd doesn't support that - you can see the chain leading to that kind of effects (sorry again for my very bad english).


> CPU Type AMD Athlon 64, 2200 MHz (11 x 200) 3500


Which version of bsd you run (i mean 64 or 32bit) ? If one - have you tried other ? (i386 must run on 64bit,doesn't it?).
I'm wondering - if your "exe format" is unacceptible - how you can even boot ?
Try to select "verbose booting" option on prompt(before kernel load) and then look at dmesg (i think you know what to do) - if anything interesting there...


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## JokerBoy (Sep 16, 2009)

that`s even possible? how can those values damage the system? 

i`m not using a UPS, and i`m using a Silver Power SP-600A2C 600W as a power supply.

my cpu voltage is set to `auto`, and i have an another setting `adjust extra cpu voltage`, which is set to default. should i change the cpu voltage to 1.200 V?

pc-bsd 7.1.1 can`t load kernel after i select bsd @ bootloader 
freebsd 7.2 is rebooting after i select bsd @ bootloader. 

which versions i tried.. 

6.4 i386 cd
7.1 i386 dvd
7.2 i386 dvd
7.2 amd64 cd
PC-BSD 7.1 i386 dvd
PC-BSD 7.1.1 i386 USB

anyhow, long time ago.. when 7.2 was released, after i installed on my pc he didn`t reboot, he successfully booted, and then i got that error "Exec format error. binary file not executable."


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## papanyanz (Sep 17, 2009)

JokerBoy said:
			
		

> pc-bsd 7.1.1 can`t load kernel after i select bsd @ bootloader
> freebsd 7.2 is rebooting after i select bsd @ bootloader.


After installation ? You're able to install them ? Because,when you boot from cd to start installation - kernel loads automatically (and in last step only - sysinstall). 

About voltages - well  i can't be sure they're out of bounds - but when i enter in my BIOS->Health there are voltages and something like "spread spectrum" set to 0,25%(there is option to set 0,5%). If what i guess is true - that means for example 12V+-0,25% = 11,07 .. 12,03 V.I'm not sure - try to find information about this in net.


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## JokerBoy (Sep 17, 2009)

yes, after the installation. but, after a minimal installation without "linux compatibility" i manage to boot my freebsd 7.1-release.. but again.. error strike.. after i configure my pppoe connection, and rebooted: /usr/sbin/ppp: "Exec format error. binary file not executable.". 

anyway, now i`m using just linux.. i`m sick of unsuccessful installations


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## WillyTheKid (Nov 1, 2009)

Hi,

have same problem with FreeBSd 7.2-amd64 and FreeBSd 8.0-RC1/RC2-amd64
on MSI K9N-SLI (nvidia 570 MCP55 SLI) with AMD 6000 X2 and 2x1G RAM, 
only 1 SATA drive (Seagate 7200.12 750 Gb)

FreeBSd 7.2-i386 trap on install DVD and
FreeBSd 8.0-RC1/RC2-i386 impossible to correctly define Labels with 
sysinstall on the DVD.

Tried almost 10 combinations of Geom, partitions, slices , etc ... on each 
8.0-i386 and -amd64.

Same odd file corruptions.
have succeeded once to buildkernel 8.0-RC2, but installkernel 
gave up on some files, and system is now in a mess with 
'cc1: internal compiler error: Segmentation fault: 11'.

Completely stuck with that motherboard 
By the way, did DOS memtest for a night : OK
Did an install of WinXP-SP2 with Raid 
drivers (F6) on the same drive and windows was OK.

Related PR that I've found: 
kern/121396: [ata] 7.0 fails on mcp55 sata controller [regression]
kern/120296: [ata] Unstable SATA on MB with Nvidia MCP 570 SLI chipset [regression]

Should I go Linux ? :\


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## JokerBoy (Nov 24, 2009)

how about 8.0-RELEASE, any luck?

LE: i manage to make a minimal install, but after installing xorg and kde the problems start to show up regarding a .so file when a try to start dbus and X. 

WillyTheKid - right now i`m using linux, i don`t have other options. windows it`s an option. maybe you should try to some linux distros like slackware or arch.


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## JokerBoy (Nov 26, 2009)

damn, right now i`m posting this message using freebsd 8.0-RELEASE  with an IDE hard drive seems to work fine.

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7642/snapshot1y.png


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## JokerBoy (Dec 4, 2009)

DutchDaemon, i manage to use IDE hard drive for testing purpose, but i`m using sata drives and the sata controller is still the same like in the previous versions of freebsd, so it is not yet solved!


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## FBSDin20Steps (Dec 4, 2009)

DutchDaemon never responded in this thread...


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## JokerBoy (Dec 4, 2009)

*Last edited by DutchDaemon; September 16th, 2009 at 13:10. *

:OOO


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## FBSDin20Steps (Dec 4, 2009)

Probably a code tag.


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## DutchDaemon (Dec 4, 2009)

The 9/26 edit was a code tag. I think I may have put in a [solved] tag on 11/26 (using a _thread_ edit, not a _post_ edit, so the date isn't reflected). I guess I missed the fact that the problem was not IDE-related. Try a more indicative topic title next time ..


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## JokerBoy (Dec 22, 2009)

DutchDaemon, i started this thread a few months ago and at that time i didn't know what i know now about my problem. 

i tried 8.0-release on an IDE hdd and it works, but on my SATA hdd some odd file corruption.

according to this, "Fix SATA on nVidia MCP55 chipset. It needs some short time to allow BAR(5) memory access." it should work, but he in fact doesn't work for me.


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