# install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /dev



## Chris_H (Mar 13, 2014)

Greetings,
 I just swapped this Sata drive out of a working 8.4-STABLE server. It was the only platter in the server, aside from various removable, or static devices -- CD/DVD-RW's, SSD's, etc.
So now I attempt to use this in some new hardware, on a fresh install. From the 8.4 DVD. My first attempt was with 2 drives;
1 Pata, hanging off port1 on the first (and only) IDE port.
1 Sata -- this one, from the other system, hanging off port1 on the Sata block
I chose the Standard install, I got to the partition/label part, all went as expected. I then chose Minimal install. Which led to the  "Last Chance" prompt. Followed by the writing of blocks/slices. This is where things failed, with a "couldn't make ad0... (the /var slice). Then the install bailed/failed. So I made a couple of more attempts. I moved the DVD/RW to a USB port, instead of the IDE port. Tried again. This time, when it came time to choose the install (Minimal for me), it prompted me for the CD/DVD. It couldd no longer find the DVD it booted from. Several attempts to poll for it, all failed.
So I got frustrated, and thought maybe I could simply format/slice the drive(s) with the PC-BSD installer. So with the same devices, in the same order, I spun up the PC-BSD install DVD. Everything worked like "magick". PC-BSD sliced both my drives with a GPT layout exactly the way I asked. Sadly, I couldn't bail out at that point, to simply tell FreeBSD to use the slices PC-BSD created. So I had to finish the install. Upon reboot, all was fine. PC-BSD worked as expected. So I put the FreeBSD DVD back in, and tried to see if FreeBSD would use the partitioning scheme PC-BSD had written, and just newfs() them, and install FreeBSD in them. But no-go. FreeBSD didn't recognize them. So I thought I'd just break to Fixit. I did, and laid out the entire Pata disk with a GPT format, single slice (/var). I then made a couple of GPT slices on the Stata. All was fine. So I have no idea why the installer bails.
I decided to remove the Pata. I then unplugged the USB DVD, and plugged in a DVD/RW into the firts IDE port, as master, and ran the installer again. There's only 2 drives now; the DVD, and the SATA. It went through the Standard install process. I blanked, and sliced the drive up into 3 slices, + swap.

```
/            (9G)
<swap>   (4G)
/var       (6G)
/usr       (remainder of disk)
```
in that order. I chose Minimal, and it began writing out the slices, and failed with:
`Unable to find device node for /dev/ad4s1b in /dev`
Time, and time again, I try. But all without success. I *know* this drive works fine, and _came_ from a FreeBSD 8.4-STABLE system, only last night.
What can I do?

Thank you for all your time, and consideration.

--Chris


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## tingo (Mar 13, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*

What I have done in the past (I can't remember if I've done it with a FreeBSD 8.4 install) if the installer didn't cooperate, is this:
1) from the installer partition / slice disks
2) reboot
3) from the installer select the slices from step 1 ton install on
4) install

These days, I usually do a manual install from the LiveCD (ok, memstick image) for a FreeBSD 8.x install.


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## Chris_H (Mar 13, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*

Greetings, @tingo, and thanks for the reply.

I just tried that. But same failure:

```
unable to find device node for /dev/ad4s1b in /dev
```
For what ever reason, it can't write out the `swap` slice/dev. How stupid is this?!
It'll write out the BSD mbr (w option). But it refuses to make slices, because it doesn't know how to write out SWAP.

Sheesh. This is weird. I've been doing this for _years_, and while I've run into many weird errors, this one is completely new. 

Thanks again, @tingo, for taking the time top respond.

--Chris


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## tingo (Mar 13, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*

Oh, wait. Are you trying to get sysinstall(8) to use a GPT partitioned disk? That won't work, sysinstall doesn't know GPT. In that case you will have to do a manual install.
If this is indeed the case, sorry for not realizing earlier.


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## Chris_H (Mar 13, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*

Oh, I'd LOVE to use a GPT. But no, I'm just attempting a "normal" install, from the DVD. Which, as you know, is an MBR style install. 

Anyway, no apology necessary. It _was_ a MBR, not a GPT. 

Thanks for the response, @tingo.

--Chris


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## wblock@ (Mar 13, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*

Was there GPT partitioning on this disk at one time?


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## Chris_H (Mar 13, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*



			
				wblock@ said:
			
		

> Was there GPT partitioning on this disk at one time?


At the time? Yes. I discovered it, by dropping to "Fixit", and performing a `gpart show ad0`. I can't recreate all the details here. But the important part, was that I could see that it was a GPT partition, by it's makeup. Not to mention, it also _said_ it was GPT. So, following your directions at http://www.wonkity.com/~wblock/docs/html/disksetup.html. I issued `gpart delete -i 1 ad0`, followed by `gpart delete -i 2 ad0`. Which removed both of the existing slices, as indecated by a `gpart show ad0`. So I followed those by issuing a `gpart destroy -F ad0`, which returned success -- `gpart: No such geom: ad0`. Then I attempted to create them all by hand. But, as you noticed in the other related thread; I got stuck at `gpart create -s bsd ad0s1`

```
gpart: geom 'ad0s1': File exists
```
So. I guess I try and create a GPT layout, and unpack `boot`, `bin`, `sbin`, `usr.bin`, and `usr.sbin`. Then ftp a copy of subversion, and hope I can continue as normal from there. Or, while I'm at the Fixit, use dd() to create an image of the md() Fixit works from, and make the first platter the target of `of=`.
Sigh...
Thanks for taking the time to respond, @wblock@.

--Chris


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## wblock@ (Mar 14, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*

At this point, you've had both MBR and GPT on that disk.  It is the leftover BSDlabel information inside the first slice that is causing the problem, though.

To repeat, the BSDlabel information inside the slices must be destroyed first.  Destroying the MBR does not remove that, because it's not in the MBR.  Create an MBR, and the old BSDlabel information already present in exactly the spot expected will reappear.  The easy way to avoid all this is to just use GPT.

I don't understand why you are installing manually.  It is making things more difficult, not less.  Why not just do an install to the target disk, then restore the backup over it?


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## Chris_H (Mar 14, 2014)

*Re: install: unable to find device for node /dev/ad4s1b in /*



			
				wblock@ said:
			
		

> At this point, you've had both MBR and GPT on that disk.  It is the leftover BSDlabel information inside the first slice that is causing the problem, though.
> 
> To repeat, the BSDlabel information inside the slices must be destroyed first.  Destroying the MBR does not remove that, because it's not in the MBR.  Create an MBR, and the old BSDlabel information already present in exactly the spot expected will reappear.  The easy way to avoid all this is to just use GPT.


Well, I'm guessing I'm not being very clear. Sorry. I guess my frustration is getting the best of me.
Anyway. Here goes. This isn't the same hardware we spoke of yesterday. OK, _technically_ the platter is. But this is a _NEW_ system. I resolved the "platter swap" && dump() / restore() business, last night. Everything ended up satisfactory. In fact, much better than it appeared it would.
To the point; Now having the platter out of the other system. I'm looking to use it, as well as another one, in the new system.
One's a SATA
One's a PATA
I plugged both platters into the MB, and turned it on, adjusted the BIOS, and rebooted to the 8.4-STABLE DVD.
At this point, I found I was unable to get (bsd|sys)install to wipe, and re(partition|slice) the newly introduced platters.
Time, and time again, I tried. Different drive arrangement(s), or simply with only the SATA. No matter. In _every_ case. The installer was unable to complete the drive partitioning/formatting process.


			
				wblock@ said:
			
		

> I don't understand why you are installing manually.  It is making things more difficult, not less.  Why not just do an install to the target disk, then restore the backup over it?


The reason I attempted to do it manually, is because install couldn't / wouldn't cope with the drive(s).
It's not a matter of backup||restore. It's a matter of Fresh Install. But without formatted media. It's not possible.

Hope I've been clearer, this time. 

Thank you, very much @wblock@, for all your time, and trouble.

--Chris


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