[OpenIndiana-discuss] Installation on HD => 2TB

[Jim Klimov]

On 2013-01-31 12:47, Mirko Fluher wrote:
> I recently tried .. to install OI 151a7 live  on the following computer;
> cpu i7
> mboard: gigabyte B75M-D3H
> HD: Segate SATA3 2TB
> with plenty of ram ...
>
> it simply wouldn't install ... it cannot see the partition .. yet on
> that HD I run linux Ubuntu & Centos and have plenty of spare room.
 >
 > I then decided to use an old 250G SATA2 HD ... and no problems - same
 > settings in the Motherboard.

I'd take it, you also used the same SATA port for both drives, so that
missing driver can be ruled out?

My main guess would be that your other OSes mapped the disk as GPT and
OI (older GRUB in particular, as well as installer and rpool support)
are not yet compatible with it for a boot device (it's ok for storage
pools). GPT involves a "legacy MBR partition" that addresses your whole
disk and blocks non-GPT systems from using it and messing up.

There are hacks to add either GPT support to legacy GRUB, or add an
alternate MBR partition table to address the same sector ranges as
GPT and thus fool an older OS into working with the disk, but these
are tricks at the experimenter's risk. Alternately, you can wait for
GRUB2 integration and related fixes to installer and rpool routines -
or better yet, help it happen! ;)


> I told the installation program to use the entire HD. (snip)
> attached is a a dump of the output of 'gparted' as it is provided by the
> system. It complains about mount point ... but I assume there is a
> problem with gparted...

I believe this problem  is indeed in gparted. Seems like it was taken
from a Linux/other OS source and used as is - with little integration
to Solaris/ZFS realities. I'd guess it looks for the device node name
in /etc/vfstab (if it's even smart enough to not use /etc/fstab as it
would in many other OSes), and unable to find that match - complains.

I'd say it is a cosmetical annoyance however ;)

//Jim