Re: How do I format a hard drive using fdisk "b" (BSD partitioning)
> On Fri 03 Dec 1999, simonst@WellsFargo.COM wrote:
> >
> > I'm not sure how to format my hard drive using the fdisk "b - edit BSD
> > Disklabel" command (as recommended by the disks-alpha/README).
[snip]
> ? My understanding was that you should use BSD disklabels with SRM, as
> you have to use aboot to boot linux from SRM. I.e. no MILO involved.
Yes. You actually have the choice of booting with aboot or with the
raw bootloader, as per SRM-howto. On the other hand, the MILO-howto
says it's possible to boot MILO from SRM, never tried it, though.
> However, I may be confused here. If I am, then yes, you should define
> your 3 partitions from the a-h partitions. Note that the second (or is
> it third) partition with BSD is traditionally the entire disk. As to
I don't think this strictly true with Linux as it is with *BSD or
Tru64. At least, that's not what sdisklabel tells me. But then again,
this might be an effect of switching from AlphaBIOS to SRM (much) after
installing Linux. You certainly have your partition numbers reset,
because aboot (or MILO) is located at the beginning of the disk
_before_ the first partition.
While I'm at it, let me mention that I get a floating exception if I
try to read the disklabel. I run fdisk, then hit (b) and it tells me
that I have n partitions. If I want to read the label, I get floating
exception. It is not an effect of having transmogrified the old
partitioning scheme into a disklabel, as I get the same if I try to
put a disklabel on a zip, say. sdisklabel is ok.
> what type the MILO partitions should be: I use the FAT-12 type, at least
> for traditional fdisk partitions. I don't know what the convention is
> with BSD partitions.
I think MILO should live before the first partition. I'm not sure
there is a strict enforcing on partition a starting at the beginning
of the disk.
> Paul Slootman
> --
--
Ettore Aldrovandi -- SISSA/International School for Advanced Studies
Via Beirut 2/4, I-34013 Trieste, Italy
ph: [+] 39 0403787445 -- fax:[+] 39 0403787528
ettore@fm.sissa.it aldrovan@sissa.it http://www.sissa.it/~aldrovan
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