Re: cfdisk says hda is smaller than it really is!
>My BIOS won't tell me what C/H/S settings are being used, just size in MB,
>but I caught the C/H/S settings from the boot kernel (1024/240/63).
>However, I also found the data sheet for my hard drive, and although I'm not
>sure how to decipher it, I'm pretty sure the boot kernel C/H/S settings were
>incorrect. Here is the URL for the data sheet...
I guess you're using a motherboard with a not-so-recent BIOS (like mine,
which is from 1997) and a 2.0.x kernel.
Please see the Large Disk Mini HOWTO on details concerning your problem. I've
had to deal with the same issue, and I've installed a 2.2.x kernel solve it,
as suggested in the HOWTO:
"As just mentioned, large disks return the geometry C=16383, H=16, S=63
independent of the actual size, while the actual size is returned in the value
of LBAcapacity. Some BIOSes do not recognize this, and translate this 16383/16/63
into something with fewer cylinders and more heads, for example 1024/255/63 or
1027/255/63. So, the kernel must not only recognize the single geometry 16383/16/63,
but also all BIOS-mangled versions of it. Since 2.2.2 this is done correctly (by
taking the BIOS idea of H and S, and computing C = capacity/(H*S)). Usually this
problem is solved by setting the disk to Normal in the BIOS setup (or, even better,
to None, not mentioning it at all to the BIOS). If that is impossible because you
have to boot from it or use it also with DOS/Windows, and upgrading to 2.2.2 or later
is not an option, use kernel boot parameters."
>P.S. How do I specify C/H/S to the kernel? All my attemps yielded
>something like "kernel not found at <C/H>" or other. Thanks in advance!
You could try setting these parameters (see the Large Disk and / or the Boot Prompt
HOWTO), but I have tried, too, and failed miserably. I had to re-format the drive a
couple of times in the process ...). :-/ If you have thought about updating your
system in order to run a 2.2.x kernel, this might just be the time to do it.
HTH,
Matt
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