Re: can't install debian after freebsd?

[Carel Fellinger <cfelling@iae.nl>]

I'm no partition guru, but...

On Tue, May 08, 2001 at 09:16:59PM +0800, fg007@mail1.sjtu.edu.cn wrote:
> hi,
>    I cannot reinstall debian because debian cann't recognize my
> partitions correctly.

I doubt this, it recognizes them allright, but differently from what
you expected:)

>    I have installed freebsd in /dev/hda2
> (including its own partition wd0s1a,dawd0s1b,wd0s1e,wd0s1f).

What do you mean `incl its *own* part.'? bsd-partitions are partitions
too:)  I guess that hda2 is an extended partition, that is a partition
containing sub partitions. If so I would expect linux to count those
partitions as well. Or is hda2 a bsd specific extended partition that
linux doesn't how to interpreted, like the linux-extended partition
fully hides its content to Microsoft products?  I guess not.

To frase it differently: there are 4 primary partitions, each of which
can be an extended partition and each extended partition can hold at
most one real partition and one extended partition. The primary
partitions are always numbered 1 to 4. The real partitions found in
those extended partitions are numbered from 5 up as long as the OS
knows how to deal with those extended partitions.  One very often
talks about logical partitions when refering to the real partitions
in extended partitions.


So in your case:
/dev/hda2: extended partition, can't hold a file system
/dev/hda5: same as wd0s1a (I guess, as I don't know bsd's part. naming scheme)
/dev/hda6: same as wd0s1b
/dev/hda7: same as wd0s1e (where are c and d?)
/dev/hda8: same as wd0s1f

which would put your next linux partition at:
/dev/hda3: second extended primary partition.
           I guess you've used more then one extended (primary) partition
           which holds the next real partiton...
/dev/hda9: ...your linux partition

>    If I plan to install debain in /dev/hda5,the installing program
> will mistake /dev/hda5 for /dev/hda8

strange, I would expect /dev/hda9.

For better help, post your partition table, i.e. the output of:

  # fdisk -l /dev/hda
  # cfdisk -Pt /dev/hda

-- 
groetjes, carel