Re: Linux and Windows partitioners fail to see opposite partitions
Elmer E. Dow wrote:
I have an IBM R40 laptop which had WinXP and Debian Lenny installed. Due
to a problematic upgrade to XP SP2, I decided to use the built-in system
restore to reinstall XP. Also, I wanted to play around with Lenny more,
so I decided that I'd reinstall two versions of Lenny, too. So I used
dban on the partitions to assure a fresh start, then reinstalled XP
using the built-in restore feature. I expected that XP would do what it
did during the last installation session: allocate the whole drive to
itself. Then I expected to go in with gparted and set up the Linux
partitions.
Windows installed just fine, except that after doing so, I had to do
fdisk /mbr from a DOS console in order to set the mbr to boot XP. I
decided to prep for the installation of the two versions of Debian, so
I booted up a gparted live 0.5.2-1 cd. I discovered that gparted only
saw the 34.31GB unallocated area on the 40GB drive -- no sign of the
partition with XP on it.
So I tried an older version of gparted on a Puppy cd and it agreed with
the gparted cd: 34.31GB unallocated.
I'm concerned that the new Lenny installations won't be able to see the
XP partition.
I booted XP and it reported 5.86GB total, with 1.93GB free. It doesn't
see beyond its borders either.
I'm tempted to reinstall Partition Magic on XP and see what it reports.
Is that a wise move or should I look at other options? I'd used it
during the last installation on this machine and I'm guessing that using
a different partitioner has caused this current problem. If I use
Partition Magic to resize the Linux partitions, isn't it likely that
Linux won't then be able to then see those partitions, too? I'm
wondering if grub won't be able to boot Linux if grub is installed on
the MBR at the beginning of the drive (where XP is located) because it
won't see the Linux partition. Or will grub install on the first Linux
partition because it can't see the XP partition before it? Then grub
won't boot XP because it can't see it. How can I use Linux tools to fix
what Linux can't see? I'd appreciate any advice as to how to proceed.
To begin with, run fdisk -l from a Linux command line, then when you're
sure of the disc name, fdisk /dev/xxxx. If you're not sure what you're
looking at, post the result here.
When you say 'built-in restore', what do you actually mean? If you
haven't got a recovery CD, that generally means there is a hidden
partition on the hard drive, which may complicate things. You don't want
to damage that if you will need XP in the future, so if you find one
it's probably best copied off onto a DVD ASAP. The recovery system,
whatever it is, will start by partitioning the drive exactly as it came
from the factory.
Windows generally will neither see nor mount filesystems it doesn't use
itself, but the XP Disc Manager (in Admin Tools, Computer Management)
should show other partitions as existing and 'unknown'. Needless to say,
all Linux tools should show all partitions.
Windows also needs to have its boot files at least on a primary,
bootable partition. Linux doesn't care. The non-booting of XP is
suspicious, and something I've never seen.
By the way, depending on what you're using it for, and for how long,
your XP partition might be a bit small.
--
Joe
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