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Received: by minnie.vk1xwt.ampr.org with NNTP id AA308 ; Sun, 31 Jan 93 14:02:20 EST Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd Path: sserve!manuel.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!spool.mu.edu!agate!tfs.com!julian From: julian@tfs.com (Julian Elischer) Subject: Re: fdisk problem Message-ID: <1993Jan30.194321.13021@tfs.com> Organization: TRW Financial Systems, Berkeley, CA - 94704 References: <1kbfpvINNofj@urmel.informatik.rwth-aachen.de> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1993 19:43:21 GMT Lines: 38 In article <1kbfpvINNofj@urmel.informatik.rwth-aachen.de> kuku@acds.physik.rwth-aachen.de writes: > >I'm having a problem with the 386bsd fdisk program posted last summer. I compiled it on my machine and put it on a 3.5" dist.fs boot floppy (in order to >modify my disk's partitions before installing). > >When I say > >fdisk -u /dev/rwd0d > >and do the changes to the disk partitions I get >Can't write fdisk partition table. > >The disk has received a primary DOS partition and an extended DOS partition before written by DOS FDISK. > >I wanted to change the EXTENDXED DOS Partition to type 386BSD or Unknown >and then install 386BSD on it. > I think we have a chicken and egg problem here. when there is no valid disklabel the whole disk is the partition, however unix won't let you write to the beginning if the unix partition unless you do an ioctl asking permission to do so, so though you are not writing to the unix partition, it may still be protecting it because it doesn't yet know where the unix partition is.. The answer would be to do the ioctl to allow writes to the disklabel area before trying to write the block.. I'll look at puting a patch out for this. >What am I doing wrong? I suspect, nothing. julian +----------------------------------+ ______ _ __ | __--_|\ Julian Elischer | \ U \/ / On assignment | / \ julian@tfs.com +------>x USA \ in a very strange | ( OZ ) 2118 Milvia st. Berkeley CA. \___ ___ | country ! +- X_.---._/ USA+(510) 704-3137(wk) \_/ \\ v