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Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!bunyip.cc.uq.oz.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!udel!news.sprintlink.net!news.world.net!news.teleport.com!news.teleport.com!not-for-mail From: bmk@teleport.com (bmk) Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions Subject: FreeBSD - disklabeling sd1 and sd2 Date: 27 Jul 1994 21:24:08 -0700 Organization: Department of Redundancy Department Lines: 53 Message-ID: <317bt8$mst@linda.teleport.com> Reply-To: bmk@teleport.com NNTP-Posting-Host: linda.teleport.com I have FreeBSD 1.1.0(Beta) installed on a DX2-66 with an Adaptec 1542B SCSI controller and 3 SCSI disks. FreeBSD currently occupies most of /dev/sd0, while DOS is using 90 or so megs on /dev/sd0 and all of /dev/sd1 and /dev/sd2. Since I rarely use DOS, I think that I'd be much happier to have full use of /dev/sd1 and /dev/sd2 under FreeBSD. Currently, neither is readable under FreeBSD because they don't have a valid disklabel. I have read all the man pages, and the FAQs, and beleive that I have at least half a clue on how to disklabel a disk. What I'd like to do to start with is label /dev/sd1, which is a Maxtor 7213S. I intend to use the same translation under BSD that DOS uses, rather than physical parameters (I might some day want to use part of it for DOS, who knows). Anyways, the parameters I am using for the disk are nc#203:ns#64:nt#32 (it's possible that I have the ns and nt parameters switched, I'm doing this off the top of my head, I'll verify it when I get home). I figure on using cyl 0-186 for BSD, and 187-202 for swap. Using the table from section 2.5.1.1 of FAQ.2, this how I plan on configuring the disklabel: size offset fstype [fsize bsize cpg] a: 382976 0 4.2BSD 1024 8192 16 cyl 0-186 b: 32768 382976 swap cyl 187-202 c: 415744 415744 unused 0 0 cyl 0-202 d: 415744 0 unused 0 0 cyl 0-202 Assuming this is correct, I should be able to construct a valid disktab entry. What I am unclear on is the procedure to prepare this disk for use. My understanding is that I need to disklabel, newfs, and fsck the disk. Newfs and fsck are no problem, I understand what I have to do here. I am unclear on what the parameters for disklabel should be. What I'd also like to do is make my third drive visible to FreeBSD as a single large DOS partition (I only need to do this so I can tar all the files off before I nuke the DOS partition). I had played around with this a few months ago, first partitioning the disk under DOS, and then disklabeling this disk under FreeBSD. Here's where I ran into the dilemma: DOS FDISK would wipe out FreeBSD's disklabel, and disklabel corrupted the partition table in the MBR. No problem, since at the time there wasn't any data on the drive. Well, the time has come to try again, and I'm not too worried about screwing up the partition table, because I intend on backing up that disk prior to disklabeling. However, I don't understand how to disklabel a disk with ONLY a DOS partition. Can someone clue me in? -- bmk@teleport.com | "You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get Portland, OR | yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is | to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding | fathers used in the struggle for independence."-C.A. Beard