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From: ginsbab@ac.com (Brian Ginsbach)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Subject: Disklabel/Install woes
Followup-To: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Date: 17 Aug 1994 14:00:28 GMT
Organization: Andersen Consulting - Minneapolis
Lines: 38
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <32t55s$p2u@nsmmfs07.nsm.ac.com>
Reply-To: ginsbab@ac.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: andersen.ac.com
Keywords: disklabel, install

Help!!

I am having problems doing something I have done successfully before!  I can not
get NetBSD 0.9 to install "correctly".  If I go though the install process, things
seem to go fine (Just like the first time I successfully installed NetBSD a couple of
months back. I'm reinstalling because new job required larger DOS partition :-( ).

The problem is is that NetBSD totally screws up the partition table.  My partition
table is something like this (as reported by pfdisk, I'm doing this from memory):
partition 0 unused, partition 1 unused, partition 2 unused, partition 3 NetBSD with
totally screwy parameters (like #cyl, start, size, etc. all WRONG!) NetBSD will
boot fine using this but obviously DOS does not like it.  Pfdisk reports partions
like the following (before install): partition 0 unused, partition 1 unused,
partition 2 DOSext 301 479, partition 3 DOSbi 0 300.  I have tried answering both
yes & no when disklabel asks overwrite disk with DOS partition...  Does not seem
to make a difference.  (Note DOS files area is fine - PCTools Rebuild restores
original partition table and all is well with DOS).  Again I have successfully done
this before (same drive & machine!).  The drive is a Maxtor 7345 AT (IDE), with a
geometry of 790 cyl, 15 heads, 57 sectors (both from the manual and as reported by
ide_conf).

I am trying to make the NetBSD partition #1 (partition 0 for FreeBSD).  First 480
cylinders are for DR DOS 6.0, (want) next 155 for Net/FreeBSD, last 155 Net/FreeBSD.
If I make partition 1 FreeBSD things go ok (correct disklabel etc.).  However if I
try to make partition 0 FreeBSD or NetBSD I get a screwed up partition table again
(the same thing as before geometry screwy and only partition 3!!)  I swear that the
first time I tried this configuration out (back in Feb. only with a smaller DOS
partition) it worked fine!  I have read through the FAQ but do not see anything that
seems to describe this situation. Plus I am sure it worked before!!! And I can not
figure out WHY NetBSD now wants to screw up the partition table!  Any help greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,
---
Brian Ginsbach
Andersen Consulting