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author | rgrimes <rgrimes@FreeBSD.org> | 1993-06-12 14:58:17 +0000 |
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committer | rgrimes <rgrimes@FreeBSD.org> | 1993-06-12 14:58:17 +0000 |
commit | 854999a7d185f9abe2170ef257bf7c232766963e (patch) | |
tree | 2c642d674205c5658d1f411ce49e3681618be476 /sbin/fdisk/fdisk.8 | |
parent | 05cb592c95a1c6729c2aef7e67250bff09fb7daa (diff) | |
download | FreeBSD-src-854999a7d185f9abe2170ef257bf7c232766963e.zip FreeBSD-src-854999a7d185f9abe2170ef257bf7c232766963e.tar.gz |
Initial import, 0.1 + pk 0.2.4-B1
Diffstat (limited to 'sbin/fdisk/fdisk.8')
-rw-r--r-- | sbin/fdisk/fdisk.8 | 177 |
1 files changed, 177 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/sbin/fdisk/fdisk.8 b/sbin/fdisk/fdisk.8 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..078ae5e --- /dev/null +++ b/sbin/fdisk/fdisk.8 @@ -0,0 +1,177 @@ +.Dd April 4, 1993 +.Dt FDISK 8 +.\".Os BSD 4 +.Sh NAME +.Nm fdisk +.Nd DOS partition maintainance program +.Sh SYNOPSIS +.Nm +.Op Fl i +.Op Fl u +.Bl -tag -width time +.It Fl i +Initializes sector 0 of the disk. +.It Fl u +Is used for updating (editing) sector 0 of the disk. +.El +.Sh PROLOGUE +In order for the BIOS to boot the kernel, +certain conventions must be adhered to. +Sector 0 of the disk must contain boot code, +a partition table, +and a magic number. +BIOS partitions can be used to break the disk up into several pieces. +The BIOS brings in sector 0 +(does it really use the code?) +and verifies the magic number. +It then searches the 4 BIOS partitions described by sector 0 +to determine which of them is +.Em active. +This boot then brings in the secondary boot block from the +.Em active +partition and runs it. +Under DOS, +you could have one or more partitions with one +.Em active. +The DOS +.Nm +program can be used to divide space on the disk into partitions and set one +.Em active. +.Sh DESCRIPTION +The 386bsd program +.Nm +serves a similar purpose to the DOS program. +When called with no arguments, it prints the sector 0 partition table. +An example follows: + +.Bd -literal + ******* Working on device /dev/rwd0d ******* + parameters extracted from in-core disklabel are: + cylinders=769 heads=15 sectors/track=33 (495 blks/cyl) + + parameters to be used for BIOS calculations are: + cylinders=769 heads=15 sectors/track=33 (495 blks/cyl) + + Warning: BIOS sector numbering starts with sector 1 + Information from DOS bootblock is: + The data for partition 0 is: + sysid 165,(386BSD) + start 495, size 380160 (185 Meg), flag 0 + beg: cyl 1/ sector 1/ head 0; + end: cyl 768/ sector 33/ head 14 + The data for partition 1 is: + sysid 164,(unknown) + start 378180, size 2475 (1 Meg), flag 0 + beg: cyl 764/ sector 1/ head 0; + end: cyl 768/ sector 33/ head 14 + The data for partition 2 is: + <UNUSED> + The data for partition 3 is: + sysid 99,(ISC UNIX, other System V/386, GNU HURD or Mach) + start 380656, size 224234 (109 Meg), flag 80 + beg: cyl 769/ sector 2/ head 0; + end: cyl 197/ sector 33/ head 14 +.Ed +.Pp +The disk is divided into three parititions that happen to fill the disk. +The second partition overlaps the end of the first. +(Used for debugging purposes) +.Bl -tag -width "cyl, sector and head" +.It Em "sysid" +is used to label the partition. 386bsd reserves the +magic number 165 decimal (A5 in hex). +.It Em "start and size" +fields provide the start address +and size of a parition in sectors. +.It Em "flag 80" +specifies that this is the active partition. +.It Em "cyl, sector and head" +fields are used to specify the beginning address +and end address for the parititon. +.It Em "Note:" +these numbers are calculated using BIOS's understanding of the disk geometry +and saved in the bootblock. +.El +.Pp +The flags +.Fl i +or +.Fl u +are used to indicate that the paritition data is to be updated. +The +.Nm +program will enter a conversational mode. +This mode is designed not to change any data unless you explicitly tell it to. +.Nm +selects defaults for its questions to guarantee the above behaviour. +.Pp +It displays each partition +and ask if you want to edit it. +If you say yes, +it will step through each field showing the old value +and asking for a new one. +When you are done with a partition, +.Nm +will display it and ask if it is correct. +.Nm +will then procede to the next entry. +.Pp +Getting the +.Em cyl, sector, +and +.Em head +fields correct is tricky. +So by default, +they will be calculated for you; +you can specify them if you choose. +.Pp +After all the partitions are processed, +you are given the option to change the +.Em active +partition. +Finally, +when the all the data for the first sector has been accumulated, +you are asked if you really want to rewrite sector 0. +Only if you answer yes, +will the data be written to disk. +.Pp +The difference between the +.Fl u +flag and +.Fl i +flag is that +the +.Fl u +flag just edits the fields as they appear on the disk. +While the +.Fl i +flag is used to "initialize" sector 0; +it will setup the last BIOS partition to use the whole disk for 386bsd; +and make it active. +.Sh NOTES +.Pp +The automatic calculation of starting cylinder etc. uses +a set of figures that represent what the BIOS thinks is the +geometry of the drive. +These figures are by default taken from the incore disklabel, +but the program initially gives you an oportunity to change them. +This allows the user to create a bootblock that can work with drives +that use geometry translation under the BIOS. +.Pp +If you hand craft your disk layout, +please make sure that the 386bsd partition starts on a cylinder boundary. +A number of decisions made later may assume this. +(This might not be necessary later.) +.Pp +Editing an existing partition will most likely cause you to +lose all the data in that partition. +.Pp +You should run this program interactively once or twice to see how it works. +This is completely safe as long as you answer the last question in the negative. +There are subtleties +that the program detects +that are not fully explained in this manual page. +.Sh SEE ALSO +.Xr disklabel 8 +.Sh BUGS +One less now, but probably more |