Subject: Catch 22 for MSDOS FS not on Intel box
To: None <current-users@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Rob Healey <rhealey@helios.mn.org>
List: current-users
Date: 04/21/1996 02:01:34
	I have an interesting problem and I was wondering how other non-Intel
	ports have delt with it.

	I have a Zip drive on NetBSD/Amiga. Durning boot the Amiga assigns the
	device a single partition going from 0 to the end of the Zip disk.

	So far no problem. The catch 22 is that I can't convince the msdos
	code to skip over the fdisk area and start looking at the first
	partition 32 sectors in, i.e. it's trying to read the fdisk area
	as though it's the start of a partition rather than the start of the
	disk.

	I can't alter the disk geometry without writing an Amiga RDB record
	to the start of the Zip disk, which would work for the Amiga but
	then MSDOG machines wouldn't be able to grok it. Is there some way
	to convince the msdos routines to start counting from N sectors in
	or am I simply SOL? B^(.

	The msdos code assumes the start of the device given to the mount
	is the start of partition rather than the start of the disk. Obviously
	the x86 port devices do this but how do the non-Intel ports simulate
	this without scribbling a disk label on the Zip that would destroy
	the MSDOS fdisk information?

		-Rob