A quick follow-up: Filling in the partition type in /etc/disktab (or with 'disklabel -er /dev/rsdXc') did the trick. sdopen() in scsi/sd.c apparently is fed the block device although I specified the raw device to newfs, fsck etc. Anyone interested in the patches? ;-) Good-night sez hauke -- "It's never straight up and down" (DEVO)