Subject: Disklabels
To: None <port-i386@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Alaric <reed@engr.orst.edu>
List: port-i386
Date: 01/24/1995 18:06:11
I am trying to move my NetBSD partition over to my (faster, quieter, 
bigger) hard drive that was previously a mounted drive with a DOS 
filesystem on it.

 The problem is that I've got my NetBSD partitions (/ and /usr) backed up 
but now I can't get the install disks to install any way but on the whole 
disk. (hard write fails if I try to install the normal way 
 normal way:
	pfdisk 0
		set partitions:
		0 6 0 200
		1 165 201 522
		w
		q

	install dos in partition 0

	boot from kcaha disk and install like 
	normal (It lets me input all the information about the drive in, 
but when it comes to it's labeling the disk and putting binaries onto 
the drive it runs into the old 
disklabel and dies, trying to install to /mnt on the file system floppy.)



 What I think I really need to do is eliminate the pre-existing disklabel 
from the drive. But I don't seem to be able to.

	I've tried fdisk'ing the drive (doesn't seem to get rid of it)
		fdisk /mbr             		""
	fdisk'ing and formatting as dos  	""

I don't know if it's part of the problem but the drive's a AC540H 
(Western Digital 540) which has the following real geometry:
cyl 1048
   ^^^^ note this is > 1024
head 16
sec  63

but pfdisk reads: (twice as many heads/half as many cyls)
cyl 523
head 32
sec 63

Is there an updated version that'll use bios (enhanced IDE) settings 
instead of these messed up values?

like I said before I can install to the "entire" disk
but not "part" of the disk.



Alaric,           | Archery: A deeply seated hatred of paper with bright
Mka Brandon Reed  |  coloured circles printed on it.
reed@engr.orst.edu|
http://www.engr.orst.edu:80/~reed