Fdisk behavior is wrong in 6.3 ???

From: William H. Magill (magill@isc.upenn.edu)
Date: Wed Jun 14 2000 - 04:31:30 PDT

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    Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 07:31:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: "William H. Magill" <magill@isc.upenn.edu>
Message-Id: <200006141131.e5EBVUB23575@falstaff.isc-net.upenn.edu>
Subject: Fdisk behavior is wrong in 6.3 ???

    I'm new to Suse and Linux, but old with Ultrix/OSF1/DU/Tru64.

    I'm trying to setup a Linux disk that can be mounted by Tru64 and following
    the instructions in rev 2.1 of Compaq's installatin guide.

    I've been playing with both and XP1000 and a 433A.

    The XP1000 has an RZ2DD-KS [9 gig 10K RPM]
    The 433A RZ1CB-BA [4 gig 7200 RPM]

    I have no trouble booting from the 6.3 CD and getting to the point where
    fdisk is running, and I go to BSD labels...

    I try to create the new partitions trying to assing partion A
    cylinders 1 and 2.

    This fails.... or rather fdisk simply goes off and randomly assigns
    some number cylinders.

    If I look at the partition display after assigning cylinders 1 and 2,
    I get some exoticly high number. (not an obviously rational multiple of
    anything I have guessed.)

    If I try to assign A to 1 +5000K, it gives me yet a different number.

    So, in short, I see no correlation between the numbers entered in fdisk,
    and what is actually being generated by fdisk.

    Yes, both disk have pre-existing Tru64 labels via disklabel.

    So, what part of fdisk is broken --
            the calculation of the size of cylinders?
            the display of the label/partition information that it plans to
                            create?

    I find it difficult to believe that such an important and old program can
    be so wrong (and we are talking -- not even close here gang), but have no
    other choice. 

    -- 
                        www.tru64unix.compaq.com
                              www.tru64.org
                             comp.unix.tru64
                        
T.T.F.N.
William H. Magill                          Senior Systems Administrator
Information Services and Computing (ISC)   University of Pennsylvania
Internet: magill@isc.upenn.edu             magill@acm.org
http://www.isc-net.upenn.edu/~magill/

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