Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:55:31 GMT From: Ben Kaduk <minimarmot@gmail.com> To: freebsd-gnats-submit@FreeBSD.org Subject: docs/114715: incorrect use of FATxx and ``extended file system'' in handbook/install Message-ID: <200707190155.l6J1tVp3087049@www.freebsd.org> Resent-Message-ID: <200707190200.l6J209Ce016273@freefall.freebsd.org>
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>Number: 114715 >Category: docs >Synopsis: incorrect use of FATxx and ``extended file system'' in handbook/install >Confidential: no >Severity: non-critical >Priority: low >Responsible: freebsd-doc >State: open >Quarter: >Keywords: >Date-Required: >Class: doc-bug >Submitter-Id: current-users >Arrival-Date: Thu Jul 19 02:00:08 GMT 2007 >Closed-Date: >Last-Modified: >Originator: Ben Kaduk >Release: 7.0-CURRENT >Organization: >Environment: System: FreeBSD prolepsis.scs.uiuc.edu 7.0-CURRENT FreeBSD 7.0-CURRENT #1: Sun Apr 1 16:59:00 UTC 2007 kaduk@prolepsis.scs.uiuc.edu:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC i386 >Description: bde@, in his unbounded-but-not-infinite (because that's just impossible) wisdom, remarks: --------- begin bde@ text ------------ On Fri, 13 Jul 2007, Ben Kaduk wrote: > I recently got a patch committed to the installation chapter of the > handbook, which included two occasions of clarifying ``MS-DOS > filesystem'' as ``FAT16 or FAT32'' [1,2 for present incarnation]. I > am too young to remember the existence of FAT12, so I'll have to defer > to others as to whether the handbook should mention FAT12 in the same > breath as FAT16 and FAT32. What do you think? I think FAT* is newspeak :-). The file system is named msdosfs, not FAT. Anyway, the number of bits per FAT entry is of no interest in most cases, so it shouldn't be emphasized. newfs_msdos will choose the best number, or if you tell it, any number that can work. newfs_msdos(8) says "construct a new MS-DOS (FAT) file system ... creates a FAT12, FAT16 or FAT32 file system". It doesn't say anything about how newfs_msdos chooses the best FAT size or other important parameters. newfs_msdos still hasn't caught up with the renaming of file systems from foo to foofs. > [1] > http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/install-pre.html > [2] > http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/install-trouble.html A quick reading showed some bugs in [2]: - just after "FAT16 and FAT32", it says "The utility most common usage is # mount_msdosfs /dev/ad0s1 /mnt". It should say something like "This utility's most common usage is indirectly via a line in /etc/fstab or mount -t msdosfs. [Example line in fstab, and the above command line with direct use of mount_msdosfs fixed.] This [section of?] the handbook is too small to describe utilities in not most common usage like newfs_msdos." - a little later, it says It says "Extended MS-DOS file systems are usually mapped after FreeBSD partitions ... with the extended MS-DOS partition located on /dev/ad0s3", but there is no such thing as an extended MS-DOS file system. It should say something like "MS-DOS logical drives are usually mapped after primary partitions ... with the first logical drive being /dev/ad0s3" and possibly add some details ("partition" here means an MS-DOS primary partition; MS-DOS extended partitions aren't mapped; MS-DOS logical drives correspond to FreeBSD slices, except for primary partitions the partitions correspond to slices; check that in MS-DOS speak, primary partitions aren't described as logical drives; logical drives may or may not contain a file system, but in this example /dev/ad0s3 has an MS-DOS file system, and I didn't reword things enough to describe this). ---------------- end bde@ text ------------- The attached patch removes the explicit reference to FATxx (but mentions that some people call msdosfs ``FAT''), fixes the ``most common usage'', and clarifies the note about numbering of extended (msdos) partitions. >How-To-Repeat: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/install-trouble.html >Fix: Patch attached with submission follows: --- chapter.sgml.orig 2007-07-14 16:51:56.000000000 -0500 +++ chapter.sgml 2007-07-18 20:47:48.000000000 -0500 @@ -3967,24 +3967,37 @@ located in the <guimenuitem>Start</guimenuitem>> <guimenuitem>Programs</guimenuitem> > <guimenuitem>System Tools</guimenuitem> menu.</para> - <para>&os; can support &ms-dos; based file systems (FAT16 and FAT32). - This requires you use the &man.mount.msdosfs.8; command - with the required parameters. The utility most common usage is:</para> + <para>&os; can support &ms-dos; file systems (sometimes called FAT file systems). + The &man.mount.msdosfs.8; command grafts such file systems onto the + existing directory hierarchy, allowing the file system's contents + to be accessed. &man.mount.msdosfs.8; is not usually invoked directly; + instead, it is called by the system through a line in + <filename>/etc/fstab</filename> or by a call to the &man.mount.8; + utility with the appropriate parameters.</para> - <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>mount_msdosfs /dev/ad0s1 /mnt</userinput></screen> + <para>A typical line in <filename>/etc/fstab</filename> is:</para> + + <programlisting>/dev/ad0sN /dos msdosfs rw 0 0</programlisting> + + <note>the <filename>/dos</filename> directory must already + exist for this to work. For details about the format of + </filename>/etc/fstab</filename>, see &man.fstab.5;.</note> + + <para>A typicall call to &man.mount.8; for a &ms-dos; file system is:</para> + + <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>mount -t msdosfs /dev/ad0s1 /mnt</userimput></screen> <para>In this example, the &ms-dos; file system is located on the first partition of the primary hard disk. Your situation may be different, check the output from the <command>dmesg</command>, and <command>mount</command> commands. They should produce enough information to give an idea of the partition layout.</para> - <note><para>Extended &ms-dos; file systems are usually mapped after the &os; - partitions. In other words, the slice number may be higher than the ones - &os; is using. For instance, the first &ms-dos; partition may be - <filename>/dev/ad0s1</filename>, the &os; partition may be - <filename>/dev/ad0s2</filename>, with the extended &ms-dos; partition being - located on <filename>/dev/ad0s3</filename>. To some, this can be confusing - at first.</para></note> + <note><para>&os; may number disk slices (that is, &ms-dos; partitions) + differently than other operating systems. In particular, extended + &ms-dos; partitions are usually given higher slice numbers than + primary &ms-dos; partitions. The &man.fdisk.8; utility can help + determine which slices belong to &os; and which belong to other + operating systems.</para></note> <para>NTFS partitions can also be mounted in a similar manner using the &man.mount.ntfs.8; command.</para> >Release-Note: >Audit-Trail: >Unformatted:
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