Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 20:07:19 +0100 From: Mark Ovens <mark@ukug.uk.freebsd.org> To: Shannon Wheeler <swheeler@altech.ab.ca> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Mounting an MS-DOS partition? - Tricky! Message-ID: <19991021200719.A341@marder-1> In-Reply-To: <05bc01bf1bdd$d21e80c0$0307070a@shannon-s> References: <05bc01bf1bdd$d21e80c0$0307070a@shannon-s>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Whilst this may seem inappropriate for -questions, I'm persuing it
as it relates to multi-booting FreeBSD with Windows and the multi-os
tutorial in the docs states:
"Windows 95 and DOS need to be on the first primary
partitiin [sic] on the first hard disk."
which contradicts what is being said here. Therefore the tutorial
may need amending so as not to give mis-leading info (and yes, I'm
volunteering to do that if it is indeed required :) ).
On Thu, Oct 21, 1999 at 09:56:56AM -0600, Shannon Wheeler wrote:
>
> It was actually never true that Windows needed to be in the first partition.
Which version of Windows are you referring to?
> You may be thinking of MS-DOS?
Well, Win3.x was a separate "OS" that ran on top of DOS, and Win95
is also a separate "OS" that runs on top of DOS (v7) although M$
try to hide the fact.
> I believe you can only install DOS in the Active primary partition (there
> should only be one active partition). This isn't necessarily the first
> primary partition. Some versions of DOS may have an additional restriction
> of only being able to install in the first primary partition. I don't have
> enough installable DOS versions, enough time, nor enough interest to test
> this.
>
> DOS can definately boot from other than the first primary partition though.
> As long as it's an Active partition.
>
Maybe this "only on C:" arose because of DOS FDISK only allowing
the creation of a single primary partition (I've always used OS/2's
FDISK, as it has a better interface, and that allows you to create
upto the maximum 4 partitions).
> Are you implying that some BIOSes
> always boot from the first partition rather than the Active partition?
I was, but now I realize that it is in fact the active partition.
I used to run OS/2's boot manager which requires it's own partition
and that wasn't the first partition, so yes, you are correct. I
was also thinking about my BIOS that allows the choice of C:, D:,
E:, or F: as well as A: and CD to boot from first. Reading the
manual it seems that these refer to the 4 possible physical (IDE)
disks, and not logical drives (DOS partitions) although these
Taiwanese mobo manuals do tend to be rather, errr, minimalist.
> Shannon
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Ovens <mark@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org>
> Date: October 21, 1999 1:37 AM
>
>
> >On Wed, Oct 20, 1999 at 10:17:38PM -0400, Tom Embt wrote:
> >> >>> root@attack>mount -t msdos /dev/wd0s2 /windows
> >> >> ^^^^^^^^^^
> >> >>Is it really wd0s2? Windows needs to be in the first partition so
> >> >>I'd expect it to be wd0s1.
> >>
> >> Sorry, that's just not true.
> >>
> >
> >It always used to be the case. Which version of Windows? Or are
> >you referring to BIOSes that permit booting from partitions other
> >than the first or smart boot managers?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
> with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
--
STATE-OF-THE-ART: Any computer you can't afford.
OBSOLETE: Any computer you own.
________________________________________________________________
FreeBSD - The Power To Serve http://www.freebsd.org
My Webpage http://ukug.uk.freebsd.org/~mark/
mailto:mark@ukug.uk.freebsd.org http://www.radan.com
To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?19991021200719.A341>