Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 22:25:03 -0600 From: gastop@top.net To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Problems w/ EZ Drive Message-ID: <v01540b00afce5b6bbdd1@[207.239.216.25]>
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>recognizes half my hd. It is like I do not have EZ and I can't get over >528mb. Is there an updated fdisk that I can partition with so I can >partition it with that then skip the install's partition and go straight >to formatting it and so on (btw, will format recognize my entire gig)? I assume that you own a Maxtor drive, because you refer to the EZ-Drive software, which I know comes with Maxtors. I am also assuming that you are dedicating all of your drive to FreeBSD. When I installed FreeBSD on my "4.3gb" equipped P5-90MHz machine, I found that I did not need the EZ software. As I understand it, FreeBSD doesn't use the BIOS, so it is not limited by the same restrictions that DOS is. What happens if you just install BootEasy over the EZ software and attempt an install? I do know (or strongly believe) that my 1 month old 4.3 is EIDE, but I do not know if this is relevant. I know that the EZ software was whining about my BIOS only being able to address 528mb. My Drive geometry is: 8400-16-63-512b/s, and FreeBSD correctly diagnoses this as a 4134mb disk. The only place that I can see this failing is if I tried to install a partition beyond the first 504 mb, which would be 1024 cyl., at which point it would not be bootable. So if you want to install DOS too, you would have to make the DOS partition first, and not more than 500+-mb. Technically, I think that only the first 6k of the FreeBSD boot procedure need to be in the BIOS zone, but the whole kernel file might. If the kernel does, then just take 32mb off of the DOS partition for the FreeBSD "/" (root) partition, ensuring that the kernel file resides in the BIOS zone, regardless of where it is in the / partition. One more thing, notice how the installer says 528mb while DOS FDISK and I say 504? This is because the installer deceptively claims that one mb is 1,000,000 bytes, but the rest of the computer industry claims it is 1024*1024=1,048,576 bytes. By the time you get into the 4gb zone, they are decieving you to the tune of 161mb. It claims this in microscopic print on the underside of the box. If anyone has any disputes with any of the claims made above, please tell me. I am fairly new at Unix and PC Hardware, and I would like to correct any problems before they become engrained in my thinking. Daniel Gast gastop@top.net
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