Subject: Catch 22 for MSDOS FS not on Intel box
To: None <current-users@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Rob Healey <rhealey@helios.mn.org>
List: current-users
Date: 04/21/1996 02:01:34
I have an interesting problem and I was wondering how other non-Intel
ports have delt with it.
I have a Zip drive on NetBSD/Amiga. Durning boot the Amiga assigns the
device a single partition going from 0 to the end of the Zip disk.
So far no problem. The catch 22 is that I can't convince the msdos
code to skip over the fdisk area and start looking at the first
partition 32 sectors in, i.e. it's trying to read the fdisk area
as though it's the start of a partition rather than the start of the
disk.
I can't alter the disk geometry without writing an Amiga RDB record
to the start of the Zip disk, which would work for the Amiga but
then MSDOG machines wouldn't be able to grok it. Is there some way
to convince the msdos routines to start counting from N sectors in
or am I simply SOL? B^(.
The msdos code assumes the start of the device given to the mount
is the start of partition rather than the start of the disk. Obviously
the x86 port devices do this but how do the non-Intel ports simulate
this without scribbling a disk label on the Zip that would destroy
the MSDOS fdisk information?
-Rob