Re: 9.1 install comments

[Mouse <mouse%Rodents-Montreal.ORG@localhost>]

> I just fixed the 2048 forced start part of the issue, but it still
> will not let you pick start = 4, as MBR reserves the full first
> track, so now you will end up with start=63 most likely.

I was trying for start=8, not start=4.  (That is, an offset of one
underlying media sector.)  But each is <63, so....

What is the "first full track" reserved _for_?  I've occasionally had
things default to offset=8, and I've never had anything break when I
specify offset 8, except for (a) this and (b) fdisk defaulting the size
to 55 (63-8, presumably), but fdisk has always been willing to do what
I told it when I supply the size I want.

So, my perception is that while perhaps the track is formally reserved,
whatever it's reserved for either is no longer used or in practice
doesn't use much of it.  Am I wrong, or am I right about only a
restricted subset of machines, or what?

I also would argue that, if it's going to use a number other than what
the user entered (especially when sectors are in use) that it should
say so, say why, and say what it's using instead, rather than just
silently changing it between one screen and the next.  (Ideally, I'd
*like* to have an option to tell it "do what I tell you even if it may
break something", but that may be giving too much rope to most users.)

> I also fixed the boot code selection bug - it will only force the
> bootselection MBR code now if there is more than 1 partition.

Better, certainly, but I'd argue that even then it shouldn't force
anything.  The presence of multiple MBR partitions does not necessarily
mean that more than one of them is ever going to be wanted bootable.
(I'd say "more than zero", but I think doing an install is reasonable
evidence that we want at least one of them to be bootable.  Besides,
the user *can* decline to replace the bootcode.)

That is, if it offers bootsel as an option, I argue it should also
offer non-bootsel as an option.

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