Very Computer

Hi folks,

I'm having a mysterious problem under Windows 98 after I created
a new Linux partition in the extended partition. The Windows 98
started seeing an extra drive. Here's my partition layout on a
13GB hard disk

 1.5GB    2GB           5GB-          2GB     2GB
+------+-------+--------------------+------+-------+
|  C:  |   E:  |       Linux        |  D:  | Linux |
+------+-------+--------------------+------+-------+
|<- primary -->|<----------- extended ------------>|

Drive D starts at cylinder > 1,100. Originally the disk space
after D: was unused. After I created a new Linux partition on
it (either using fdisk of Linux or the PartitionMagic 6.0 for
Windows), under Windows 98 I start seeing the following drive
mapping:

C:
D:
E:    - (inaccessible)
E(F:) - original E

If I delete the last Linux partition and reboot to Windows 98,
the extra E drive then disappear, and I have C: D: and E:
back to normal.

The partition "ID" of the extended partition is extendedX
(originally extended, changed by the PartitionMagic) or 'f'
(0x0F) as seen under Linux.  If I changed the ID to extended
or '5' (0x05), then Windows 98 won't see drive D.

The symptom seems to be that I can't create a Linux partition
after D. I guess the partition table might have been in a bad
state.

Any clue to what's really happening?

Thanks,
Ge

The problem might not occur if you have installed Linux on a it's "native" file system (i.e. Ext2, Ext3. ReiserFS).
With what file system you were attempting to format your partition using a FDISK? It's worth mentioning that fdisk tool is rather primitive partitioning tool. So make use of somewhat more powerful:

Use PQ(www.powerquest.com) with Ext2( nor Ext3 nor ReiserFS is available),

Or more powerful partitioner -  Acronis OS Selector(www.acronis.com/products/oss50) for formatting with Ext2, Ext3, ReiserFS (all three are available).

I run Win98(C:, FAT32) and Linux(D:, Ext3) at one HD and have no any problems with 'em.

Regards..

Quote:> I'm having a mysterious problem under Windows 98 after I created
> a new Linux partition in the extended partition. The Windows 98
> started seeing an extra drive. Here's my partition layout on a
> 13GB hard disk

>  1.5GB    2GB           5GB-          2GB     2GB
> +------+-------+--------------------+------+-------+
>|  C:  |   E:  |       Linux        |  D:  | Linux |
> +------+-------+--------------------+------+-------+
>|<- primary -->|<----------- extended ------------>|

> Drive D starts at cylinder > 1,100. Originally the disk space
> after D: was unused. After I created a new Linux partition on
> it (either using fdisk of Linux or the PartitionMagic 6.0 for
> Windows), under Windows 98 I start seeing the following drive
> mapping:

> C:
> D:
> E:    - (inaccessible)
> E(F:) - original E

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1             1       653   5245191    b  Win95 FAT32 C:
/dev/hda2   *       654       655     16065   83  Linux /boot (LILO)
/dev/hda3           656      1099   3566430    f  Win95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5           656       943   2313328+  83  Linux /
/dev/hda6           944       968    200781   83  Linux /var
/dev/hda7           969      1099   1052226    b  Win95 FAT32 D:

--
David Efflandt - All spam ignored
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http://www.nsscc.com/ - free driver school Friday nights in March

How many hidden rules are undocumented? I often ask myself.

Thanks, folks!
Ge