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Can't install Linux on an Extended Partition >8gb?

Posted by Cliff on from the why-doesn't-it-WORK? dept.

Ryan Jester needs assistance with the following problem: "I went out and bought a 13gb drive and now I'm kicking myself. My drive configuration is: Win 98 in the primary and NT in the first logical. And yes, I'm putting Linux before the 1024th cyl. Seems when I try and install Linux and get to the Disk Druid part I can't see any of my logical partitions in my extended partition..." There's more. Click below to read on. "...My disk configuration is 2gb primary and the rest one big extended (bigger than 8gb obviously). In Fdisk it will show the extended partition as "type f" or a Win 95 Extended (LBA), Disk Druid doesnt know what the hell it is. Once I shrink it down to 8gb with PM 4.0 then change the type back to 5 (regular extended partition) in Fdisk..I'm then able to see all my logical partions. So any fix or am I SOL and just make another primary partition and reconfig the whole drive."

Is the solution to this one fairly obvious? Or are there deeper issues?

4 comments

  1. Same here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I had the same problem after using PM 4.0....
    It messes around with the partition table apparently, but if you know the partition number, which starts at 5 for logical drives I believe, or maybe higher, you can actually still mount them. So even though after messing with my partitions using PM 4.0, I can still mount the logical drives that I can no longer see!

    Hope this helps... Maybe you should avoid using PM4....


  2. Maybe the problem is just DiskDruid ? by achim · · Score: 1

    As I understand your problem, the partititions are correctly shown in Linux fdisk. So why worry? I'd think DiskDruid is not up to date, and you need to bypass it.

    OTOH, I don't know how to do that, I don't use RH.

  3. drive geometry by bats · · Score: 1

    I think there's a problem with determining the drive geometry with >8gb drives.

    Try passing the drive geometry at the lilo prompt, ie

    lilo: linux hda=2055,255,63

    Works for my 17gb ibm drive.

  4. Sounds like you are using RedHat 5.x by Volta · · Score: 1

    If so, the solution to your problem is to use the updated 'boot' and 'supp' images that are available on the redhat ftp site in the 5.2 directory. These images add support for Win98 extended partitions to disk druid, which is used for partition assignment even if you use fdisk to create the partitions.

    If you are installing from CD, you'll need to boot of the boot disk and type 'linux supp' at the LILO prompt, as some of the fixes are actually on the supplimental image.