linux fdisk changed CHS, now Windows says "invalid media type"

[student]

Hello.

Problem: Partition Magic and Linux fdisk disagree
about what is the correct CHS settings on my boot
drive.

How things got this way I am not sure, but the
bottom line is that Windows sees my C partition
as "invalid media type" and won't boot.

Linux has no problems reading any of the partitions
on either of my two drives and everything seems to
be in place:

Disk /dev/hdc: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdc1 1 261 2096451 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc2 262 2823 20579265 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hdc3 2824 3590 6160927+ 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hdc4 3591 4865 10241437+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hdc5 262 516 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc6 517 771 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc7 772 1026 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc8 1027 1281 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc9 1282 1536 2048256 83 Linux
/dev/hdc10 1537 2046 4096543+ 83 Linux
/dev/hdc11 2047 2053 56196 83 Linux
/dev/hdc12 2054 2184 1052226 82 Linux swap
/dev/hdc13 2185 2823 5132736 83 Linux

Disk /dev/hda: 6448 MB, 6448619520 bytes
15 heads, 63 sectors/track, 13328 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 945 * 512 = 483840 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 4438 2096923+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/hda2 4439 13328 4200525 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 4439 13328 4200493+ b W95 FAT32


However, when Partition Magic sees my 1st drive it now says "Disk 2
(38166MB 77544c 16h 63s) appears to have partitions created using a
different drive geometry (255h 63s). This serious problem
can lead to data loss. No partition manipulations should be made
to this disk using this product or the operating system's products. You
should back up the data on this disk, delete all partitions, create new
partitions ***under the new drive geometry***. and then restore your
data using the backup."


I am not sure what "the new drive geometry" means but given that Linux
can read both drives with no problems, that advice seems a bit extreme
to me.

Question 1: Why not use Linux/fdisk xpert mode to set the CHS to what
Partition Magic thinks it should be (77544c 16h 63s)?

Linux/fdisk xpert mode now says this:

Expert command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hdc: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 4865 cylinders

Nr AF Hd Sec Cyl Hd Sec Cyl Start Size ID
1 00 1 1 0 254 63 260 63 4192902 0b
2 00 0 1 261 254 63 1023 4192965 41158530 0f
3 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 45351495 12321855 17
4 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 57673350 20482875 07
5 00 1 1 261 254 63 515 63 4096512 0b
6 00 1 1 516 254 63 770 63 4096512 0b
7 00 1 1 771 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
8 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
9 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 83
10 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 8193087 83
11 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 112392 83
12 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 2104452 82
13 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 10265472 83

Expert command (m for help):

And if I now reset the CHS to what Partition Magic seems
to want, I get this:

Expert command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hdc: 16 heads, 63 sectors, 77544 cylinders

Nr AF Hd Sec Cyl Hd Sec Cyl Start Size ID
1 00 1 1 0 254 63 260 63 4192902 0b
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
2 00 0 1 261 254 63 1023 4192965 41158530 0f
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
3 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 45351495 12321855 17
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
4 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 57673350 20482875 07
Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary.
5 00 1 1 261 254 63 515 63 4096512 0b
6 00 1 1 516 254 63 770 63 4096512 0b
7 00 1 1 771 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
8 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
9 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 83
10 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 8193087 83
11 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 112392 83
12 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 2104452 82
13 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 10265472 83

Expert command (m for help):

Question 2: Do I need to worry about these

Partition does not end on cylinder boundary

messages, or is it safe for me to write the new partition table?


Question 3: Is there some other way to fix this problem?


Sorry for the long-winded post and thanks in advance
for your kind assistance, because until this problem is fixed,
I am basically screwed.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Hello.

Problem: Partition Magic and Linux fdisk disagree
about what is the correct CHS settings on my boot
drive.

How things got this way I am not sure, but the
bottom line is that Windows sees my C partition
as "invalid media type" and won't boot.

Strange. Were the windoes partitions originally created
with Windows, Linux or someting else? I create all my Linux
partitions with Linux Fdisk and never had problems.

Linux has no problems reading any of the partitions
on either of my two drives and everything seems to
be in place:

Disk /dev/hdc: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdc1 1 261 2096451 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc2 262 2823 20579265 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hdc3 2824 3590 6160927+ 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hdc4 3591 4865 10241437+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hdc5 262 516 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc6 517 771 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc7 772 1026 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc8 1027 1281 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hdc9 1282 1536 2048256 83 Linux
/dev/hdc10 1537 2046 4096543+ 83 Linux
/dev/hdc11 2047 2053 56196 83 Linux
/dev/hdc12 2054 2184 1052226 82 Linux swap
/dev/hdc13 2185 2823 5132736 83 Linux

Looks fine to me. On the other hand Linux does not care about physical
disk geometry and newer partition tools (cfdisk, parted) do not
even give you the CHS numbers.

Disk /dev/hda: 6448 MB, 6448619520 bytes
15 heads, 63 sectors/track, 13328 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 945 * 512 = 483840 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 4438 2096923+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/hda2 4439 13328 4200525 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 4439 13328 4200493+ b W95 FAT32

O.k., you windows problem is here, since htis is the boot-disk. I
don't remember why, but I have my windows boot disk on a partition type
'b'. WHat also is strange is to have a non-LBA partition (hda5) in an
LBA extended partition (hda2). I suspect that is what PM complains
about.

Questions:
- What bootmanager do you use?
- What Windows version (SP?)?
- What was the last think you did before it stopped working?

However, when Partition Magic sees my 1st drive it now says "Disk 2
(38166MB 77544c 16h 63s) appears to have partitions created using a
different drive geometry (255h 63s). This serious problem
can lead to data loss. No partition manipulations should be made
to this disk using this product or the operating system's products. You
should back up the data on this disk, delete all partitions, create new
partitions ***under the new drive geometry***. and then restore your
data using the backup."

I am not sure what "the new drive geometry" means but given that Linux
can read both drives with no problems, that advice seems a bit extreme
to me.

Question 1: Why not use Linux/fdisk xpert mode to set the CHS to what
Partition Magic thinks it should be (77544c 16h 63s)?

Since PM/Windows seem to have unreasonable problems, doing that
can have arbitrary effects and I would advise against it.
I also would advise you to first get Windows to boot again
and only then look at hdc.

Linux/fdisk xpert mode now says this:

Expert command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hdc: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 4865 cylinders

Nr AF Hd Sec Cyl Hd Sec Cyl Start Size ID
1 00 1 1 0 254 63 260 63 4192902 0b
2 00 0 1 261 254 63 1023 4192965 41158530 0f
3 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 45351495 12321855 17
4 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 57673350 20482875 07
5 00 1 1 261 254 63 515 63 4096512 0b
6 00 1 1 516 254 63 770 63 4096512 0b
7 00 1 1 771 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
8 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
9 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 83
10 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 8193087 83
11 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 112392 83
12 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 2104452 82
13 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 10265472 83

Expert command (m for help):

And if I now reset the CHS to what Partition Magic seems
to want, I get this:

Expert command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hdc: 16 heads, 63 sectors, 77544 cylinders

Nr AF Hd Sec Cyl Hd Sec Cyl Start Size ID
1 00 1 1 0 254 63 260 63 4192902 0b
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
2 00 0 1 261 254 63 1023 4192965 41158530 0f
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
3 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 45351495 12321855 17
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
4 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 57673350 20482875 07
Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary.
5 00 1 1 261 254 63 515 63 4096512 0b
6 00 1 1 516 254 63 770 63 4096512 0b
7 00 1 1 771 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
8 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
9 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 83
10 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 8193087 83
11 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 112392 83
12 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 2104452 82
13 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 10265472 83

Expert command (m for help):

Maybe expert mode is not a good idea. Linux fdisk in expert mode only
supports 1024 cylinters, which is too little for you disks.

Question 2: Do I need to worry about these

Partition does not end on cylinder boundary

No. At least not in Linux.

messages, or is it safe for me to write the new partition table?

Question 3: Is there some other way to fix this problem?

I think your first priority should be hda1 in order to get
windows to boot. Then you can check what it sees and maybe
you will not even have a problem anymore. From what I see, hdc
has 18GB free space. Maybe you should first extend hdc2 to the
full free space and create an other partition on hdc, so you can
store a baclup of hda* and then work on hda with lottle risk.
I strongly advise you to stay away from PM, it is known for
breaking things. Personally I have made good experiences
with GNU parted (._google), though it cannot resize NTFS
partitions.

Sorry for the long-winded post and thanks in advance
for your kind assistance, because until this problem is fixed,
I am basically screwed.

Work under Linux instead? ;-)

Arno

 

[student]

I think your first priority should be hda1 in order to get
windows to boot. Then you can check what it sees and maybe
you will not even have a problem anymore.

I should have explained that after I lost Windows access to my main
drive, I installed a copy of Windoze on my secndary drive and then
swapped the IDE connectors, so that my main drive is now /dec/hdc and my
secondary drive is now /dev/hda.

Same question: Would I lose any data if I ran Linux/fdisk in xpert
mode and changed the CHS on the drive from its present 4865/255/63 back
to 77544/16/63 (which is what PM wants it to be)?

Any takers?

 

[Eric Gisin]

OK, hda is 6GB and hdc is 40GB. PM says hdc is Disk 2, which is fine.

I suspect your BIOS is set to AUTO. Fdisk created non-standard partition,
causing the BIOS to change translation from LBA to something else.
You could try setting BIOS translation to LBA.

I would download findpart from www.partitionsupport.com,
and run "findpart tables" from a DOS floppy.

A better way to set up the system is Linux on the 6GB, and WinXP on the 40GB.

 

[student]

after I lost Windows access to my main
drive, I installed a copy of Windoze on my secndary drive and then
swapped the IDE connectors, so that my main drive is now /dec/hdc and my
secondary drive is now /dev/hda.

Just to recap, here is how my Windows partitions
were laid out before and after the disaster.

(I created extended partition on the secondary drive
after the disaster.)

Before:

primary drive: C <E,F,G,H>
secondary drive: D

After:

secondary drive: C <E>
primary drive: D <F,G,H,I> K

Weird facts:

If in MyComputer I click on drive "D", Windows says

D:\ is not accessible

but I have total read/write access to drive "K" -- and guess what?

Yep, "K" is in fact my original "C" Windows boot partition.

Hmm. What does FDISK say?

Display Partition Information

Current fixed disk drive: 2

Partition Status Type Volume Label Mbytes System Usage
D: 1 PRI DOS 2047 UNKNOWN 35%
2 Non-DOS 6017 100%
3 NTFS 10001 100%
4 EXT DOS 20097 100%

Total disk space is 5910 Mbytes (1 Mbyte = 1048576 bytes)

This "should" be like

D: 1 PRI DOS 2047 UNKNOWN 35%
2 EXT DOS 20097 100%
3 Non-DOS (hidden ntfs) 6017 100%
4 NTFS 10001 100%


Pretty screwy.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

I should have explained that after I lost Windows access to my main
drive, I installed a copy of Windoze on my secndary drive and then
swapped the IDE connectors, so that my main drive is now /dec/hdc and my
secondary drive is now /dev/hda.

Same question: Would I lose any data if I ran Linux/fdisk in xpert
mode and changed the CHS on the drive from its present 4865/255/63 back
to 77544/16/63 (which is what PM wants it to be)?

Neither changes anything 'on' the drive because neither 4865/255/63 or
77544/16/63 are on the drive. They are 2 different pseudo CHS notations for
the LBA capacity. The CHS values in the MBR are limited to 1023, 255 and 63.

What it may do is change the 255 in 16.
That doesn't solve anything except satisfy PM.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Hello.

Problem: Partition Magic and Linux fdisk disagree
about what is the correct CHS settings on my boot
drive.

How things got this way I am not sure, but the
bottom line is that Windows sees my C partition
as "invalid media type" and won't boot.

[snip]

However, when Partition Magic sees my 1st drive it now says "Disk 2
(38166MB 77544c 16h 63s) appears to have partitions created using a
different drive geometry (255h 63s). This serious problem
can lead to data loss. No partition manipulations should be made
to this disk using this product or the operating system's products. You
should back up the data on this disk, delete all partitions, create new
partitions ***under the new drive geometry***. and then restore your
data using the backup."

I am not sure what "the new drive geometry" means but given that Linux
can read both drives with no problems, that advice seems a bit extreme
to me.

Rather.

Question 1: Why not use Linux/fdisk xpert mode to set the CHS to what
Partition Magic thinks it should be (77544c 16h 63s)?

Since PM/Windows seem to have unreasonable problems, doing that
can have arbitrary effects and I would advise against it.
I also would advise you to first get Windows to boot again
and only then look at hdc.

Linux/fdisk xpert mode now says this:

Expert command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hdc: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 4865 cylinders

Nr AF Hd Sec Cyl Hd Sec Cyl Start Size ID
1 00 1 1 0 254 63 260 63 4192902 0b
2 00 0 1 261 254 63 1023 4192965 41158530 0f
3 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 45351495 12321855 17
4 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 57673350 20482875 07
5 00 1 1 261 254 63 515 63 4096512 0b
6 00 1 1 516 254 63 770 63 4096512 0b
7 00 1 1 771 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
8 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 0b
9 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 4096512 83
10 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 8193087 83
11 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 112392 83
12 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 2104452 82
13 00 1 1 1023 254 63 1023 63 10265472 83

Expert command (m for help):

And if I now reset the CHS to what Partition Magic seems
to want, I get this:

Expert command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hdc: 16 heads, 63 sectors, 77544 cylinders

Nr AF Hd Sec Cyl Hd Sec Cyl Start Size ID
1 00 1 1 0 254 63 260 63 4192902 0b
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
2 00 0 1 261 254 63 1023 4192965 41158530 0f
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
3 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 45351495 12321855 17
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
4 00 0 1 1023 254 63 1023 57673350 20482875 07
Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary.

Great software.
If this is to believed it doesn't change the MBR values,
it changes the BIOS translation instead. Quite a feat.

Maybe expert mode is not a good idea. Linux fdisk in expert mode only
supports 1024 cylinters, which is too little for you disks.

As if anything else can put more in a space that only holds 1023/255/63.

[snip]

 

[student]

OK, hda is 6GB and hdc is 40GB. PM says hdc is Disk 2, which is fine.

I suspect your BIOS is set to AUTO. Fdisk created non-standard partition,
causing the BIOS to change translation from LBA to something else.
You could try setting BIOS translation to LBA.

I would download findpart from www.partitionsupport.com,
and run "findpart tables" from a DOS floppy.

Findpart, version 4.67 - for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Copyright Svend Olaf Mikkelsen, 1999-2005.

OS: Windows 4.10.2222 Partition tables:

Disk: 1 Cylinders: 13328 Heads: 15 Sectors: 63 MB: 6149

--PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB --Start CHS- ---End CHS-- BS CHS
0 1*0C 63 4193847 2047 0 1 1 4437* 14 63 OK OK
0 2 0F 4193910 8401050 4102 4438 0 1 13327 14 63 OK

4438 1 0B 63 8400987 4102 4438 1 1 13327 14 63 R0 OK

Disk: 2 Cylinders: 77544 Heads: 16 Sectors: 63 MB: 38166

--PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB --Start CHS- ---End CHS-- BS CHS
0 1 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 NB NB
0 1 1 4159 10 63 Actual
0 2 0F 4192965 41158530 20096 261 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
4159 11 1 44991 8 63 Actual
0 3 17 45351495 12321855 6016 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
44991 9 1 57215 9 63 Actual
0 4 07 57673350 20482875 10001 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
57215 10 1 77535 14 63 Actual

4159+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 261 1 1 515 254 63 OK NB
4159 12 1 8223 11 63 Actual
4159+2 05 4096575 4096575 2000 516 0 1 770 254 63 NB
8223 12 1 12287 12 63 Actual

8223+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 516 1 1 770 254 63 OK NB
8223 13 1 12287 12 63 Actual
8223+2 05 8193150 4096575 2000 771 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
12287 13 1 16351 13 63 Actual

12287+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1023 254 63 R0 NB
12287 14 1 16351 13 63 Actual
12287+2 05 12289725 4096575 2000 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
16351 14 1 20415 14 63 Actual

16351+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 R0 NB
16351 15 1 20415 14 63 Actual
16351+2 05 16386300 4096575 2000 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
20415 15 1 24479 15 63 Actual

20415+1 83 63 4096512 2000 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
20416 0 1 24479 15 63 Actual
20415+2 05 20482875 8193150 4000 24480* 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
24480 0 1 32608 1 63 Actual

24480 1 83 63 8193087 4000 24480* 1 1 1023 254 63 NB NB
24480 1 1 32608 1 63 Actual
24480 2 05 28676025 112455 54 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
32608 2 1 32719 10 63 Actual

32608+1 83 63 112392 54 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
32608 3 1 32719 10 63 Actual
32608+2 05 28788480 2104515 1027 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
32719 11 1 34807 7 63 Actual

32719+1 82 63 2104452 1027 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 NB
32719 12 1 34807 7 63 Actual
32719+2 05 30892995 10265535 5012 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
34807 8 1 44991 8 63 Actual

34807+1 83 63 10265472 5012 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK 3 NB
34807 9 1 44991 8 63 Actual

Greek to me.

 

[Svend Olaf Mikkelsen]

Findpart, version 4.67 - for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Copyright Svend Olaf Mikkelsen, 1999-2005.

OS: Windows 4.10.2222 Partition tables:

Disk: 1 Cylinders: 13328 Heads: 15 Sectors: 63 MB: 6149

--PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB --Start CHS- ---End CHS-- BS CHS
0 1*0C 63 4193847 2047 0 1 1 4437* 14 63 OK OK
0 2 0F 4193910 8401050 4102 4438 0 1 13327 14 63 OK

4438 1 0B 63 8400987 4102 4438 1 1 13327 14 63 R0 OK

Disk: 2 Cylinders: 77544 Heads: 16 Sectors: 63 MB: 38166

--PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB --Start CHS- ---End CHS-- BS CHS
0 1 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 NB NB
0 1 1 4159 10 63 Actual
0 2 0F 4192965 41158530 20096 261 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
4159 11 1 44991 8 63 Actual
0 3 17 45351495 12321855 6016 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
44991 9 1 57215 9 63 Actual
0 4 07 57673350 20482875 10001 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
57215 10 1 77535 14 63 Actual

4159+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 261 1 1 515 254 63 OK NB
4159 12 1 8223 11 63 Actual
4159+2 05 4096575 4096575 2000 516 0 1 770 254 63 NB
8223 12 1 12287 12 63 Actual

8223+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 516 1 1 770 254 63 OK NB
8223 13 1 12287 12 63 Actual
8223+2 05 8193150 4096575 2000 771 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
12287 13 1 16351 13 63 Actual

12287+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1023 254 63 R0 NB
12287 14 1 16351 13 63 Actual
12287+2 05 12289725 4096575 2000 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
16351 14 1 20415 14 63 Actual

16351+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 R0 NB
16351 15 1 20415 14 63 Actual
16351+2 05 16386300 4096575 2000 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
20415 15 1 24479 15 63 Actual

20415+1 83 63 4096512 2000 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
20416 0 1 24479 15 63 Actual
20415+2 05 20482875 8193150 4000 24480* 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
24480 0 1 32608 1 63 Actual

24480 1 83 63 8193087 4000 24480* 1 1 1023 254 63 NB NB
24480 1 1 32608 1 63 Actual
24480 2 05 28676025 112455 54 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
32608 2 1 32719 10 63 Actual

32608+1 83 63 112392 54 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
32608 3 1 32719 10 63 Actual
32608+2 05 28788480 2104515 1027 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
32719 11 1 34807 7 63 Actual

32719+1 82 63 2104452 1027 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 NB
32719 12 1 34807 7 63 Actual
32719+2 05 30892995 10265535 5012 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
34807 8 1 44991 8 63 Actual

34807+1 83 63 10265472 5012 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK 3 NB
34807 9 1 44991 8 63 Actual

Greek to me.

Also do:

findpart 2 heads 255 fp-a.txt

The ID (type) of a primary FAT32 partition ending cylinder 1024 or
later should be 0C. That however is not the entire problem.

You may be able to change the BIOS setting, so the disk is shown as
255 heads 63 sectors in Windows 98.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Findpart, version 4.67 - for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Copyright Svend Olaf Mikkelsen, 1999-2005.

OS: Windows 4.10.2222 Partition tables:

Disk: 1 Cylinders: 13328 Heads: 15 Sectors: 63 MB: 6149

--PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB --Start CHS- ---End CHS-- BS CHS
0 1*0C 63 4193847 2047 0 1 1 4437* 14 63 OK OK
0 2 0F 4193910 8401050 4102 4438 0 1 13327 14 63 OK

4438 1 0B 63 8400987 4102 4438 1 1 13327 14 63 R0 OK

Disk: 2 Cylinders: 77544 Heads: 16 Sectors: 63 MB: 38166

--PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB --Start CHS- ---End CHS-- BS CHS

0 1 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 NB NB

There is a NB (Nota Bene) under BS (Boot Sector). Bootsector problem?

0 1 1 4159 10 63 Actual
0 2 0F 4192965 41158530 20096 261 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
4159 11 1 44991 8 63 Actual
0 3 17 45351495 12321855 6016 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
44991 9 1 57215 9 63 Actual
0 4 07 57673350 20482875 10001 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
57215 10 1 77535 14 63 Actual

4159+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 261 1 1 515 254 63 OK NB
4159 12 1 8223 11 63 Actual
4159+2 05 4096575 4096575 2000 516 0 1 770 254 63 NB
8223 12 1 12287 12 63 Actual

8223+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 516 1 1 770 254 63 OK NB
8223 13 1 12287 12 63 Actual
8223+2 05 8193150 4096575 2000 771 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
12287 13 1 16351 13 63 Actual

12287+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1023 254 63 R0 NB
12287 14 1 16351 13 63 Actual
12287+2 05 12289725 4096575 2000 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
16351 14 1 20415 14 63 Actual

16351+1 0B 63 4096512 2000 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 R0 NB
16351 15 1 20415 14 63 Actual
16351+2 05 16386300 4096575 2000 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
20415 15 1 24479 15 63 Actual

20415+1 83 63 4096512 2000 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
20416 0 1 24479 15 63 Actual
20415+2 05 20482875 8193150 4000 24480* 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
24480 0 1 32608 1 63 Actual

24480 1 83 63 8193087 4000 24480* 1 1 1023 254 63 NB NB
24480 1 1 32608 1 63 Actual
24480 2 05 28676025 112455 54 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
32608 2 1 32719 10 63 Actual

32608+1 83 63 112392 54 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK NB
32608 3 1 32719 10 63 Actual
32608+2 05 28788480 2104515 1027 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
32719 11 1 34807 7 63 Actual

32719+1 82 63 2104452 1027 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 NB
32719 12 1 34807 7 63 Actual
32719+2 05 30892995 10265535 5012 1023 0 1 1023 254 63 NB
34807 8 1 44991 8 63 Actual

34807+1 83 63 10265472 5012 1023 1 1 1023 254 63 OK 3 NB
34807 9 1 44991 8 63 Actual

Greek to me.

And doesn't always show the true values.

 

[student]

Also do:

findpart 2 heads 255 fp-a.txt

The ID (type) of a primary FAT32 partition ending cylinder 1024 or
later should be 0C. That however is not the entire problem.

You may be able to change the BIOS setting, so the disk is shown as
255 heads 63 sectors in Windows 98.

Thank you for noticing my plight and coming to my assistance!

Here is the output from

findpart 2 heads 255 fp-a.txt

Findpart, version 4.67 - for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Copyright Svend Olaf Mikkelsen, 1999-2005.

OS: Windows 4.10.2222

Disk: 2 Cylinders: 77544 Heads: 16 Sectors: 63 MB: 38166
*** Simulated translation:
Disk: 2 Cylinders: 4865 Heads: 255 Sectors: 63 MB: 38162

-PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB -Start CHS- --End CHS-- BS CHS
0 - 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 B OK
261 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 261 1 1 515 254 63 OK OK
261 2 05 4096575 4096575 2000 516 0 1 770 254 63 261 OK
516 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 516 1 1 770 254 63 OK OK
516 2 05 8193150 4096575 2000 771 0 1 1025*254 63 261 OK
771 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1025*254 63 R0 OK
771 2 05 12289725 4096575 2000 1026* 0 1 1280*254 63 261 OK
0 - 0B 12386178 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1025 254 63 B OK
1026 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 1026* 1 1 1280*254 63 R0 OK
1026 2 05 16386300 4096575 2000 1281* 0 1 1535*254 63 261 OK
0 - 0B 16482753 4096512 2000 1026 1 1 1280 254 63 B OK
1281 1 83 63 4096512 2000 1281* 1 1 1535*254 63 OK OK
1281 2 05 20482875 8193150 4000 1536* 0 1 2045*254 63 261 OK
1536 1 83 63 8193087 4000 1536* 1 1 2045*254 63 OK 3 OK
1536 2 05 28676025 112455 54 2046* 0 1 2052*254 63 261 OK
Lilo sector 1536 1 1
2046 1 83 63 112392 54 2046* 1 1 2052*254 63 OK OK
2046 2 05 28788480 2104515 1027 2053* 0 1 2183*254 63 261 OK
Lilo sector 2046 1 1
2053 1 82 63 2104452 1027 2053* 1 1 2183*254 63 OK
2053 2 05 30892995 10265535 5012 2184* 0 1 2822*254 63 261 OK
2184 1 83 63 10265472 5012 2184* 1 1 2822*254 63 OK 3 OK
0 - 07 45351495 12321855 6016 2823 0 1 3589 254 63 B OK
0 - 07 57673350 20482875 10001 3590 0 1 4864 254 63 B OK

-----FAT CHS -Size Cl --Root -Good -Rep. Maybe --Bad YYMMDD DataMB
0 1 33 4089 4 5136 4089 0 0 0 030302 1901
261 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 021124 1564
516 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 021126 795
771 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 041215 1537
1026 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 040812 1751

Partitions according to partition tables on second harddisk:

-PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB -Start CHS- --End CHS-- BS CHS
0 1 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 OK OK
0 2 0F 4192965 41158530 20096 261 0 1 2822*254 63 OK
0 3 17 45351495 12321855 6016 2823* 0 1 3589*254 63 OK OK
0 4 07 57673350 20482875 10001 3590* 0 1 4864*254 63 OK OK

261 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 261 1 1 515 254 63 OK OK
261 2 05 4096575 4096575 2000 516 0 1 770 254 63 OK

516 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 516 1 1 770 254 63 OK OK
516 2 05 8193150 4096575 2000 771 0 1 1025*254 63 OK

771 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1025*254 63 R0 OK
771 2 05 12289725 4096575 2000 1026* 0 1 1280*254 63 OK

1026 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 1026* 1 1 1280*254 63 R0 OK
1026 2 05 16386300 4096575 2000 1281* 0 1 1535*254 63 OK

1281 1 83 63 4096512 2000 1281* 1 1 1535*254 63 OK OK
1281 2 05 20482875 8193150 4000 1536* 0 1 2045*254 63 OK

1536 1 83 63 8193087 4000 1536* 1 1 2045*254 63 OK 3 OK
1536 2 05 28676025 112455 54 2046* 0 1 2052*254 63 OK

2046 1 83 63 112392 54 2046* 1 1 2052*254 63 OK OK
2046 2 05 28788480 2104515 1027 2053* 0 1 2183*254 63 OK

2053 1 82 63 2104452 1027 2053* 1 1 2183*254 63 OK
2053 2 05 30892995 10265535 5012 2184* 0 1 2822*254 63 OK

2184 1 83 63 10265472 5012 2184* 1 1 2822*254 63 OK 3 OK
--

 

[Svend Olaf Mikkelsen]

Findpart, version 4.67 - for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Copyright Svend Olaf Mikkelsen, 1999-2005.

OS: Windows 4.10.2222

Disk: 2 Cylinders: 77544 Heads: 16 Sectors: 63 MB: 38166
*** Simulated translation:
Disk: 2 Cylinders: 4865 Heads: 255 Sectors: 63 MB: 38162

-PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB -Start CHS- --End CHS-- BS CHS
0 - 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 B OK
261 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 261 1 1 515 254 63 OK OK
261 2 05 4096575 4096575 2000 516 0 1 770 254 63 261 OK
516 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 516 1 1 770 254 63 OK OK
516 2 05 8193150 4096575 2000 771 0 1 1025*254 63 261 OK
771 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1025*254 63 R0 OK
771 2 05 12289725 4096575 2000 1026* 0 1 1280*254 63 261 OK
0 - 0B 12386178 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1025 254 63 B OK
1026 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 1026* 1 1 1280*254 63 R0 OK
1026 2 05 16386300 4096575 2000 1281* 0 1 1535*254 63 261 OK
0 - 0B 16482753 4096512 2000 1026 1 1 1280 254 63 B OK
1281 1 83 63 4096512 2000 1281* 1 1 1535*254 63 OK OK
1281 2 05 20482875 8193150 4000 1536* 0 1 2045*254 63 261 OK
1536 1 83 63 8193087 4000 1536* 1 1 2045*254 63 OK 3 OK
1536 2 05 28676025 112455 54 2046* 0 1 2052*254 63 261 OK
Lilo sector 1536 1 1
2046 1 83 63 112392 54 2046* 1 1 2052*254 63 OK OK
2046 2 05 28788480 2104515 1027 2053* 0 1 2183*254 63 261 OK
Lilo sector 2046 1 1
2053 1 82 63 2104452 1027 2053* 1 1 2183*254 63 OK
2053 2 05 30892995 10265535 5012 2184* 0 1 2822*254 63 261 OK
2184 1 83 63 10265472 5012 2184* 1 1 2822*254 63 OK 3 OK
0 - 07 45351495 12321855 6016 2823 0 1 3589 254 63 B OK
0 - 07 57673350 20482875 10001 3590 0 1 4864 254 63 B OK

-----FAT CHS -Size Cl --Root -Good -Rep. Maybe --Bad YYMMDD DataMB
0 1 33 4089 4 5136 4089 0 0 0 030302 1901
261 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 021124 1564
516 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 021126 795
771 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 041215 1537
1026 1 35 15879 1 2 15879 0 0 0 040812 1751

Partitions according to partition tables on second harddisk:

-PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB -Start CHS- --End CHS-- BS CHS
0 1 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 OK OK
0 2 0F 4192965 41158530 20096 261 0 1 2822*254 63 OK
0 3 17 45351495 12321855 6016 2823* 0 1 3589*254 63 OK OK
0 4 07 57673350 20482875 10001 3590* 0 1 4864*254 63 OK OK

261 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 261 1 1 515 254 63 OK OK
261 2 05 4096575 4096575 2000 516 0 1 770 254 63 OK

516 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 516 1 1 770 254 63 OK OK
516 2 05 8193150 4096575 2000 771 0 1 1025*254 63 OK

771 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 771 1 1 1025*254 63 R0 OK
771 2 05 12289725 4096575 2000 1026* 0 1 1280*254 63 OK

1026 1 0B 63 4096512 2000 1026* 1 1 1280*254 63 R0 OK
1026 2 05 16386300 4096575 2000 1281* 0 1 1535*254 63 OK

1281 1 83 63 4096512 2000 1281* 1 1 1535*254 63 OK OK
1281 2 05 20482875 8193150 4000 1536* 0 1 2045*254 63 OK

1536 1 83 63 8193087 4000 1536* 1 1 2045*254 63 OK 3 OK
1536 2 05 28676025 112455 54 2046* 0 1 2052*254 63 OK

2046 1 83 63 112392 54 2046* 1 1 2052*254 63 OK OK
2046 2 05 28788480 2104515 1027 2053* 0 1 2183*254 63 OK

2053 1 82 63 2104452 1027 2053* 1 1 2183*254 63 OK
2053 2 05 30892995 10265535 5012 2184* 0 1 2822*254 63 OK

2184 1 83 63 10265472 5012 2184* 1 1 2822*254 63 OK 3 OK

No partition table problems are seen in the Findpart output for this
disk, except that the BIOS setting is wrong.

 

[student]

Findpart, version 4.67 - for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Copyright Svend Olaf Mikkelsen, 1999-2005.

[snip]


No partition table problems are seen in the Findpart output for this
disk, ***except that the BIOS setting is wrong.***

Thank you.

What do you mean by "the BIOS setting" and what is wrong with it?

 

[student]

Findpart, version 4.67 - for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Copyright Svend Olaf Mikkelsen, 1999-2005.

OS: Windows 4.10.2222

Disk: 2 Cylinders: 77544 Heads: 16 Sectors: 63 MB: 38166
*** Simulated translation:
Disk: 2 Cylinders: 4865 Heads: 255 Sectors: 63 MB: 38162

-PCyl N ID -----Rel -----Num ---MB -Start CHS- --End CHS-- BS CHS
0 - 0B 63 4192902 2047 0 1 1 260 254 63 B OK [snip]
2184 1 83 63 10265472 5012 2184* 1 1 2822*254 63 OK 3 OK

No partition table problems are seen in the Findpart output for this
disk, except that ***the BIOS setting is wrong.***

Am I correct in assuming that "the BIOS setting is wrong" means that
something in the BIOS Parameter Block is wrong?

If so, what? The CHS values?

AFAICT, the following CHS values are correct:

So, I assume that those are not the values that I would see if I
could view the contents of the BPB.

But can I see inside the BPB and how can I change it?

AFAICT, WIn98se does not equip me to do that job.

Can I trust Linux/fdisk to alter the CHS values (if that is what needs
to be changed) in the BPB without screwing up something else?

If not, does anyone have a favorite boot sector editor that they can
recommend?

Thanks.

 

[Svend Olaf Mikkelsen]

Am I correct in assuming that "the BIOS setting is wrong" means that
something in the BIOS Parameter Block is wrong?

No. You typically can enter BIOS setup by pressing a key during boot.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

No partition table problems are seen in the Findpart output for this disk,

Well, sofar for that BS false alarm in the original tables report (that got snipped).

And while they may not be problematic there are values bigger
than 1023 in this report that don't have a star (*) behind them
(meaning they are actually 1023)
which (very counter intuitively) means that these values bigger than 1023
(without the *) are actually smaller than 1023. Anyone still following?

except that the BIOS setting is wrong.

Which was already apparent from the original tables report.

 

[student]

No.

Ok , but which BIOS setting is "wrong" and what is "wrong" about it?

And what does that have to do with the fact that not only can I not
boot from Drive2 but (after reconnecting it to IDE1 and booting Repair
Console off my Win2000 CD) FIXBOOT says the boot sector is corrupt and
can't be fixed (and destroys the partition in the process, which luckily
I was able to restore from backup)?

It's beginning to look to me like I won't be able to salvage this
drive unless I can find out what makes FIXBOOT say the boot sector is
"corrupt", what makes FIXBOOT say it can't be fixed, and then find some
other way to fix.
--

 

[Svend Olaf Mikkelsen]

Ok , but which BIOS setting is "wrong" and what is "wrong" about it?

Read previous messages in the thread and the motherboard manual.

 

[student]

Fwiw, the BIOS on my computer gives me only the following 3 options
wrt the drive in question:

4868/255/63 (LBA)
19158/16/255 (NORMAL)
2394/128/255 (LARGE)

The LBA setting does not let me boot from the drive but allows me to
use it on IDE2 (which is what I am doing now).

With NORMAL, I get "invalid media reading drive D" it I try to access
that partition.

I have not tried LARGE.

According to PM and a Western Digital utility that I dloaded
yesterday, the "official" CHS spec on this drive is (77544/16/63).

However, according to PARTINFO, the boot sector on the drive in
question is as follows:
==================================================================
Boot Sector for drive D: Drive 2, Starting Sector: 63, Type: FAT32
==================================================================
1. Jump: EB 58 90
2. OEM Name: MSWIN4.1
3. Bytes Per Sector: 512
4. Sectors Per Cluster: 8
5. Reserved Sectors: 32
6. Number of FAT's: 2
7. Reserved: 0x0000
8. Reserved: 0x0000
9. Media Descriptor: 0xF8
10. Sectors Per FAT: 0
-----------------------------------------
11. Sectors Per Track: 63 (0x3F)
12. Number of Heads: 255 (0xFF)
-----------------------------------------
13. Hidden Sectors: 63 (0x3F)
14. Big Total Sectors: 4192902 (0x3FFA86)
15. Big Sectors Per FAT: 4089
16. Extended Flags: 0x0000
17. FS Version: 0
18. First Cluster of Root: 5136 (0x1410)
19. FS Info Sector: 1
20. Backup Boot Sector: 6
21. Reserved: 0x00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
22. Drive ID: 0x80
23. Reserved for NT: 0x00
24. Extended Boot Sig: 0x29
25. Serial Number: 0x3E8B7FA5
26. Volume Name: WD40GB_P1
27. File System Type: FAT32
28. Boot Signature: 0xAA55
==================================================================

Afaict, nothing I do in the BIOS has any effect on the contents of
this boot sector.

So I am right back where I started.

Help in solving this problem will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
--

 

[Arno Wagner]

Arno Wagner wrote:

I should have explained that after I lost Windows access to my main
drive, I installed a copy of Windoze on my secndary drive and then
swapped the IDE connectors, so that my main drive is now /dec/hdc and my
secondary drive is now /dev/hda.

Sorry, but I think that was not a good idea.

Same question: Would I lose any data if I ran Linux/fdisk in xpert
mode and changed the CHS on the drive from its present 4865/255/63 back
to 77544/16/63 (which is what PM wants it to be)?

I am not sure, but potentially you could mess up the structure of
the disk completely. Don't procceed to do anything before copying
all data to some backup medium (and since Linux boots you still
can secure all data, including the NTFS partitions with, e.g.
partimage), or you will be in far more pain shortly than you are
now.

Arno