Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!udel!mmdf From: jones@uv4.eglin.af.mil (Calvin Jones, III) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: HD Problems (& maybe solutions) Message-ID: <20679@snow-white.udel.EDU> Date: 31 May 90 17:26:38 GMT Sender: mmdf@udel.EDU Lines: 44 Fred Fish writes (In response to Dale Luck's query about HD problems): > Well, given the following assumptions about the disk layout (which > I believe to be close to reality :-): > > (1) The root block for each partition is exactly in the > middle of the partition and can be identified by > it independent examination of each block. > > (2) There is a small reserved area at the beginning of the > disk for the RDB stuff. This is of known or determinable > size. > >Thus a disk with three partitions would be laid out as: > > RDB A0 A A1 B0 B B1 C0 C C1 > >where > > RDB is a known size > A, B, and C are the root blocks and are at known offsets > A0,A1 B0,B1 C0,C1 are of unknown size > I fear it's not so simple. Some drives/controllers do *NOT* use the RDB (C-Ltd, for instance). An additional problem is that you may not have any idea about the number or size of partitions on the disk. Some controllers also allow the use of different descriptions of partitions on one drive since the SCSI drives end up just using a block number rather than needing the actual cylinder, head, and sector. It sure would be nice if we had a nice little utility that could figure all this info out on any random HD connected to an Amy. And then it could figure out what to do about the "Key Already Set" requestor! --- Cal // Cal Jones - Internet: \X/ BBS: 904-243-6219 1200-9600HST 340Meg, all Amiga Single Tasking? *JUST SAY NO!!!* Home of MechForce Support.