Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!uunet!mcsun!ukc!axion!delluk!holly!tim From: tim@dell.co.uk (Tim Wright) Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386 Subject: Re: Changing hard disk partitions Message-ID: Date: 24 Apr 91 11:39:57 GMT References: <1991Apr12.094520.9660@hollie.rdg.dec.com> <1991Apr13.164855.1252@virtech.uucp> <1991Apr23.131919.8083@virtech.uucp> Sender: usenet@delluk.uucp (Usenet posting login) Organization: Dell Computer Corp., Bracknell, UK Lines: 24 In <1991Apr23.131919.8083@virtech.uucp> cpcahil@virtech.uucp (Conor P. Cahill) writes: >peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes: ... >>You can also turn the DOS partition into a UNIX partition, since the partition >>start is an absolute offset from the start of the disk just edit >>/etc/partitions appropriately and mkfs. ("just" he says). >If this actually can be done, I wouldn't recommend it because a year from >now when you come up with a need for a dos partition and see that a portion >of the disk is not allocated in the partition table, you might forget >that it is used for unix and fdisk a dos partition on top of it. You can't do that. When you change the dos partition into a UNIX partition, you have to change fdisk to reflect that it is a UNIX partition. DOS won't let you delete it as it's "non-DOS". So, you're quite safe. Having said that, it's messy and I'd always recommend re-installing for the reasons Conor has already outlined. Tim -- Tim Wright, Dell Computer Corp., Bracknell | Domain: tim@dell.co.uk Berkshire, UK, RG12 1RW. Tel: +44-344-860456 | Uucp: ...!ukc!delluk!tim Smoke me a Kipper, I'll be back for breakfast - Red Dwarf