Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

On Sat, 3 May 2008, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

> > > Why don't you try formatting the first partition after 1024 or 2048 bytes
> > > from the beginning?
>
> > I can shrink it with PQMagic but what do you think this will accomplish?

> Shrinking only affects the last sectors, not the frst ones.

PQmagic will shrink either end, I think.  I can tell it to leave 100MB 
instead of 0MB free space at the beginning.  But I don't think this will 
help a dead track 0/MBR.

To choose between DOS and various linuxes when booting with LILO (to a 
normally bootable hard disk) hold down the SHIFT (or CTRL) key while 
booting, you will get a boot prompt and you can type DOS or BL3 or if you 
hit TAB it gives you a complete list.

I wanted to boot this way with lilo boot floppy disk to linux on the ECS 
computer where loadlin prevents the keyboard from booting, but the 
ECS computer suddenly stopped powering on.  So linux caught some problem 
before DOS did.  And one of two computers refused to boot from a 10GB 
drive and now the drive won't boot on anything (and again, linux refused 
to boot with loadlin after DOS booted, and now nothing boots).  One of
three 8GB drives is usable, one has some serious problem (says spinrite, 
and PQMagic crashes on it), and one has EZ-DRIVE which did not come off 
when I zeroed 512 bytes - where does it live?  Will a clone with dd from 
an identical drive remove EZ-DRIVE?  dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb


> > What size is not capable of LBA?
>
> The old and small ones under 512mb.
Those are fine for BL.

> A very few HDs of a higher capacity are not capable of  logical block
> accessing.
> I still have HDs of 64, 131, 165, 270 and 428mb. The most of them do not
> boot anymore.
You beat us.  Our smallest working one is 420MB.

> Some of these are recognized by IBM 486 as being "high performance" HDs and
> it's a bit hard to mix them.
> Other PCs say these same are "low performance" ones.
What does that mean???

> I own another one which was nominally 1.2Gb and that arrived to me with many
> bad sectors, and a missing power conector. It had no tags and all the
> waranty labels were removed.
> I had to shrink it down to 860mb and even use some epoxi in order to have
> the connector fixed.
> It was capable of  LBA, but if set so, it simply doesn't work.

Where do you get these from?  I thought WE were crazy.  Here people give 
us working computers that are only 7 years old along with the 486s.

> > Broken equipment is more educational
>
> I agree. And the problems help us to improve.

The same with software.  And you learn much more when things don't work 
the way you want at first and when they are not automated.  I have friends 
who use linux and have never seen a linux console (vt).

> > Sindi
>
> Teixeira