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.

You're right.
BIOS makes a rough checking and if the track zero is damaged it rejects the
disc.
If that track is not severely damaged it says nothing and tries to boot.
The master boot record is small, but resides on a fixed location which can
be physically damaged.

>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

You really should take a look at the power font.
Maybe it's not providing power enough to the PC.
Please also check the flat cables. Sometimes conectors get electrically
shorted.

>>> What size is not capable of LBA?
>>
>> The old and small ones under 512mb.

>Those are fine for BL.

Yes, the first one I tried for BL3 is a 270mb.
I use my "frankenstein" hd (860mb of 1.2gb) just to to give it a certain
"dignity" and to have more space available.

>> 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.

And I had two 20mb winchesters about 2 years ago!

>> 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???

A contradiction! A same HD is rated differently on IBM 486 and on Pentium II
mmx.

>> 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.

The first donation I had was an enormous XT with a CGA monitor.
I still have some 386, 486 and 586 motherboards.
I got rid of the cases because they take much room.

>>> 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).

I'm not afraid of black screens, but the blue ones...

>>> Sindi
>>
>> Teixeira