Binand Sethumadhavan wrote: <snip>
My knowledge of this stuff is hazy. I always thought Linux doesn't depend on the BIOS for hardware access; it queries the hardware directly? In this case, it queries the IDE controller for the disk geometry, and does not rely on the information passed on by the BIOS?
You are absolutely correct. Heck - you can even turn off IDE detection in the BIOS and Linux would still detect the disk [assuming of-course, it's not the boot disk].
Linux kernels [IIRC, 2.4.18+] have 48 bit LBA support. Using it on a couple of servers to handle 250GB disks, where the BIOS does not have 48 bit LBA support, though the primary distribution in them resides on a different disk.
As I understand it, GRUB/LILO would work if the second Linux installation resides at the start of the second [160GB] disk - basically before the 137GB mark. No first hand experience on this, though.
Regarding checking if your BIOS support 48 bit LBA without requiring a disk, here's what I know: The SMBIOS DMI specification does not have any method of directly checking this. Please note that I am saying this more based on hear-say than intimate knowledge of the specification.
You could get the exact model/make of the BIOS during the boot process [or use a tool like http://ezix.sourceforge.net/software/lshw.html, in case you can't bring the box down] and query the vendor's website for this information. The problem is that most vendors don't explicitly mention what they *don't* support, so you might not be able to see a line in the spec sheet which says:
48 bit LBA: Not supported
None the less, you could, in decreasing order of priority:
-> Google for it
-> See if any of their patches have this in their change log. If they do, then your current version certainly won't have it
-> Ask the vendor through email support
But the bottom line is that you don't need BIOS support to see the full 160GB - you just need OS support [Yup! Even Windows can do this].
P.S.: AFAIK, this can also be done through specialized partitioning/formatting tools that come with the disk - they're called Disk Drive Overlays and don't require either BIOS or OS support, but I'm hazy about the details.
HTH and lemme know how it goes, Regards, Varun Varma --------------------------------------- Mindframe Software & Services Pvt. Ltd. http://www.mindsw.com ---------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
SF email is sponsored by - The IT Product Guide
Read honest & candid reviews on hundreds of IT Products from real users.
Discover which products truly live up to the hype. Start reading now. http://productguide.itmanagersjournal.com/
_______________________________________________
linux-india-help mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/linux-india-help
