I have trouble with WIN98(95) co-existing with Linux (RH 5.0).
Again today, DEFRAG C: affected Linux. Linux did not boot anymore.
(I use LINLOAD to start Linux).
Restoring the partition-table from backup solved the problem.
Yesterday DEFRAG of D: wiped out enough of my Linux to require
a re-install.
DEFRAG seems to be real bad in this respect. Without using defrag
it only happens occasionally. I use Eudora 4.1 and MSDOS-prompt
(and Norton Commander, and QEdit) frequently. These are suspects,
no proof.
I have re-installed Linux many times because of this problem. In
all cases it is the partition-table that is affected. Only once
drive E: was lost. (Extended partition table and E: are physically
near each other.)
I usually can recover by restoring the partition-table from a rescue
diskette. That gives me drive E: thru G: back.
Usually that is enough to get Linux to boot. If not, I do a re-install
as I do not have tools for Linux yet.
How can I improve following setup to stop WIN98 from clobbering
my Linux?
Am I the only one with this problem?
All partitions (except hda1) are made with fdisk-Linux because it does not
destroy my data as easily as fdisk-dos. fdisk-Linux gives me control over
the file-system (separate command, choice of fs).
Could that be a reason for my truobles?
I can handle backup and reformat with no data-loss. (It's just work I can
do without.)
Obviously my EXTENDED partition is vulnerable. It's table contains
the partition-data for E: thru G: (AFAIK).
Would 3 or 4 main partitions help? (1 WIN, 1 Linux, 1 Extended).
(With WIN98 in a main-partition towards the END of the harddisk to
curb it's activities.)
4 main partitions allowed with fdisk-Linux.
I already moved / (Linux root) from hda8 to hdb2. I had no more
problems till using DEFRAG.
It needs further improvement.
I have 3.5GB for Linux on /hda (easy).
I have /hdb of 600MB. That is premium space considering the way /hda
gets wiped out.
This is my present setup:
Cylinder file- PARTITION-
partition Start End system WIN98 LINUX Size(bytes) TYPE
---------- --------- ------ ----- ----- ------------ ---------
/dev/hda1 1 63 Fat16 C: 506,016 MAIN
/dev/hda2 64 1027 Extended EXTENDED
/dev/hda5 64 189 Fat16 E: 1,012,063 logical
/dev/hda6 190 442 Fat16 F: 2.032,191 "
/dev/hda8 443 473 ext2 /usr/local 248,976 "
/dev/hda9 474 599 ext2 /usr 1.012,063 "
/dev/hda10 600 630 ext2 /home 248,976 "
/dev/hda11 631 638 swap swap ? (64MB) "
/dev/hda7 639 891 Fat16 G: 2,032,191 "
/dev/hda12 892 1027 Fat16 H: 1,092,388 logical
/dev/hdb1 1 507 FAT16 D: 499MB MAIN
/dev/hdb2 508 611 ext2 / 102MB MAIN
I moved Linux / from /dev/hda8 to /dev/hdb2 to see if that would help.
Linux fdisk assigned the /hda7 when I re-partitioned /hda2 and up.
It's irregular but does not seem to cause problems.
I defragmented /hdb1 D: disk yesterday. Shortly after that I had no
more access to Linux (Linux root is on hdb2).
Today I used WIN98-defrag to defrag hda1/C: . I could no longer
access Linux after that. Partition-table damaged.
I restored the partition-table with a rescue disk (MSDOS trick).
This gave me access to E: F: G: and H: . Linux started-up normal
after that. Obviously /hda access was it's only problem
I have no idea what to do aside from keeping WIN and Linux
physically apart.
Herman Aa.
>From a mountaintop on Cebu island, Philippines.
List: Direct copies (extra copy) welcome.
