> Here is my partiton table as displayed ny linux fdisk: > > Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 2434 cylinders > Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes > > Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System > /dev/hda1 * 1 506 4064413+ c Win95 FAT32 (LBA) > /dev/hda2 507 2435 15486723 5 Extended > /dev/hda3 1079 1600 4192965 a5 FreeBSD > /dev/hda5 507 1028 4192933+ 83 Linux > /dev/hda6 1029 1078 401593+ 82 Linux swap > /dev/hda7 1601 2116 4144738+ 83 Linux > /dev/hda8 2117 2435 2554366+ 83 Linux > > Seems to me that something is wrong here. /dev/hda3 seems to be within > /dev/hda2. However shouldn't hda3 be in its own space? FreeBSD works, > but its partition editor doesn't see its partition as its "hidden" > inside hda2. Therefore I can't reinstall BSD (after getting a more up to > date version and slightly scewing up my existing setup. which is > experimental anyway.)
Since the partition can only hold four "real" (ie: primary) partitions, they use an "Extended Partition" as a container for holding secondary/logical partitions. Your description above describes a system with a win95 primary partition, and a large Extended partition holding all the other (secondary) partitions. Fdisk hides some of this Check out section 3 of the Linux Partition HOWTO. http://www.linux.com/howto/mini/Partition/index.html
