[Oberon] Oberon Digest, Vol 97, Issue 1

[Bernhard Treutwein]

Hi Chris,

[...]
> Some *nix tools only accept a maximum of 16 partitions.
> I tried to install Slakware13 to a high-number partition,
> and [apparently the lilo script] broke the extended-partitions'
> chain after partition 16.
>
> Since the extended partitions are just linked together,
> if you know the size of the next/missing partition, or can make
> an iterated guess via a script loop, you can:
> make a new/last partition,
> check IF it's mountable.
>
> If the size is restored to the pre-crash-size, all the files will
> still be intact.  NOW this recovered partition 17.
>
> As I understand, this merely replaces the <tail/end pointer>
> of partition16, with a pointer to the beginning of partition17
> and writes the <tail/end pointer> on partition17's partition-table.
>
> Understandably, I'm finding it difficult to relocate my notes from
> 2005; but IIRC, once I <fixed partition26> and all the rest were
> immediately available!  Apparently this would happen if you
> restored/replaced the tail-marker of p26, with the correct
> pointer to p27.
>
> There's ample documentation on the MBR.
>
[...]
>
> Can someone advise me what bytes need to be edited to what?
> Does the /dev/hdX17 partition table, which is visible via
> <show-me blok: hdX16's start + length> have the same format
> as the MBR's 4-partition entries?
>

I am not shure, if there is one "standard" for logical "drives" in an 
extended
partition. My favorite reference for partitions (Andires Brouwer's Parition
Information http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/partitions/partition_types.html#toc2
seems to be not very clear about it (see Section 2.3).

As far as I know, Andries is/was maintainer of linux fdisk, so he should 
know
it definitely.
--
    Bernhard