Re: [RFC] Restoring HDIO_GETGEO semantics

[Anthony Ewell]

Szakacsits Szabolcs wrote:

> On 2 Jul 2004, Patrick J. LoPresti wrote:
>
>
> > You will find that the default_* files (i.e., the geometry from the
> > extended INT13 interface) match the values returned by HDIO_GETGEO.
>
>
> If my memory serves well, you wrote once long ago that your project needs
> the "legacy" value to make things work.
>
> Kernel 2.4 guessed usually legacy, right? 
>
> Kernel 2.6 returns extended and it more upsets tools and users with
> trashed partitions.
>
> So a simple question: why is returning the extended values better than
> returning always the legacy values (or even the previous guess)?
>
> I _do_ know that that won't be perfect either but perhaps it weren't so
> broken as it is now. 
>
> BTW, so far nobody answered what the technical benefit returning the
> extended values instead of the legacy ones or the previous guess. 
> We only know the current values hurt more and there are only better
> alternatives, right?
>
>         Szaka

Hi Szaka,

   By any chance is the the same bug that is causing FC2's installer
to trash dual booting to Windows?

       https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=115980

   If it is, it is causing an ever living nightmare out in the FC2
world.   The above link has zillions of painfully documented
technical experiences, with work-a-rounds, that may help in
troubleshooting this problem.  I personally am holding off on
upgrading to FC2 until bug 115980 is fixed: I can not afford to
get my Windows partitions trashed (I know, the partition are okay,
I just can not boot to them).

   If not, maybe bug 115980 will have something else of help.

--Tony