mpartition.1 - platform/external/mtools - Git at Google

 '\" t
 .TH mpartition 1 "08Jan22" mtools-4.0.37
 .SH Name
 mpartition - partition an MSDOS hard disk
 '\" t
 .de TQ
 .br
 .ns
 .TP \\$1
 ..

 .tr \(is'
 .tr \(if`
 .tr \(pd"

 .SH Note\ of\ warning
 This manpage has been automatically generated from mtools's texinfo
 documentation, and may not be entirely accurate or complete.  See the
 end of this man page for details.
 .PP
 .SH Description
 .PP
 The \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR command is used to create MS-DOS file systems as
 partitions.  This is intended to be used on non-Linux systems,
 i.e. systems where fdisk and easy access to SCSI devices are not
 available.  This command only works on drives whose partition variable
 is set.
 .PP
 .ft I
 .nf
 \&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-p\fR \fIdrive\fR
 \&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-r\fR \fIdrive\fR
 \&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-I\fR [\fR\&\f(CW-B\fR \fIbootSector\fR] \fIdrive\fR
 \&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-a\fR \fIdrive\fR
 \&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-d\fR \fIdrive\fR
 \&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-c\fR [\fR\&\f(CW-s\fR \fIsectors\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-h\fR \fIheads\fR]
 [\fR\&\f(CW-t\fR \fIcylinders\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-v\fR [\fR\&\f(CW-T\fR \fItype\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-b\fR
 \&\fIbegin\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-l\fR length] [\fR\&\f(CW-f\fR]
 \&\&
 .fi
 .ft R

 .PP
 Mpartition supports the following operations:
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWp\fR\
 Prints a command line to recreate the partition for the drive.  Nothing
 is printed if the partition for the drive is not defined, or an
 inconsistency has been detected.  If verbose (\fR\&\f(CW-v\fR) is also set,
 prints the current partition table.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWr\fR\
 Removes the partition described by \fIdrive\fR.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWI\fR\
 Initializes the partition table, and removes all partitions.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWc\fR\
 Creates the partition described by \fIdrive\fR.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWa\fR\
 "Activates" the partition, i.e. makes it bootable.  Only one partition
 can be bootable at a time.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWd\fR\
 "Deactivates" the partition, i.e. makes it unbootable.
 .PP
 If no operation is given, the current settings are printed.
 .PP
 For partition creations, the following options are available:
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWs\ \fIsectors\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
 The number of sectors per track of the partition (which is also the
 number of sectors per track for the whole drive).
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWh\ \fIheads\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
 The number of heads of the partition (which is also the number of heads
 for the whole drive).  By default, the geometry information (number of
 sectors and heads) is figured out from neighboring partition table
 entries, or guessed from the size.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWt\ \fIcylinders\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
 The number of cylinders of the partition (not the number of cylinders of
 the whole drive.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWb\ \fIbegin\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
 The starting offset of the partition, expressed in sectors. If begin
 is not given, \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR lets the partition begin at the start
 of the disk (partition number 1), or immediately after the end of the
 previous partition.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWl\ \fIlength\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
 The size (length) of the partition, expressed in sectors.  If end is
 not given, \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR figures out the size from the number of
 sectors, heads and cylinders.  If these are not given either, it gives
 the partition the biggest possible size, considering disk size and
 start of the next partition.
 .PP
 The following option is available for all operation which modify the
 partition table:
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWf\fR\
 Usually, before writing back any changes to the partition, mpartition
 performs certain consistency checks, such as checking for overlaps and
 proper alignment of the partitions.  If any of these checks fails, the
 partition table is not changed.  The \fR\&\f(CW-f\fR allows you to override
 these safeguards.
 .PP
 The following options are available for all operations:
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWv\fR\
 Together with \fR\&\f(CW-p\fR prints the partition table as it is now (no
 change operation), or as it is after it is modified.
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWvv\fR\
 If the verbosity flag is given twice, \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR will print out
 a hexdump of the partition table when reading it from and writing it
 to the device.
 .PP
 The following option is available for partition table initialization:
 .TP
 \&\fR\&\f(CWB\ \fIbootSector\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
 Reads the template master boot record from file \fIbootSector\fR.
 .PP
 .SH Choice\ of\ partition\ type
 .PP
 Mpartition proceeds as follows to pick a type for the partition:
 .TP
 -\ \
 FAT32 partitions are assigned type 0x0C (``\fR\&\f(CWWin95 FAT32, LBA\fR'')
 .TP
 -\ \
 For all others, if the partition fits entirely within the first 65536
 sectors of the disk, assign 0x01 (``\fR\&\f(CWDOS FAT12, CHS\fR'') for FAT12
 partition and 0x04 (``\fR\&\f(CWDOS FAT16, CHS\fR'') for FAT16 partitions
 .TP
 -\ \
 If not covered by the above, assign 0x06 (``\fR\&\f(CWDOS BIG FAT16 CHS\fR'') if partition fits entirely within the first 1024 cylinders (CHS mode)
 .TP
 -\ \
 All remaining cases get 0x0E (``\fR\&\f(CWWin95 BIG FAT16, LBA\fR'')
 .PP
 If number of fat bits is not known (not specified in drive's
 definition), then FAT12 is assumed for all drives with less than 4096
 sectors, and FAT16 for those with more than 4096 sectors.
 .PP
 This corresponds more or less to the definitions outlined at \fR\&\f(CWhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_type#List_of_partition_IDs\fR
 and
 \&\fR\&\f(CWhttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-2000-server/cc977219(v=technet.10)\fR,
 with two notable differences:
 .TP
 -\ \
 If fat bits are unknown, the reference documents consider drives with
 less than 32680 sectors to be FAT12. Mtools uses 4096 sectors as the
 cutoff point, as older versions of DOS only support FAT12 on disks
 with less than 4096 sectors (and these older versions are the ones
 which would be most likely to use FAT12 in the first place).
 .TP
 -\ \
 The reference documents use a 8GB (wikipedia) or a 4GB (Microsoft)
 cutoff between 0x06 (\fR\&\f(CWDOS BIG FAT16 CHS\fR) and 0x0E. Mtools uses
 1024 cylinders. This is because any partition beyond 1024 cylinders
 must be LBA and cannot be CHS. 8GB works out to be the biggest
 capacity which can be represented as CHS (63 sectors, 255 heads and
 1024 cylinders). 4GB is the capacity limit for windows 2000, so it
 makes sense that a documentation for windows 2000 would specify this
 as the upper limit for any partition type.
 .PP
 .SH See\ Also
 Mtools' texinfo doc
 .SH Viewing\ the\ texi\ doc
 This manpage has been automatically generated from mtools's texinfo
 documentation. However, this process is only approximative, and some
 items, such as crossreferences, footnotes and indices are lost in this
 translation process.  Indeed, these items have no appropriate
 representation in the manpage format.  Moreover, not all information has
 been translated into the manpage version.  Thus I strongly advise you to
 use the original texinfo doc.  See the end of this manpage for
 instructions how to view the texinfo doc.
 .TP
 * \ \
 To generate a printable copy from the texinfo doc, run the following
 commands:

 .nf
 .ft 3
 .in +0.3i
     ./configure; make dvi; dvips mtools.dvi
 .fi
 .in -0.3i
 .ft R
 .PP

 \&\fR
 .TP
 * \ \
 To generate a html copy,  run:

 .nf
 .ft 3
 .in +0.3i
     ./configure; make html
 .fi
 .in -0.3i
 .ft R
 .PP

 \&\fRA premade html can be found at
 \&\fR\&\f(CW\(ifhttp://www.gnu.org/software/mtools/manual/mtools.html\(is\fR
 .TP
 * \ \
 To generate an info copy (browsable using emacs' info mode), run:

 .nf
 .ft 3
 .in +0.3i
     ./configure; make info
 .fi
 .in -0.3i
 .ft R
 .PP

 \&\fR
 .PP
 The texinfo doc looks most pretty when printed or as html.  Indeed, in
 the info version certain examples are difficult to read due to the
 quoting conventions used in info.
 .PP
	'\" t
	.TH mpartition 1 "08Jan22" mtools-4.0.37
	.SH Name
	mpartition - partition an MSDOS hard disk
	'\" t
	.de TQ
	.br
	.ns
	.TP \\$1
	..

	.tr \(is'
	.tr \(if`
	.tr \(pd"

	.SH Note\ of\ warning
	This manpage has been automatically generated from mtools's texinfo
	documentation, and may not be entirely accurate or complete. See the
	end of this man page for details.
	.PP
	.SH Description
	.PP
	The \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR command is used to create MS-DOS file systems as
	partitions. This is intended to be used on non-Linux systems,
	i.e. systems where fdisk and easy access to SCSI devices are not
	available. This command only works on drives whose partition variable
	is set.
	.PP
	.ft I
	.nf
	\&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-p\fR \fIdrive\fR
	\&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-r\fR \fIdrive\fR
	\&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-I\fR [\fR\&\f(CW-B\fR \fIbootSector\fR] \fIdrive\fR
	\&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-a\fR \fIdrive\fR
	\&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-d\fR \fIdrive\fR
	\&\fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR \fR\&\f(CW-c\fR [\fR\&\f(CW-s\fR \fIsectors\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-h\fR \fIheads\fR]
	[\fR\&\f(CW-t\fR \fIcylinders\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-v\fR [\fR\&\f(CW-T\fR \fItype\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-b\fR
	\&\fIbegin\fR] [\fR\&\f(CW-l\fR length] [\fR\&\f(CW-f\fR]
	\&\&
	.fi
	.ft R

	.PP
	Mpartition supports the following operations:
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWp\fR\
	Prints a command line to recreate the partition for the drive. Nothing
	is printed if the partition for the drive is not defined, or an
	inconsistency has been detected. If verbose (\fR\&\f(CW-v\fR) is also set,
	prints the current partition table.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWr\fR\
	Removes the partition described by \fIdrive\fR.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWI\fR\
	Initializes the partition table, and removes all partitions.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWc\fR\
	Creates the partition described by \fIdrive\fR.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWa\fR\
	"Activates" the partition, i.e. makes it bootable. Only one partition
	can be bootable at a time.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWd\fR\
	"Deactivates" the partition, i.e. makes it unbootable.
	.PP
	If no operation is given, the current settings are printed.
	.PP
	For partition creations, the following options are available:
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWs\ \fIsectors\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
	The number of sectors per track of the partition (which is also the
	number of sectors per track for the whole drive).
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWh\ \fIheads\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
	The number of heads of the partition (which is also the number of heads
	for the whole drive). By default, the geometry information (number of
	sectors and heads) is figured out from neighboring partition table
	entries, or guessed from the size.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWt\ \fIcylinders\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
	The number of cylinders of the partition (not the number of cylinders of
	the whole drive.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWb\ \fIbegin\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
	The starting offset of the partition, expressed in sectors. If begin
	is not given, \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR lets the partition begin at the start
	of the disk (partition number 1), or immediately after the end of the
	previous partition.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWl\ \fIlength\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
	The size (length) of the partition, expressed in sectors. If end is
	not given, \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR figures out the size from the number of
	sectors, heads and cylinders. If these are not given either, it gives
	the partition the biggest possible size, considering disk size and
	start of the next partition.
	.PP
	The following option is available for all operation which modify the
	partition table:
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWf\fR\
	Usually, before writing back any changes to the partition, mpartition
	performs certain consistency checks, such as checking for overlaps and
	proper alignment of the partitions. If any of these checks fails, the
	partition table is not changed. The \fR\&\f(CW-f\fR allows you to override
	these safeguards.
	.PP
	The following options are available for all operations:
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWv\fR\
	Together with \fR\&\f(CW-p\fR prints the partition table as it is now (no
	change operation), or as it is after it is modified.
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWvv\fR\
	If the verbosity flag is given twice, \fR\&\f(CWmpartition\fR will print out
	a hexdump of the partition table when reading it from and writing it
	to the device.
	.PP
	The following option is available for partition table initialization:
	.TP
	\&\fR\&\f(CWB\ \fIbootSector\fR\&\f(CW\fR\
	Reads the template master boot record from file \fIbootSector\fR.
	.PP
	.SH Choice\ of\ partition\ type
	.PP
	Mpartition proceeds as follows to pick a type for the partition:
	.TP
	-\ \
	FAT32 partitions are assigned type 0x0C (``\fR\&\f(CWWin95 FAT32, LBA\fR'')
	.TP
	-\ \
	For all others, if the partition fits entirely within the first 65536
	sectors of the disk, assign 0x01 (``\fR\&\f(CWDOS FAT12, CHS\fR'') for FAT12
	partition and 0x04 (``\fR\&\f(CWDOS FAT16, CHS\fR'') for FAT16 partitions
	.TP
	-\ \
	If not covered by the above, assign 0x06 (``\fR\&\f(CWDOS BIG FAT16 CHS\fR'') if partition fits entirely within the first 1024 cylinders (CHS mode)
	.TP
	-\ \
	All remaining cases get 0x0E (``\fR\&\f(CWWin95 BIG FAT16, LBA\fR'')
	.PP
	If number of fat bits is not known (not specified in drive's
	definition), then FAT12 is assumed for all drives with less than 4096
	sectors, and FAT16 for those with more than 4096 sectors.
	.PP
	This corresponds more or less to the definitions outlined at \fR\&\f(CWhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_type#List_of_partition_IDs\fR
	and
	\&\fR\&\f(CWhttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-2000-server/cc977219(v=technet.10)\fR,
	with two notable differences:
	.TP
	-\ \
	If fat bits are unknown, the reference documents consider drives with
	less than 32680 sectors to be FAT12. Mtools uses 4096 sectors as the
	cutoff point, as older versions of DOS only support FAT12 on disks
	with less than 4096 sectors (and these older versions are the ones
	which would be most likely to use FAT12 in the first place).
	.TP
	-\ \
	The reference documents use a 8GB (wikipedia) or a 4GB (Microsoft)
	cutoff between 0x06 (\fR\&\f(CWDOS BIG FAT16 CHS\fR) and 0x0E. Mtools uses
	1024 cylinders. This is because any partition beyond 1024 cylinders
	must be LBA and cannot be CHS. 8GB works out to be the biggest
	capacity which can be represented as CHS (63 sectors, 255 heads and
	1024 cylinders). 4GB is the capacity limit for windows 2000, so it
	makes sense that a documentation for windows 2000 would specify this
	as the upper limit for any partition type.
	.PP
	.SH See\ Also
	Mtools' texinfo doc
	.SH Viewing\ the\ texi\ doc
	This manpage has been automatically generated from mtools's texinfo
	documentation. However, this process is only approximative, and some
	items, such as crossreferences, footnotes and indices are lost in this
	translation process. Indeed, these items have no appropriate
	representation in the manpage format. Moreover, not all information has
	been translated into the manpage version. Thus I strongly advise you to
	use the original texinfo doc. See the end of this manpage for
	instructions how to view the texinfo doc.
	.TP
	* \ \
	To generate a printable copy from the texinfo doc, run the following
	commands:

	.nf
	.ft 3
	.in +0.3i
	./configure; make dvi; dvips mtools.dvi
	.fi
	.in -0.3i
	.ft R
	.PP

	\&\fR
	.TP
	* \ \
	To generate a html copy, run:

	.nf
	.ft 3
	.in +0.3i
	./configure; make html
	.fi
	.in -0.3i
	.ft R
	.PP

	\&\fRA premade html can be found at
	\&\fR\&\f(CW\(ifhttp://www.gnu.org/software/mtools/manual/mtools.html\(is\fR
	.TP
	* \ \
	To generate an info copy (browsable using emacs' info mode), run:

	.nf
	.ft 3
	.in +0.3i
	./configure; make info
	.fi
	.in -0.3i
	.ft R
	.PP

	\&\fR
	.PP
	The texinfo doc looks most pretty when printed or as html. Indeed, in
	the info version certain examples are difficult to read due to the
	quoting conventions used in info.
	.PP