partitioning problem - gentoo

[thekillerbean]

okay - so i've downloaded the gentoo x86 iso and i'm now trying to run fdisk to create my partitions and run into a problem. the howto for installing gentoo just states use fdisk to create the partitions but no direct instructions are given - how then does one go about doing this? it's just pathetic that they have step by step instructions for everything else but this. are they trying to imply that i've got to have dos in order to install gentoo??? i did a search here and i see people are either using partition magic of dos' fdisk to create the partitions - isn't that just lame??? am i missing something??? at least redhat have a fully working fdisk program and that's how i was able to install it - looks like gentoo is a no go for me.

if anyone is willing to help me create the partitions via gentoo's fdisk, then please post, otherwise, let this one just sink to the bottom.

i'm just pissed as i was so ready to start messing with it - but to have to go to third party programs is just lame...

[ph34r]

fdisk /dev/hd?

Where hd? is your drive device. If you have 1 hard drive, it would be /dev/hda . Once you are in fdisk, you can get a menu/listing of available options with the M key...

[fancypiper]

Here is an example of what running it lookks like:[phil@fancypiper phil]$ su -
Password:
[root@fancypiper root]# fdisk /dev/hda

The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 4865.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
(e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)

Command (m for help): m
Command action
a toggle a bootable flag
b edit bsd disklabel
c toggle the dos compatibility flag
d delete a partition
l list known partition types
m print this menu
n add a new partition
o create a new empty DOS partition table
p print the partition table
q quit without saving changes
s create a new empty Sun disklabel
t change a partition's system id
u change display/entry units
v verify the partition table
w write table to disk and exit
x extra functionality (experts only)

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 4865 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 6 48163+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda2 7 50 353430 83 Linux
/dev/hda3 51 1214 9349830 83 Linux
/dev/hda4 1215 4865 29326657+ 83 Linux

Command (m for help):


Type these into a terminal:info fdisk or man fdisk

Partitioning Howto (http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Partition/index.html)

I made hda1 /boot, hda2 swap, hda3 / and hda4 /home. It's simple, really. TNT ('Taint Nuttin' Toit):D

[thekillerbean]

okay, maybe i should have stated more than i did before - i was just mad as hell as i had been at it for about 1-hr with no progress.

i'm trying to install the os on a virtual machine (vmware) and as such, the drive has not been formatted at all. i guess i'll have to visit a vmware forum to see what i can gather - unless someone here has done this type of install and can tell me exactly how they did it. when i bring up fdisk, the 'p' does not do anything for me - it brings up the following:


Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hda: 1 heads, 33028 sectors, 1 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 33028 * 512 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

Command (m for help):


what does this mean?

[sabre66]

it means that you dont have a partitition table yet set. your best bet is to do a google search linux fdisk , one can attempt to hold your hand through it but you'd probably be better off with google, trust me though, its real easy if i can use it any one can

[thekillerbean]

sabre66, are you saying you actually used linux version of fdisk in a similar situation and it worked just fine? if so, i bet when i do it, i'll be like - now what the f**k is qrong with my brain!!!

i'll do as you state - hopefully someone has gone through a similar situation in the google newsgroups.

thanks.

addition: did i also mention that i'm using a file as a disk and not a raw disk - could this be my problem? i don't think so as i have redhat 7.2 and mandrake 8.1 all running as guests on win2k adv srv. oh well, i'll keep on trying.

[thekillerbean]

okay, how come no one has mentioned the 'x'pert mode? this is where i can change my cylinders, heads and sector thereby facilitating a proper partitioning. I'll try it right away and post back.

really though, the guru's here should have told me all about this. however, i guess had i been told it'd have gone through one ear and out the other. this hard work will ensure that i'll never forget. had to go and learn all about hard drive geometry in order to know how to format the chs.

i'll post back with my findings.

[thekillerbean]

the key thing when creating the virtual machine is to select custom, then make sure that when setting the hard drive, to ensure that it is a ide type disk and not a scsi - i did not see an option to change this after creating the vm.

it looks like my sleepless night has paid off.

[thekillerbean]

following simple instructions has never been my forte. these simple instructions would have saved me a sleepless night:

3. Load kernel modules
...
Code listing 1
# modprobe pcnet32

Code listing 2
# modprobe aic7xxx
# modprobe sr_mod
# modprobe sd_mod

Above, we modprobe the aic7xxx SCSI driver and then make sure
that SCSI CD-ROM (sr_mod) and disk (sd_mod) support is loaded.
Note: hdparm is now included on -r10 and later of the iso. If any
of your drives require tweaking, now would be a good time to do
so.


had i followed Code Listing 2 instructions, i'd have been up in a minute. however, i chose to be a stubborn arse. i'm using physical ide disks so i figured these instructions were not for me. what i forgot was that this was a virtual disk and it can be set to anything.

now another question:
since i changed my drive setting to ide, will there be a performance hit? i don't think so but i'd appreciate a different opinion.

thanks.

[thekillerbean]

true, true - next time i'll definitely go the third party route - no more sleepless nights.

okay, now i've got another problem. i can't seem to get past the install of ftp-0.17-r1. i'm getting the following error message:


>>> emerge net-ftp/ftp-0.17-r1 to /
>>> md5 ;=) netkit-ftp-0.17.tar.gz
>>> Unparking source...
>>> Unpacking netkit-ftp-0.17.tar.gz
>>> Source unpacked.
/usr/sbin/ebuild.sh: ./configure: No such file or directory

!!! Error: The ebuild did not complete successfully.
!!! Function src_compile, Line 2, Exitcode 127
!!! (no error message)

!!! emerge aborting on /usr/portage/net-ftp/ftp/ftp-0.17-r1.ebuild .


now what can i do to get past this hic-up?

[thekillerbean]

well, it turned out to be a gentoo problem - see bug #5182 on their website. they are quick at fixing issues (at least this one) and are down to earth enough to take the blame for it - really cool - :cool:

system is now running 'emerge system' and i'll keep boring you with more posts as i go along - i promise to only post hicups and solutions i may encounter not just idle chatter like i'm doing now - :)

later.

[talon1177]

heh, I'm also having problems with partitioning my harddisk for a gentoo installation.

I've tried using fdisk and cfdisk which mostly works ok except for the very start of the first partition on the disk (hda1)

If I try to mount this it looks like (using df) that it takes up the entire drive (ie. 100%).

I've tried a work around by getting fdisk to move the start of that partition forward a few cylinders, and this appears to work. (bar a nasty gap of a few Kbs at the very beginning ;-) )

I don't have dos or partition magic on that box....

What I wanted to know is, will this cause me problems later on? Having just come off the back of a failed gentoo installation (getting practically all the way...ie rebooting the system for the first time) Don't fancy going all the way again only having the system get "just past grub" and then rebooting itself without warning.

Suddenly I'm thinking ditching my nice RedHat 7.3 installation was a very big mistake....

Anyway, I'll read through everything above and see if I can't track a solution. I am really missing Linux right now *sniff* :-(