FDISK(C) XENIX System V FDISK(C)
Name
fdisk - Maintain disk partitions.
Syntax
fdisk [[-p] [-ad partition] [-c partition start size] [-
f devicename]]
Description
fdisk displays information about disk partitions. fdisk
also creates and deletes disk partitions and changes the
active partition. fdisk functionality is a superset of the
MS-DOS command of the same name. fdisk is usually used
interactively from a menu.
The hard disk has at most four partitions. Only one
partition is active at any given time. It is possible to
assign a different operating system to each partition. Once
a partition is made active, the operating system resident in
that partition boots automatically once the current
operating system is halted.
To use , at least one partition must be assigned to .
The fdisk utility does not allocate the first track or the
last cylinder on the hard disk when the ``Use Entire Disk
for XENIX'' option is used. The ``Use Entire Disk for
XENIX'' option always leaves the first track unassigned, but
allows you to allocate the last cylinder on the hard disk.
The first track on the hard disk is reserved for masterboot
and the last cylinder is generally used when running hard
disk diagnostics. You should not allocate the last cylinder
if you plan to run diagnostics on your hard disk.
For example, if a disk has 2442 tracks, fdisk reports these
as tracks 0-2441. If your hard disk has 4 heads, fdisk will
assign (using the ``Use Entire Disk for XENIX'' option)
tracks 1-2437. (Track 0 is reserved for masterboot.) The
last cylinder (tracks 2438-2441) is not assigned with the
``Use Entire Disk for XENIX'' option.
Partitions are defined by a ``partition table'' at the end
of the master boot block. The partition table provides the
location and size of the partitions on the disk. The
partition table also defines the active partition. Each
partition can be assigned to XENIX, DOS, or some other
operating system. Once a DOS partition is set up, DOS files
and directories resident in the DOS partition may be
accessed while running XENIX by means of the dos(C)
commands. DOS may be booted without the DOS partition being
active via the ``boot:dos'' command. See boot(HW).
Arguments
Page 1 (printed 8/7/87)
FDISK(C) XENIX System V FDISK(C)
-p, -a, -d, -c
These flags are used to invoke fdisk non-interactively:
-p prints out the disk partition table.
-a number activates the specified partition number.
-d number deletes the specified partition number.
-c number start size creates partition with specified start and size.
-f name
Open device name and read the partition table
associated with that device's partition. The default
is /dev/hd00.
Options
The fdisk command displays a prompt and a menu of five
options. Updates to the disk are not made until you enter
``q'' from the main menu.
1. Display Partition Table.
This option displays a table of information about each
partition on the hard disk. The PARTITION column gives
the partition number. The STATUS column tells whether
the partition is active (A) or inactive (I). TYPE
tells whether the partition is XENIX, DOS, or
``other''. The option also displays the starting
track, ending track and total number of tracks in each
partition.
2. Use Entire Disk for .
fdisk creates one partition that includes all the
tracks on the disk, except the first track and the last
cylinder. This partition is assigned to and is
designated the active partition.
3. Create Partition
This option allows the creation of a partition by
altering the partition table. fdisk reports the number
of tracks available for each partition and the number
of tracks in use. fdisk prompts for the partition to
create, the starting track and size in tracks. The
change is written to the operating system and the hard
disk when you enter ``q'' from the main menu.
4. Activate Partition
This option activates the specified partition. Only
one partition may be active at a time. The change is
not effective until you exit. The operating system
residing in the newly activated partition boots once
the current operating system is halted.
5. Delete Partition
This option requests which partition you wish to
Page 2 (printed 8/7/87)
FDISK(C) XENIX System V FDISK(C)
delete. fdisk reports the new available amount of disk
space in tracks. The change is not effective until you
exit.
Exit the fdisk program by typing a `q' at the main fdisk
menu. Your changes are now written to the operating system
and the hard disk.
Notes
The minimum recommended size for a XENIX partition is 5
megabytes.
Since fdisk is intended for use with DOS, it may not work
with all operating system combinations.
See also
dos(C), hd(HW).
Page 3 (printed 8/7/87)