From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Feb 2 23:28:49 2010 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 24196106566C for ; Tue, 2 Feb 2010 23:28:49 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jerrymc@gizmo.acns.msu.edu) Received: from gizmo.acns.msu.edu (gizmo.acns.msu.edu [35.8.1.43]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D27CB8FC12 for ; Tue, 2 Feb 2010 23:28:48 +0000 (UTC) Received: from gizmo.acns.msu.edu (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gizmo.acns.msu.edu (8.13.6/8.13.6) with ESMTP id o12NRQ2e011967; Tue, 2 Feb 2010 18:27:26 -0500 (EST) (envelope-from jerrymc@gizmo.acns.msu.edu) Received: (from jerrymc@localhost) by gizmo.acns.msu.edu (8.13.6/8.13.6/Submit) id o12NRQF2011966; Tue, 2 Feb 2010 18:27:26 -0500 (EST) (envelope-from jerrymc) Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 18:27:26 -0500 From: Jerry McAllister To: Martin McCormick Message-ID: <20100202232725.GA11907@gizmo.acns.msu.edu> References: <201002022156.o12LuH3r022345@dc.cis.okstate.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <201002022156.o12LuH3r022345@dc.cis.okstate.edu> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.2i Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: How does Sysinstall Mount File Systems? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:28:49 -0000 On Tue, Feb 02, 2010 at 03:56:17PM -0600, Martin McCormick wrote: > How does one tell sysinstall to use an existing disk that is > already formatted? It should come up in the list of available drives. Just select it and proceed. It will overwrite the part that you tell it too. The most likely thing is you want to use it all for FreeBSD. If so, select that option. If you want more than one slice, you have to tell it that by telling it how much to use for the slice or by indicating which existing slice to use. If it doesn't show up, then the system is having some trouble talking to it for some reason. Note: in all of this, where I use the FreeBSD term slice, MS uses the term 'Primary Partition'. There can be from 1 to 4 primary partitions - slices - on a disk. Slices/Primary Partitions are essentially identical and are compatible with each other, although MS utilities ignore non MS slices as if they are not there. These slices - primary partitions can be further divided. FreeBSD calls those subdivisions 'partitions' and MS tends to call them something like 'logical partitions'. The subdivisions are not compatible between the systems, but generally FreeBSD can read and, except for NTFS, write the MS versions. Because of the weight of MS in the marketplace, most non-FreeBSD utilities use the MS terminology and it even still shows up in some FreeBSD documentation which causes newbies all kinds of confusion. That seems to be gradually being cleaned up though. Now, if you mean you want to _share_ an existing disk that is already being used, then you will have to get a utility to shrink the slice that is already being used and create a new slice and then tell sysinstall to install in to it. This is most often used for creating a 'dual boot' machine. The main utilities for this are gpartd and Partition Magic. Partition Magic is commercial - around $70 and Gparted is freely downloadable (last I tried). There are also several other free ones available. In both cases - Gparted or PM -, make the bootable media and do not try to run from a copy that is installed on your hard disk. I found that PM 7 is better quality than PM 8. In fact, I sent my PM 8 back for a refund. But, Partition Magic seems to handle MS NTFS type disk and other odities better than some of the free ones. It did NOT handle a USB connected disk - neither PM 7 or PM 8 did that even though PM 8 promoted working with USB as one its features. Probably you weren't talking about crating a dual boot disk, so you can probably just ignore than last long para. But, just in case that is what you meant, I threw it in. ////jerry > > Thank you. > > Martin McCormick > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"