From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG  Fri Sep  3 15:14:50 2010
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG>
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 493FF10656FA
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Fri,  3 Sep 2010 15:14:50 +0000 (UTC)
	(envelope-from martin@x.it.okstate.edu)
Received: from x.it.okstate.edu (x.it.okstate.edu [139.78.2.13])
	by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 195D88FC1D
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Fri,  3 Sep 2010 15:14:49 +0000 (UTC)
Received: from x.it.okstate.edu (localhost.cis.okstate.edu [127.0.0.1])
	by x.it.okstate.edu (8.14.3/8.14.3) with ESMTP id o83F4Hdt097382
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Fri, 3 Sep 2010 10:04:33 -0500 (CDT)
	(envelope-from martin@x.it.okstate.edu)
Message-Id: <201009031504.o83F4Hdt097382@x.it.okstate.edu>
cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-ID: <97380.1283526256.1@x.it.okstate.edu>
Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:04:17 -0500
From: Martin McCormick <martin@x.it.okstate.edu>
Subject: Re: Boot Drive Nomenclature and How to Figure it out 
X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
List-Id: User questions <freebsd-questions.freebsd.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-questions>
List-Post: <mailto:freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
List-Help: <mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:14:50 -0000

Adam Vande More writes:
> Would doing something like:
> 
> gpart list
> 
> help?

	Thank you. I have never heard of gpart before so I gave
it a try and that helps very much if the drive is already
formatted. Most of these drives I plan to encounter will be
formatted so this basically solves the problem but it raises a
new question. If one does

gpart list as suggested and the disk is formatted, one gets
exactly the information necessary. I believe it is even the
first line of output. It doesn't get better than that. If the
disk is not corrected formatted such as might happen with
corruption or maybe a new drive, gpart list executes silently
and prints nothing on the output.

	As I said, you answered my question so many thanks. The
new question might best be put:

Okay, if nothing is there, where did gpart look to see nothing?

Martin McCormick