Hi, Bernd! >> should I try posting to the "kernel" or "developers" lists instead ?
> Truth is we're not sure, this 4K sector size thing comes in several > versions: > 1) emulation with aligned 512byte sector emulation > 2) emulation with non-aligned 512byte sector emulation > 3) native 4K (especially USB bridges apparently) DOS however shouldn't have problems with options #1 & 2. Number 3 is what I'm concerned with. >> In other words, this is asking what the plan is for the FreeDOS kernel >> to >> be able to mount mass storage devices having 4 kilobytes per sector ? > If the disk has traditional BIOS partitioning layout (MBR, > primary/logical partitions with FAT16/FAT32 filesystems) then it might > be possible for the kernel to work with this as long as it is a data disk. But not so until some changes are made to the kernel I guess - unless I am mistaken, FreeDOS (and MSDOS as well) /assume/ hard disk sectors are 512 bytes. To change this requires reading the real sector sizes from the medium (BPB), also DOS buffers need to be enlarged to accomodate bigger sectors. > Booting from a partition without 512byte sector-size is probably > more challenging, Will require a 4k-byte-sector aware BIOS (or BIOS 'overlay'), I presume. Anyway booting is not a specific (Free)DOS problem, and not what I'm talking about. > let alone guarantee file(-system) integrity and disk manipulating (defragmentation programs, filesystem checkers like CHKDSK and DOSFSCHK). Correct. But first things first, let's attack the kernel - adapting utilities comes later. > GPT partitioning scheme isn't supported at all (nor is EFI/UEFI without BIOS emulation). With 4-kbyte sectors a partitionned disk can get as large as 16 terabytes and still use MBR... there's room left before GPT becomes a problem :=) > freedos-kernel would be most appropriate list as the developers on there > have most expertise. However they're also the ones who are rarely > present due to other interests or obligations, so getting answers can > take a while. > You could also try freedos-devel for this specific technical question > but answers might take as long as getting answers on the users list. > People usually don't answer if they don't have the correct answer, thus > things stay quiet for a while. OK, I am not going to disturb the more specialised lists yet. I'll assume and I hope we'll get word from the interested developer(s) on this here list as soon as he/they have something to say about the question. Thank you for the kind reply. -- Czerno ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ RSA(R) Conference 2012 Mar 27 - Feb 2 Save $400 by Jan. 27 Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/rsa-sfdev2dev2 _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
