Re: [gentoo-user] Resizing ntfs creates a hidden partition
On Saturday 20 February 2010 13:59:38 Stefan Schulte wrote: > Hi Mick, > > AFAIK the asterisk behind the partition just indicates, that it is not > aligned to a cylinder boundary. I think this doesnt have any effect (or > maybe some old OS like DOS depend on it). If you use cfdisk for > partitioning you can avoid that by given the space in c(ylinders). e.g. > New Partition with a size of '100c'. > > I guess your hidden partition has something to do with Windows > behaviour, because if you install Windows and create partitions during > the installation process, it also creates an extra 8MB partition. > Maybe gparted adopted that behaviour. > > But I can't tell you the reason why. Some people say it's for temp data > (which I doubt) and others say it's used to store metadatas if the user > decides to use flexible disks or software RAIDs. > > I just can say that windows is running fine without it on my computer, > because i decided to partition with cfdisk before running the > installation. Thank you both for your responses. I failed to notice that gparted now has a handy 'align on cylinder' tick box. That's what I think shifts partitions along until there is alignment with the cylinder boundary. -- Regards, Mick
Re: [gentoo-user] Resizing ntfs creates a hidden partition
Hi Mick, AFAIK the asterisk behind the partition just indicates, that it is not aligned to a cylinder boundary. I think this doesnt have any effect (or maybe some old OS like DOS depend on it). If you use cfdisk for partitioning you can avoid that by given the space in c(ylinders). e.g. New Partition with a size of '100c'. I guess your hidden partition has something to do with Windows behaviour, because if you install Windows and create partitions during the installation process, it also creates an extra 8MB partition. Maybe gparted adopted that behaviour. But I can't tell you the reason why. Some people say it's for temp data (which I doubt) and others say it's used to store metadatas if the user decides to use flexible disks or software RAIDs. I just can say that windows is running fine without it on my computer, because i decided to partition with cfdisk before running the installation. On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 11:23:27AM +, Mick wrote: > Hi All, > > I am resizing a Windows partition to get some space for Gentoo. I > noticed that when gparted finished and I rebooted the machine there is > a blank unallocated space in front of the Windows 7 partition, shown > below as 6.33MB: > > === > cfdisk (util-linux-ng 2.16.1) > > Disk Drive: /dev/sda >Size: 500107862016 bytes, 500.1 GB > Heads: 255 Sectors per Track: 63 Cylinders: 60801 > > NameFlags Part Type FS Type [Label]Size > (MB) > > -- > sda1Primary Dell Utility > 41.13 > sda2BootPrimary NTFS [] > 15728.64* > Pri/Log Free Space > 6.33* > sda3Primary NTFS [] > 52426.47* > Pri/Log Free Space > 431902.70* > > === > > Also, when I used gparted to create a new extended partition over the > 431G free space at the end of the disk I ended up with a similar small > unallocated space in front of it. This is something I have observed > happening recently on 3 laptops that I have worked on, i.e. resizing > or creating a new partition inevitably creates a small blank partition > in front of it. > > Looking at the sectors table I see this: > === > Partition Table for /dev/sda > >First Last > # Type Sector Sector OffsetLength Filesystem Type (ID) > Flag > -- --- --- --- -- --- > > 1 Primary 0 80324 63 80325 Dell Utility (DE) > None > 2 Primary 8032530800324* 03072*HPFS/NTFS (07) > Boot >Pri/Log30800325* 30812669 0 12345*Free Space > None > 3 Primary30812670 133208104* 0 102395435*HPFS/NTFS (07) > None >Pri/Log 133208105* 976768064 0 843559960*Free Space > None > === > > I am not sure what the asterisks are for after the last sector on the > second and third partitions. > > Could this empty space jump be related to gparted somehow shifting the > start of a partition to make it align with a particular sector as per > previous thread on the 4k sector topic? > > Should I do anything about it, or just run with it and let gparted > align what it wants to align as part of the partitioning process? > -- > Regards, > Mick > pgpyIm3oRAjEu.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: [gentoo-user] Resizing ntfs creates a hidden partition
On 20 Feb 2010, at 11:23, Mick wrote:
...
===
cfdisk (util-linux-ng 2.16.1)
...
Pri/Log 133208105* 976768064 0 843559960*Free
Space None
===
I am not sure what the asterisks are for after the last sector on the
second and third partitions.
I read the manpage for you:
... It can also display the size in sec-
tors and cylinders (see the change units command below). If
an aster-
isk (*) appears after the size, this means that the
partition is not
aligned on cylinder boundaries.
On most pagers you can search for "asterisk" by pressing the forward-
slash ("/") key and typing "asterisk".
Stroller.
[gentoo-user] Resizing ntfs creates a hidden partition
Hi All, I am resizing a Windows partition to get some space for Gentoo. I noticed that when gparted finished and I rebooted the machine there is a blank unallocated space in front of the Windows 7 partition, shown below as 6.33MB: === cfdisk (util-linux-ng 2.16.1) Disk Drive: /dev/sda Size: 500107862016 bytes, 500.1 GB Heads: 255 Sectors per Track: 63 Cylinders: 60801 NameFlags Part Type FS Type [Label]Size (MB) -- sda1Primary Dell Utility41.13 sda2BootPrimary NTFS [] 15728.64* Pri/Log Free Space 6.33* sda3Primary NTFS [] 52426.47* Pri/Log Free Space 431902.70* === Also, when I used gparted to create a new extended partition over the 431G free space at the end of the disk I ended up with a similar small unallocated space in front of it. This is something I have observed happening recently on 3 laptops that I have worked on, i.e. resizing or creating a new partition inevitably creates a small blank partition in front of it. Looking at the sectors table I see this: === Partition Table for /dev/sda First Last # Type Sector Sector OffsetLength Filesystem Type (ID) Flag -- --- --- --- -- --- 1 Primary 0 80324 63 80325 Dell Utility (DE)None 2 Primary 8032530800324* 03072*HPFS/NTFS (07) Boot Pri/Log30800325* 30812669 0 12345*Free Space None 3 Primary30812670 133208104* 0 102395435*HPFS/NTFS (07) None Pri/Log 133208105* 976768064 0 843559960*Free Space None === I am not sure what the asterisks are for after the last sector on the second and third partitions. Could this empty space jump be related to gparted somehow shifting the start of a partition to make it align with a particular sector as per previous thread on the 4k sector topic? Should I do anything about it, or just run with it and let gparted align what it wants to align as part of the partitioning process? -- Regards, Mick
