NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #18/NN_1992_18.iso/spool/comp/os/os2/misc/27684

Internet Message Format | 1992-08-18 | 3.7 KB

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Path: sparky!uunet!usc!isi.edu!allard
From: [e-mail] (Dennis Allard)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc,comp.os.os2
Subject: Re: Where is my DOS C: partition
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 19 Aug 92 01:54:16 GMT
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
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Reply-To: [e-mail] (Dennis Allard)
Distribution: usa
Organization: USC Information Sciences Institute
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[e-mail] (James Vandevegt) writes:
> [e-mail] (Bill Pearson) writes:
> >    I would like to know what to do to have OS/2 recognize both
> >my DOS C: and D: partitions (although they need not keep those names),
> >so that when I run OS/2, I have three partitions.
> >Bill Pearson
>
> Remember, Only one of your many primary partitions on your hard drive
> may be active at any one time.  Inactive partitions can *NOT* be
> accessed.  Logical partitions are accessable by any active partition.
> ...

A solution which worked for me for awhile was to have OS/2 and DOS each
have their own primary (C:) partition and have most of my DOS files be
in a logical (D:) FAT partition.  That way, OS/2 and DOS could both see the
D: partition.  In summary, I had a HPFS primary partition of 40meg for
OS/2 system and swap file, a 5 meg FAT partition for DOS (DRDOS), and
a large (200 meg) FAT partition for DOS data, WINDOWS system and data,
and OS/2 data which didn't fit in what remained of the 40meg HPFS partition.
Season differently according to taste.

========================================
In somewhat more detail, here is what I did:

Start over from scratch (I had a second hard drive on which I saved all
my DOS and WINDOWS files).

1. Install OS/2.  Specify that you want to install it in its own partition.
At some point you are put into or can choose to go into FDISK, running
from an OS/2 command window.  Create an OS/2 boot manager partition, a
primary partition for OS/2 and a primary partition for DOS.  I used
40meg and 10meg, respectively.  At some (other, I think) point in the
OS/2 installation, you get to say that the OS/2 partition is an HPFS one.
You can also at this time, or at a later stage, specify how much of the
remaining disk free space (all of it if you want) is to be made into
an extended (logical) partition.  That will become your D: partition.

2. Boot to DOS on a floppy.  Run FDISK to make sure your hard disk is
kosher.  Understand what FDISK sees so you are comfortable with proceeding
from here.  Do a format c: /x/s to install does onto the DOS primary
partition.  (This will not kill the OS/2 primary partition.  DOS will
not harm that partition, nor enable you to access it, unless you
forceably do something to it with DOS FDISK.)

3. Remove the DOS floppy and reboot from the hard drive.  You should now
be at home in DOS, running off of the DOS C: drive.  Use FDISK and format
to prepare an extended (logical) D: drive, if you did not already do that
from the OS/2 FDISK in step 1 above.  The D: driver, created either way,
will be accessible by both DOS and OS/2.
========================================

Since I did all that, I've also put 386BSD onto my system (I have a
500meg hard drive and a 100meg (compressed via DRDOS's SuperStor to 200meg)
second hard drive).  My current problem is how to get the boot manager
to understand the 386BSD partition.  I've discovered information from
one of intelligence sources that there exists a boot manager which does
not require its own partition.  This will enable me to keep OS/2, DOS,
and 386BSD in their own primary partitions and still have a fourth
logical FAT partition for DOS and OS/2.  But that is a story yet to be told...

Dennis Allard
[e-mail]