cfdisk fatal error

ewsmith · 10-30-2010, 04:53 PM

I got me slackware dvd booted and was able to log in as root (before installation).

I typed in cfdisk to turn my free space (in the middle of the disk) into some logical partitions. When cfdisk ran it only said:
FATAL ERROR: Bad primary partition 2: Partition ends in the final partial cylind[it get cut off, but i assume it was supposed to be cylinder]
Press any key to exit.

Is there some way to fix/bypass this?
What does that message really mean (in human)?

udaman · 10-30-2010, 05:09 PM

You might try downloading GParted, and using that to boot and partition your disk. It's a very nice GUI partition tool and may help you out. You can also resize existing partitions with it. Just make sure you know what you're doing and don't kill a partition.

Is the partition that gave the error in use? Be careful that you don't delete a partition that holds any data.

impert · 10-30-2010, 05:11 PM

I'm not at all sure of this, but it may mean no more than that cfdisk is only seeing your DVD, not the hard disk. Try typing fdisk -l . This should see at least something like /dev/sda. You could then try cfdisk /dev/sda

Edit: Crossed with the post above. Yes, Gparted is good and it's a bit easier to see what's going on.

ewsmith · 10-30-2010, 05:13 PM

@udaman: I have used GParted before. I have limited bandwidth, so I'll download it at the earliest convenience.

@impert: I will try that and post the info.
I ran the command. It showed some messages that said that the physical and logical starts and ends of the logical partitions (didn't know they were there o.o) of the first partition were different.

That mean anything to anyone? If so, please tell me.

EDIT: is there some way for me to turn off the emoticons in my post? (I can't find it)

trxdraxon · 10-31-2010, 11:21 AM

Do you have windows 7 installed on that hard drive? cfdisk has issues with the way 7 partitions drives. fdisk works just fine as well as gparted.

ewsmith · 10-31-2010, 01:01 PM

Yes. I have Windows 7.
Is there some tut on using fdisk (cli newbie here)?
Never mind. I found one.

hughetorrance · 10-31-2010, 01:31 PM

You may be better to download Parted Magic and use that... on the live CD is Gparted but also a utility(testdisc) to check your partition table and rewrite it if necessary... and a media player so you can have music while you work + other very useful tools. !

ewsmith · 10-31-2010, 03:21 PM

Thank you, everyone. I have just successfully installed Slackware(x32) 13.1

The only problem is it can't see my wireless card.
But this isn't the place to discuss that.

I will get the GParted live cd/usb and Parted Magic live cd and see which one I like more.
From the screen shots, it looks like Parted Magic might win.

udaman · 10-31-2010, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewsmith

Thank you, everyone. I have just successfully installed Slackware(x32) 13.1

Congrats on the success. You're on your way to becoming a Linux guru. Enjoy!