Master and slave?

Siiiiiii · 05-27-2006, 11:49 AM

I'm going to install Linux on one of my three hard disks. The problem is I don't know what label Linux gives it. I don't want to format the wrong disk because of my oh so beloved windows files.

How can I check which drive is master and which one is slave (also, primary and secondary)? Since they are ATA-disks, I know how they would be labelled if I knew which one was which.

Yours sincerely
A secret admirer

alunduil · 05-27-2006, 12:03 PM

Generally,

Code:

/dev/hda1 -> ide cable one master
/dev/hda2 -> ide cable one slave
/dev/hda3 -> ide cable two master
/dev/hda4 -> ide cable two slave

Regards,

Alunduil

nilleso · 05-27-2006, 12:08 PM

First, I assume these are P-ATA and not S-ATA. You'll know because PATA uses the wide ribbon cable (>1 disk per cable) while SATA uses the (~1cm) cable (one per drive).
So... for PATA each drive has jumpers in which you can choose to set as either...as seen here (just an example - your drives will be different)
Also, as far as I know.. master/slave means the same thing as primary/secondary

cheers

Siiiiiii · 05-27-2006, 12:12 PM

I managed to find the right label (hdc). Thank you!

One more question: If one drive is assigned to for example secondary slave, and a secondary master is not assigned, will it still behave as it would with a master?

J.W. · 05-27-2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alunduil

Generally,

Code:

/dev/hda1 -> ide cable one master
/dev/hda2 -> ide cable one slave
/dev/hda3 -> ide cable two master
/dev/hda4 -> ide cable two slave

Regards,

Alunduil

Actually it's this:

/dev/hda = primary master
/dev/hdb = primary slave
/dev/hdc = secondary master
/dev/hdd = secondary slave

/dev/hda1 ... /dev/hda4 are all partitions on the primary master drive