LinuxQuestions.org - partitioning problem

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partitioning problem

I just got a new Dell Dimension 8400 yesterday. I'm having some trouble setting up a dualboot with XP and Ubuntu Linux. On my previous computer I used Partition Magic 8's new operating system wizard and then installed linux without a problem.

On this computer I try to use the new operating system wizard and it gives me an error, "The selected disk contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." So I used the operations menu and made my partition.

So then I move onto installing Linux. I get up to the partition setup and that's where I run into trouble. I get the "No usable physical partitions found" error.

I think all of this may be due to Dell locking the harddrive somehow to protect it's restore partition or something? Just my uneducated guess. I looked at the troubleshooter on Partition Magic 8 and it had this to say:

Code:

    To use PartitionMagic with a SCSI hard disk



    To use PartitionMagic with a SCSI hard disk, you must have a SCSI controller card that supports software Interrupt 13. Most SCSI controller cards let you enable software Interrupt 13 support in the BIOS through the card. If your SCSI controller card does not, contact the manufacturer to determine if your adapter can support software Interrupt 13. As a general rule, if FDISK cannot access the entire SCSI disk, PartitionMagic will be unable to access it too.

I'm not sure if my HDD is SCSI, or how to check if it is.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? So far this has stumped me and all my friends. Thanks for any advice!

try deleting the partitions you created and then letting whatever disk utility comes with ubuntu do the job, it should be quite easy to configure, certainly no more difficult than parititon magic. It's probably cfdisk or something like that.

Also, it shouldn't be a scsi drive you're partitioning/formatting. your master harddrive if it's straight out of the box should be a regular IDE drive I think..

Cheers

Quote:

Originally posted by dcdbutler
try deleting the partitions you created and then letting whatever disk utility comes with ubuntu do the job, it should be quite easy to configure, certainly no more difficult than parititon magic. It's probably cfdisk or something like that.

Also, it shouldn't be a scsi drive you're partitioning/formatting. your master harddrive if it's straight out of the box should be a regular IDE drive I think..

Cheers

I think it's actually SATA?

Here's what I've tried:

1. ext2 partition
2. ext3 partition
3. unallocated partition
4. unformatted partition
5. no partition (80GB NTFS)

Ubuntu can't write to any of them! This is driving me crazy, it was so easy on my last computer.

I think maybe there could be a problem with a SATA drive. SATA isn't supported by some kernels I believe. I've never used one and haven't any experience with them, so I won't waste your time. someone else will be able to put you right on this issue.
Cheers and good luck!