Hi there, I partitioned my hard disk under DiskDrake, and whenever I run parted, I get this error:

Using /dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/disc
Warning: Unable to align partition properly. This probably means that another partitioning tool generated an
incorrect partition table, because it didn't have the correct BIOS geometry. It is safe to ignore,but
ignoring may cause (fixable) problems with some boot loaders.

Is there any way to repair my partition table? No, there is no backup fstab~.

And how do I avoid this problem in the future? Avoid DiskDrake?

Anyone?
I can't use parted until my partitions are fixed!

Here is an example of an error I get when I try to resize my useless fat16 partition:

[root@micomputadora vicente]# parted
GNU Parted 1.6.6
Copyright (C) 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This program is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

Using /dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/disc
Warning: Unable to align partition properly. This probably means that another
partitioning tool generated an incorrect partition table, because it didn't have
the correct BIOS geometry. It is safe to ignore,but ignoring may cause
(fixable) problems with some boot loaders.
Ignore/Cancel? I
(parted) print
Disk geometry for /dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/disc: 0.000-78167.250 megabytes
Disk label type: msdos
Minor Start End Type Filesystem Flags
1 0.031 74998.762 primary ext3 boot
2 74998.762 78167.250 extended
5 74998.793 75390.974 logical linux-swap
6 75391.005 75477.260 logical ext3
7 75477.292 78167.250 logical fat16
(parted) resize 7 75477 78167.250
You found a bug in GNU Parted. Please email a bug report to bug-parted@gnu.org containing the version (1.6.6), and the following message:

There are no possible configurations for this FAT type.
Ignore/Cancel? I
Warning: File system doesn't have expected sizes for Windows to like it.
Cluster size is 64k (536884022k expected); number of clusters is 43036
(1073823988 expected); size of FATs is 169 sectors (-1073744416 expected).
Ignore/Cancel?

I remember that when I tried to install Windows ME, I got this same cluster size error, anyone know how to fix it? My BIOS doesn't have a tool to format the hard disk, so does anyone know how I can wipe my hard disk including cluster size setting info?

Is it possible your BIOS needs to be flashed to handle larger hard drives?

Is it possible that maybe the drive geometry is incorrect in your BIOS? Look up your model on the 'net, write down the geometry specs, and check if your BIOS reflects this.

Also, instead of partitioning, try making one huge primary partition, then rebooting and partitioning it.

This is what I've done to my computer:
1.) Installed 80GB hard disk to replace 20GB one
2.) Made an image of my 20GB hard disk and wrote it onto the new hard disk
3.) Formatted old hard disk and put it in old computer
4.) Played around with 80GB hard disk on Windows ME for a while.
5.) Defragmented hard disk
6.) Partitioned hard disk into 20GB ext3 partition for Red Hat 9, 60 GB for Windows ME (FAT32)
7.) Played around with RedHat 9.0 for a while (no problems)
8.) Replaced RedHat 9 with Mandrake 9. No problems.
9.) Used DiskDrake to shrink Windows partition by 4 GB to add a 4GB FAT16 partition to install DOS6.22 on.
10.) Windows can no longer boot. Mandrake can still access Windows partition perfectly though, and even write to it without problems.
11.) Scandisk from Windows ME installation CD used to "fix" Windows partition. Now it is even more f*cked; even Mandrake sees the Windows partition as corrupted.
12.) Numerous attempts to format partitions and rearrange partitions, all fail to boot Windows properly after the Windows setup program successfully completes and reboots.
13.) By some fluke combination of using GNU parted, GNU fdisk, MS-DOS fdisk, and MS-DOS format, Windows ME setup finally completes. But the first time it loads, it crashes because of a corrupt system file. So I'm not sure if my problem is fixed.
14.) Windows is almost back to normal, but I no longer dare to touch DiskDrake again. Also, Mandrake seems to have configured itself differently after I reinstalled it after one of my hard disk formatting sessions. For example, my IDE CD-burner has transformed into a SCSI one.

So my hard disk worked perfectly until I used DiskDrake to resize my Windows partition. Now I have to worry about whether Windows will suddenly stop working in the future and about Mandrake giving me problems.

Hi,
Partition error has been possible through any partitioning software and it is a big pain because sometimes you have to start the whole process all over again. Try to use partition magic and see if it can clear the problem. I almost tried everything and failed when there was a partition error after, I created my linux partion in the extended partition of windows.

I reformatted everything and left an unpartitioned area for linux. After completing installation, linux does not not seem to recognise the extended drive in windows. However, I am not going to partition again because everything is fine both side. Best of luck.

BYE,
Dino.