ffddiisskk -- Command

Hard-disk partitioning utility
/eettcc/ffddiisskk [-rr] [-cc] [-bb _m_b_o_o_t] _x_d_e_v ...

The  COHERENT version  of  the command  ffddiisskk  supports flexible  hard-disk
partitioning among four operating systems, i.e. MS-DOS, CP/M, COHERENT, and
XENIX.  This capability means that with the COHERENT ffddiisskk, you can support
COHERENT plus any combination of MS-DOS, CP/M, or XENIX on one hard disk.

ffddiisskk recognizes the following flags:

-rr Read-only access to partitioning information.

-bb Use the first 446 bytes of  _m_b_o_o_t as master boot code to replace that in
   _x_d_e_v.

-cc Allow  the specification  of disk geometry  (i.e., number  of cylinders,
   heads, sectors)  for disk  drives that are  not supported by  the system
   BIOS.

ffddiisskk  accesses  the  first  block  from  the special  device  _x_d_e_v  (e.g.,
/ddeevv/aatt00xx) for  the partitioning information.  ffddiisskk  then queries the user
for changes.  These  changes are written to _x_d_e_v only  if the user requests
the  changes to  be  saved.  If  omitted,  _x_d_e_v defaults  to /ddeevv/aatt00xx  and
/ddeevv/aatt11xx. SCSI  disk device users  will need to specify  _x_d_e_v as /ddeevv/ssdd_nxx
where _n is a digit corresponding  to the SCSI ID for the disk device (e.g.,
/ddeevv/ssdd00xx).

_F_i_l_e_s
<ffddiisskk.hh>

_S_e_e _A_l_s_o
ccoommmmaannddss

_N_o_t_e_s
If  the partition  table is  changed, the system  should be  rebooted; most
device drivers will not recognize the revised partition information until a
reboot occurs.

As the -rr and -bb options are contradictory, attempting to use them together
generates an error message.

Please note  that some  versions of ffddiisskk  for other operating  systems can
rearrange the  order of entries  in the partition table.   If this happens,
you may lose the ability to run COHERENT until the table is restored to its
previous order.  A sign of this problem is getting the prompt AATT bboooott? when
trying to  start COHERENT  after running any  ffddiisskk program, and  not being
able to get past it.

Computer systems  that use  older BIOS  releases may report  incorrect disk
parameters.  Users  of such systems should change the  CMOS setup values if
possible, but the BIOS on some  older systems will not allow you to specify
arbitrary values for disk parameters.   Users with such systems can use the
ffddiisskk -cc option instead.

If you plan  to install and run COHERENT and  MS-DOS on the same hard disk,
note the following:

-> If you wish  to install COHERENT and MS-DOS on  the same hard drive, you
   _m_u_s_t run the MS-DOS ffddiisskk first!

-> If you  plan on running both operating systems,  you _m_u_s_t install MS-DOS
   first and leave some free cylinders  on the disk for COHERENT as well as
   a free partition.  You can have  both primary as well as extended MS-DOS
   partitions on the same drive as COHERENT, but COHERENT cannot use a sub-
   partition of  the MS-DOS extended partition.  COHERENT  must have one of
   the four _r_e_a_l partitions.

_F_a_i_l_u_r_e _t_o _o_b_s_e_r_v_e _t_h_e_s_e _r_u_l_e_s _w_i_l_l _r_e_s_u_l_t _i_n _l_o_s_s _o_f _d_a_t_a!

Finally, please note  that if you use ffddiisskk with  a device other than the xx
device  (e.g., with  device  /ddeevv/aatt00aa), it  will display  values for  your
partitions that  are totally bogus -- and  probably quite alarming.  _C_a_v_e_a_t
_u_t_i_l_i_t_o_r.
