Partition Manager feedback

[IanJeffray]

Ok, first spin of 0.96 is on my Adelaide A3010 with Wizzo running on my IDE mod board (motherboard IDE), 2GB DOM. I thought this was 'ok' previously (can't be sure / can't remember) but now... oh dear...

pm.png (8.74 KiB) Viewed 18782 times

Trying to get you a debug log results in "Error: Unknown or missing variable in "FS.IDEFS" at line 522" -- this error doesn't happen when I'm not holding alt, so smells like a bug in the debug (I've not looked).
The bit of log that did get generated, is:

Code: Select all

PartMgr v0.96 01/04/23 DEBUG
OS Version=311
ADFS found
IDEFS found, detected as Wizzo v3.15
BASIC END=4712C

read_drives
===========

IDEFS
-----
Potentially 2 physical drives

Trying DiscOp 3 against IDEFS:0
IDEFS discop_ICS(0,3,&0,&0,..,&0)
IDEFS_DiscOp+&3F,,3,&0,..,&0,,0
DiscOp 3 response: DiscRec
Address :  0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  A  B  C  D  E  F
&000000 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
&000010 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
&000020 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
&000030 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................


DiscOp 3/IDENTIFY response:
Word   :    0    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9
000000 : 044A 0F81 0000 0010 0000 0040 003F 003D 0BF0 4000 J.........@.?.=....@
000010 : 4331 3631 3131 3433 3234 4131 506E 4238 4D48 4470 1C161134421AnP8BHMpD
000020 : 0002 0002 0004 4144 2042 3531 3245 3247 4220 4154 ......DAB 15E2G2 BTA
000030 : 4120 466C 6173 6820 4469 736B 2020 2020 2020 2020  AlFsa hiDks        
000040 : 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 8001 0000 0B00               ......
000050 : 0000 0200 0000 0007 0F81 0010 003F 0BF0 003D 0100 ............?...=...
000060 : 0BF0 003D 0000 0407 0003 0078 0078 0078 0078 0000 ..=.......x.x.x.x...
000070 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000080 : 007E 0019 706B 400C 4000 7028 400C 4000 001F 0000 ....kp.@.@(p.@.@....
000090 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000100 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000110 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000120 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0009 0000 ....................
000130 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000140 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000150 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000160 : 0000 0000 0000 0012 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000170 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000180 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000190 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000200 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000210 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000220 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000230 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000240 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ....................
000250 : 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000                     ............

Magnetic media drive
Geometry in words 54-58 are reported as valid
  Cylinders=3969 Heads=16 Sectors=63
Drive using LBA addressing
Physical drive is IDEFS 0
Model      =2GB ATA Flash Disk
LBA Size   =512
Size in LBA=&0003D0BF0
Removable  =0

add_partitions_IDEFS
====================
IDEFS discop_ICS(0,1,&0,&0,..,&400)
ICS DiscRec:
Address :  0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  A  B  C  D  E  F
&000000 : 09 3F 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   .?..............
&000010 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
&000020 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
&000030 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................

IDEFS_DiscOp+&3F,,1,&0,..,&400,,0
Partition table master
Address :        0        4        8        C
&000000 : 00000000 000F9800 000F9800 000F9800 ................
&000010 : 001F3000 000F9800 002EC800 000E13F0 .0..............
&000020 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000030 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000040 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000050 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000060 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000070 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000080 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000090 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000A0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000B0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000C0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000D0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000E0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000F0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000100 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000110 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000120 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000130 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000140 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000150 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000160 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000170 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000180 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000190 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001A0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001B0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001C0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001D0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001E0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001F0 : 00000000 00000000 003D0BF0 5061789E ..........=..xaP

Partition table backup
Address :        0        4        8        C
&000000 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000010 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000020 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000030 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000040 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000050 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000060 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000070 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000080 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000090 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000A0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000B0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000C0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000D0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000E0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0000F0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000100 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000110 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000120 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000130 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000140 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000150 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000160 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000170 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000180 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&000190 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001A0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001B0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001C0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001D0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001E0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................
&0001F0 : 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 ................

CRC1=5061789E CRC2=50617274
IDEFS ICS Partition table backup doesn't match master copy
IDEFS ICS Partition table valid
Max supported partitions: 4
Partition 0 valid
Error: Unknown or missing variable in "FS.IDEFS" at line 522

[IanJeffray]

Second test, another A3010, with Simtec IDE. 8 drives on a 4GB SD card. Looks perfect - and this is where the resizable window makes a difference!
Not trying to do any writing/mods yet, just seeing how they're recognised.

[JonAbbott]

Then I suggest the default be 504MB. Need to test that works correctly on Wizzo, etc. Any idea why other formatters end up with 499 and 495 as their limits? I'm guessing it's due to rounding errors in the code or something like that?

Ultimately it comes down to the number of sectors available to FileCore. There's then quite a convoluted calculation that takes place to work out the optimal number of Zones and in the case of LBA addressing, also working out the optimal CHS that will fit in the available space.

A filesystem that uses a fixed CHS from the drive will affect the number of Zones and lower the theoretical limit - this is where the differences are coming from.

Ok, first spin of 0.96 is on my Adelaide A3010 with Wizzo running on my IDE mod board (motherboard IDE), 2GB DOM. I thought this was 'ok' previously (can't be sure / can't remember) but now... oh dear...

Thanks for testing, Wizzo is one I unfortunately didn't test, so I'll recheck the code and will also fix that debug error.

[JonAbbott]

Ok, first spin of 0.96 is on my Adelaide A3010 with Wizzo running on my IDE mod board (motherboard IDE), 2GB DOM. I thought this was 'ok' previously (can't be sure / can't remember) but now... oh dear...

I've fixed the debug error and another bug that might be the cause of the missing Wizzo partitions. I've updated the ZIP above, if you could redownload and test again please.

Another thing I noticed from your debug log is the drive is missing the backup partition table. What software did you use to partition the drive? I'm guessing !IDEFormat, if so, which version? I have v2.00 and v3.53, if you used another version, could you upload it please so I can compare versions.

[IanJeffray]

Then I suggest the default be 504MB. Need to test that works correctly on Wizzo, etc. Any idea why other formatters end up with 499 and 495 as their limits? I'm guessing it's due to rounding errors in the code or something like that?

Ultimately it comes down to the number of sectors available to FileCore. There's then quite a convoluted calculation that takes place to work out the optimal number of Zones and in the case of LBA addressing, also working out the optimal CHS that will fit in the available space.

A filesystem that uses a fixed CHS from the drive will affect the number of Zones and lower the theoretical limit - this is where the differences are coming from.

I'm still not clear - still wary ... I very carefully determined the 499MB limit (1013 cylinders) was correct for HForm/etc, by tweaking down the cylinder count one by one until I found the point where 1K LFAU was accepted rather than 2K. I'd then "blindly" used 1013 as the cylinder count for Wizzo too, before being surprised my Wizzo'd machines had a 2K LFAU and then going on to determine that IDEFormat requires the 495MB limit in order to create 1K LFAU.

If I format a Wizzo drive with PM, and use a 504MB setting, you're indicating that should be 1K LFAU - groovy. My question/concern then is, is that definitely "safe"? I won't get something nasty happening at the point the drive fills / etc? (Or does that just need testing to find out?)

[JonAbbott]

If I format a Wizzo drive with PM, and use a 504MB setting, you're indicating that should be 1K LFAU - groovy.

504MB pushes over to 2KB LFAU, 503MB would be your max but as I mentioned its dependent on the filesystem. You may not achieve 1KB LFAU on a 503MB on Simtec, ICS, ZIDEFS etc as they don't understand LBA addressing. The simplest rule-of-thumb is probably to drop down from 503MB to next cylinder down.

is that definitely "safe"? I won't get something nasty happening at the point the drive fills / etc? (Or does that just need testing to find out?)

"512MB-1 sector" is the FileCore limit, so no problems there.

[IanJeffray]

503MB would be your max but as I mentioned its dependent on the filesystem. You may not achieve 1KB LFAU on a 503MB on Simtec, ICS, ZIDEFS etc as they don't understand LBA addressing. The simplest rule-of-thumb is probably to drop down from 503MB to next cylinder down.

Sorry to labour this, but I feel it important - this is about 0.5MB for most common 16 head, 63 sector drives, so 502MB would be ok for all then.
Which means that even HForm would be 'way off' with its 499MB limit for ADFS/ZIDEFS, and IDEForm is just barking mad at 495MB
Right?

[JonAbbott]

16 head, 63 sector drives

The CHS limit there would be 1007/16/63 or ~503MB. 1008 cylinders would push it over to a 2048 byte LFAU.

I can't vouch for how other formatters work out the LFAU, so this only applies to Partition Manager.

[IanJeffray]

16 head, 63 sector drives

The CHS limit there would be 1007/16/63 or ~503MB. 1008 cylinders would push it over to a 2048 byte LFAU.

I can't vouch for how other formatters work out the LFAU, so this only applies to Partition Manager.

My standard is 1013/16/63 giving 499MB.
1013*16*63*512/1024/1024 = 498.5859375

Not sure how you get 503MB. So confused now.

[JonAbbott]

1013*16*63*512/1024/1024 = 498.5859375

Not sure how you get 503MB. So confused now.

1013/16/63 = 506MB

Sectors range from 1 upward, so you need to increase the sector value by 1 to get the correct value....1013*16*64