From: rommel@jonas.gold.sub.org (Kai Uwe Rommel)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Subject: Re: 1G HD Install OS/2 2.1
Date: 9 Jan 93 12:34:00 GMT
Organization: Private

In article <1993Jan8.221354.6659@netcom.com> gasman1@netcom.com (David A. Silva) writes:
>
>Just received the 2.1 beta CD. My setup is a 486DX2-50 ISA with AMI bios,
>Adaptec 1542B, Toshiba MK-538FA 1.2G HD, Pioneer DRM604X CDRom, 16 meg
>memory. My pre-existing partitions under DOS 5.0 are 300 meg primary,
>660 meg extended divided into 2 330 meg logical drives. The config.sys on the
>2nd disk has "basedev=aha154x.add /ET" for support of the Pioneer as per the
>readme file on the CD. BTW, this is a clean install with no prior OS/2 on
>this particular hard disk.
>
>Using the CDRom install, I get thru the first 2 disks into FDISK. Fdisk
>recognizes 212 meg of free disk space. I install boot manager-which then
>automatically becomes a primary partition. I create a partition in the
>remaining space, and it automatically becomes a primary partition. Fdisk will
>not allow me to set this as installable. I then deleted both these new
>partitions, and assigned the free space as one big extended partition. Fdisk
>then will not allow me to install the boot manager.
>
>I then deleted these partitions again, and booted the OS/2 v2 GA install
>disks. I get to Fdisk, which only sees 64 meg of free diskspace. I install a
>boot manager partition ( which again automatically becomes primary ) and set
>the remaining freespace as a partition ( again, automatically becomes
>primary ). I set the last partition as installable, continue and the screen
>again selects C as the install drive. Entering fdisk again, the last
>partition is not set as installable.
>
>What amm I missing here? Any ideas how to solve this? Thanx - David

The space beyond 1GB can only be accessed by the native AHA154X driver
and not by the BIOS at system boot time and not by the IBMINT13.I13
generic driver used for installation.

I would suggest the following, in case you can affort deleting all
data from the disk or have a way to backup/restore:

1. delete all partitions

2. start installation of OS/2

3. get into FDISK and install boot manager at the beginning of the
   free disk space

4. create a primary partition as large as you like after the boot
   manager one and mark it installable, perhaps create one only large
   enough to hold OS/2 and swap space (say 70-100MB) to keep the OS
   separated from apps and data

5. install OS/2 on this partition

6. after rebooting, make sure IBMINT13.I13 is not installed in
   config.sys but AHA154X.ADD is and that the system boots fine with
   this config.sys

7. then use FDISKPM to create any additional partitions, including
   those exceeding the first 1GB

Alternatively, save all data from the 300MB primary to the 330MB
extended partitions and install OS/2 on the 300MB primary or use OS/2
FDISK at installation time to delete it and create the boot manager
and two primaries with combined size equal to 299MB instead (boot
manager takes 1MB). Then use the remaining space beyond 1GB for an
additional 212MB extended partition.

Because the 1542B BIOS cannot read what is beyond 1GB (the 1542C may
be able), it cannot boot from a partition in the 1GB to 1.2GB range.

Now, if you had filled the 1GB with partitions from DOS FDISK and then
install boot manager beyond the 1GB border with OS/2 FDISK, the BIOS
obviously cannot start boot manager at boot time. 

Also, since the installation uses the IBMINT13.I13, it would be unable
to access the partition after the 1GB border and therefore cannot
install OS/2 there and thus does not let you mark it installable. 

However, to *create* a partition in this area, only access to the
partition table is required, which is the first sector on the disk, so
this can even be done with the IBMINT13.I13.

Kai Uwe Rommel

--
/* Kai Uwe Rommel                                      Muenchen, Germany *
 * rommel@jonas.gold.sub.org                       Phone +49 89 723 4101 *
 * rommel@informatik.tu-muenchen.de                  Fax +49 89 723 7889 */

DOS ... is still a real mode only non-reentrant interrupt
handler, and always will be.                -Russell Williams