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diff --git a/en/partitioning/partition/x86.xml b/en/partitioning/partition/x86.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..55681bd39 --- /dev/null +++ b/en/partitioning/partition/x86.xml @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +<!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking --> +<!-- $Id$ --> + + + <sect2 arch="x86"><title>Partitioning for &arch-title;</title> +<para> + +If you have an existing other operating system such as DOS or Windows and +you want to preserve that operating system while installing Debian, you may +need to resize its partition to free up space for the Debian installation. +The installer supports resizing of both FAT and NTFS filesystems; when you +get to the installer's partitioning step, select the option +<guimenuitem>Manually edit partition table</guimenuitem> and then simply +select an existing partition and change its size. + +</para><para> + +The PC BIOS generally adds additional constraints for disk +partitioning. There is a limit to how many <quote>primary</quote> and +<quote>logical</quote> partitions a drive can contain. Additionally, with pre +1994–98 BIOSes, there are limits to where on the drive the BIOS can boot +from. More information can be found in the +<ulink url="&url-partition-howto;">Linux Partition HOWTO</ulink> and the +<ulink url="&url-phoenix-bios-faq-large-disk;">Phoenix BIOS FAQ</ulink>, but +this section will include a brief overview to help you plan most situations. + +</para><para> + +<quote>Primary</quote> partitions are the original partitioning scheme for PC +disks. However, there can only be four of them. To get past this +limitation, <quote>extended</quote> and <quote>logical</quote> partitions were invented. By +setting one of your primary partitions as an extended partition, you +can subdivide all the space allocated to that partition into logical +partitions. You can create up to 60 logical partitions per extended +partition; however, you can only have one extended partition per +drive. + +</para><para> + +Linux limits the partitions per drive to 15 partitions for SCSI disks +(3 usable primary partitions, 12 logical partitions), and 63 +partitions on an IDE drive (3 usable primary partitions, 60 logical +partitions). However the normal &debian; system provides +only 20 devices for partitions, so you may not install on partitions +higher than 20 unless you first manually create devices for those +partitions. + +</para><para> + +If you have a large IDE disk, and are using neither LBA addressing, +nor overlay drivers (sometimes provided by hard disk manufacturers), +then the boot partition (the partition containing your kernel image) +must be placed within the first 1024 cylinders of your hard drive +(usually around 524 megabytes, without BIOS translation). + +</para><para> + +This restriction doesn't apply if you have a BIOS newer than around +1995–98 (depending on the manufacturer) that supports the <quote>Enhanced +Disk Drive Support Specification</quote>. Both Lilo, the Linux loader, and +Debian's alternative <command>mbr</command> must use the BIOS to read the +kernel from the disk into RAM. If the BIOS int 0x13 large disk access +extensions are found to be present, they will be utilized. Otherwise, +the legacy disk access interface is used as a fall-back, and it cannot +be used to address any location on the disk higher than the 1023rd +cylinder. Once Linux is booted, no matter what BIOS your computer +has, these restrictions no longer apply, since Linux does not use the +BIOS for disk access. + +</para><para> + +If you have a large disk, you might have to use cylinder translation +techniques, which you can set from your BIOS setup program, such as +LBA (Logical Block Addressing) or CHS translation mode (<quote>Large</quote>). +More information about issues with large disks can be found in the +<ulink url="&url-large-disk-howto;">Large Disk HOWTO</ulink>. If you +are using a cylinder translation scheme, and the BIOS does not support +the large disk access extensions, then your boot partition has to fit +within the <emphasis>translated</emphasis> representation of the +1024th cylinder. + +</para><para> + +The recommended way of accomplishing this is to create a small (25–50MB +should suffice) partition at the beginning of the disk to be used as +the boot partition, and then create whatever other partitions you wish +to have, in the remaining area. This boot partition +<emphasis>must</emphasis> be mounted on <filename>/boot</filename>, +since that is the directory where the Linux kernel(s) will be stored. +This configuration will work on any system, regardless of whether LBA +or large disk CHS translation is used, and regardless of whether your +BIOS supports the large disk access extensions. + +</para> + </sect2> |