the new OS filesystems...and partition resizing...

[Belxjander]

Is it possible with the new AmigaOS FileSystems to have them adaptively grow when the partition is resized?

I'm considering a blatant hack of how I have a particular drive partitioned...

it is a 500GB Samsung SATA drive, and PC-MBR prepared with a Linux and Windows partition at this time,

I am thinking about moving all the data off the 100GB Windows partition and deleting it... then using Linux tools to move the reiserfs 400GB Linux partition to the end of the drive after which I will then look at using the AROS LiveCD HDToolBox to prepare an RDSK header at the beginning of the free space before the reiserfs partition and create a partition for AmigaOS 4.x using that tool.

If this all works properly... I am hopeful of booting up AmigaOS 4.x and retaining all the data currently stored in that ReiserFS partition while using the drive itself for AmigaOS

Would it be possible once I have set all that up to change the size of the AmigaOS partition on that drive and move data to it from the ReiserFS partition over successive reboots using Linux and temporary storage elsewhere for data transfer?

I will have a second SATA HDD of 160 GB as the primary boot device for the whole system.

If anyone here has any questions or comments I'd like to find out some more about whether AmigaOS 4.x would support the above operations without stomping the data.

Hopefully I can hear some questions about each stage so I can clarify further if required

[nbache]

I am thinking about moving all the data off the 100GB Windows partition and deleting it... then using Linux tools to move the reiserfs 400GB Linux partition to the end of the drive after which I will then look at using the AROS LiveCD HDToolBox to prepare an RDSK header at the beginning of the free space before the reiserfs partition and create a partition for AmigaOS 4.x using that tool.

If this all works properly... I am hopeful of booting up AmigaOS 4.x and retaining all the data currently stored in that ReiserFS partition while using the drive itself for AmigaOS

I have no idea about the odds of this working or not.

But I don't understand - why bother moving the Linux partition? I'm sure you are not going to even consider attempting any of this without first making a full backup of all the drive's contents on another drive, so why not just reinitialize and partition the drive with an RDB using Media Toolbox under OS4.x (e.g. from the booted install CD before installing AmigaOS), leaving your 400 GB free at the end to later create the Linux partition from within Linux, and finally copy your data back from the backup?

Best regards,

Niels

[Belxjander]

I do not have any other device able to "backup" this drive onto... and the reiserfilesystem tools under linux will quite happilly move and resize the partition content wherever I need to put it...

the only real question is in doing any of this would I be able to successfully have a *native* partition scheme on the disk in question wrapping the reiserfilesystem content so that I can actually restore access either by booting a linux with reiserfs driver enabled in the kernel or otherwise port the reiserfs tools (possibly just enough for read-only access to start with)

again... I *do not* have means of making a backup at this time ... so the "suggestion" of making a backup and wiping the disk simply wont happen.

as for doing it this way around, Linux will "see" the PC-MBR and ignore anything else... or see the RDSK and ignore anything else...

only the first partition scheme found is usable... so unless I either find or write a conversion tool I don't see wiping the disk as an option (that includes some magical backup solution that is not here)

[Slayer]

Can you paint us a better picture?

I think we can solve this without worrying about the limitations of the AmigaOS filesystem

My understanding is this

You have a 400GB Linux partition at the start of your harddrive from 0 or there abouts you also have a 100GB windows partition at the end of the drive that you intend to delete. So you have some other type of filesystem in the middle that you want to keep also?

You want to use some software to slide (if you will) your 400GD Linux partition along to the end of the drive or move it somewhere in any case then use the new free space at the start of the Harddrive for your AmigaOS boot parition?

My first thoughts are none of this is going to matter if AmigaOS doesn't see anything already existing on the harddrive as it is now without any modifications, have you viewed it under AmigaOS using Media Toolbox. If it does you might have something to work with even though I doubt you'll be able to do it exactly the way you want too.

If I was you I'd use your Linux or what have you to move things around a bit without even using it under AmigaOS until you have a suitable amount of free space at the start of the harddrive and given everything is viewable under AmigaOS I'd create a valid partition and don't change it, then continue to move stuff around but not touching this section of Harddrive.

In short I don't know any software which exists on the Amiga which would allow this and to assume the software you are using will be able to understand Amiga specific markers and alike is probably a huge ask too.

I think you're a bit of a mad scientist here simply trying to do something crazy to cater to a limitation you are currently experiencing... good sense tells me you should probably just wait, it's not like back in the day you just sacrificed the odd floppy you really didn't want to copy over, we are now talking about GBs upon GBs of risked information

Hope that reads ok, it was one long yarn

[Belxjander]

the *current* state of the drive is this...

Samsung SATA 500GB with PC-MBR prefix to 2 partitions,
1x Linux 400GB reiserfs
1x Windows 100GB ntfs

the idea is this...
Migrate the data off the ntfs to another drive
Delete the Windows partition entirely
Move the Linux reiserfs to the end of the drive

use Linux to copy the PC-MBR header off the drive

at this point I will stop and consider what options I have for trying to change the header at the beginning of the drive,
with the option of moving and resizing the reiserfs to fill a new RDSK prepared partition wrapping it.

To me I read it as a "Read the PC-MBR and Decode, Generate an RDSK Encoding and Write it" style operation
but I am unsure as to what exact content I need for the RDSK header information

[Slayer]

Ok, so we use your tools to remove the windows partition and move the Linux partition to the end of the drive, the software prepares and writes a valid map etc

You boot up AmigaOS4.x and view this Harddrive using Media Toolbox, you see the partition at the end of the drive and you see 100GB unused at the beginning of the harddrive, you select this and create a new paritition etc etc the rest is history... the only problem I see here is if AmigaOS does not see the partition on the harddrive, then you're back to your hackery theory

I must be missing something because this seems easy to me

you'll be down to one PC-MBR prefix since one will go with the windows partition? If AmigaOS can read your partitions existance doesn't this mean it understands PC-MBR prefixes?

are you over complicating this or am I over simplifying it! LOL please excuse my ignorance

If you are careful and you write down the sectors/cylinders of the free space made at the front of the harddrive even if AmigaOS doesn't see the 400GB Linux partition you could create a valid AmigaOS one anyway just limit it to the values you write down making it 1 or 2 smaller or so for safety

In short this isn't an AmigaOS problem until after you've solved moving your Linux partition to where you want it to be since there are no tools under AmigaOS to do this... but I'd be happy to learn if there were for some strange reason

[Slayer]

Yes, I suppose you'll be in a real pickle if AmigaOS doesn't see your Linux partition because I guess that needs a header too, so you'll need to merge that with the AmigaOS created header I guess, worse case scenario.

[Belxjander]

I don't have the sam440flex here yet (it is still in transit)... I registered the code for the AmigaOS 4.x that comes with it because I was notified what that code was shortly after it was sent off...

yeah... I am questioning whether I need the RDSK or PC-MBR partition map on the drive,

I know AmigaOS 3.x uses the RDSK and doesn't "see" PC-MBR or GPT or ApplePartMap headers on disks

so I don't know if the AmigaOS 4.x uboot firmware in the sam440 will recognise PC-MBR partition headers or not,

regardless of that, I'm wanting to find out more about these things on the new machine so I can be prepared for converting the drive for use on the sam440 *without* formatting the partition content.

I'll be quite happy to sort out a new header and move the linux reiserfs partition content to match an RDSK Partition description of a single partition as the only partition to the size of the drive.

Then I will be more than happy to work on trying to read reiserfs content from AmigaOS 4.x if I can work out how to do so properly.

[Slayer]

Check out the bottom of this page

http://www.acube-systems.biz/index.php? ... ware&pid=2

The Flex definely supports Linux so therefore must recognise the corresponding headers etc

But hey, I'll stop talking all around it and leave room for someone else that might have specific information that will help your cause!

good luck! and finally welcome to the club of AmigaOS4.x machines!

[Belxjander]

Check out the bottom of this page

http://www.acube-systems.biz/index.php? ... ware&pid=2

The Flex definely supports Linux so therefore must recognise the corresponding headers etc

But hey, I'll stop talking all around it and leave room for someone else that might have specific information that will help your cause!

good luck! and finally welcome to the club of AmigaOS4.x machines!

Thanks... If AmigaOS doesn't support reiserfs now then someone (me?) may have to get a start on making it and other options happen instead of relying only on the core system developers...

That is my own interest in the platform anyway... to do what I can in exploring system expansion at least