On Mon, 5 Jan 2004 14:17:02 -0500, "Paul W. Abrahams"
I use Acronis Partition Expert, which understands more formats than I have heard of. It happily recognises Linux swap parts and Reiser parts. (As do all the Acronis tools, they install cygwin as part of their main install which is presumably why they can handle it)
My concern with any of the alternatives to Partition Magic is that they might run into the same problem as Partition Magic with an existing hard drive: Linux fdisk thinks it's OK but PM finds its partition table unreadable.
... then maybe you use 30-day eval and test any tool you feel might work.
I'd end up having bought software that is useless to me.
...that's what i was saying earlier. you have to decide which side of the camp is most beneficial for you, then choose the tool that best fits that camp (Linux, etc). i thought i was using a tool that would assist me. although i understand all the low-level partitioning, i want something that will get me working quickly and with a minimum of fuss. PM for Linux partitioning does not work, IMO, so i tossed PM.
And, of course, low-level tinkering with partition tables can be very, very hazardous, especially if you're not entirely sure of what you're doing.
true statement. i've done all that; i've done some slicing that put me on the edge of the seat - try resizing a partition with a filesystem *IN PLACE* :) talk about a nervous breakdown!
To add to the unpleasantness of my situation: the drive in question is an 80GB-er about 65% full, so backing it up completely and rebuilding it isn't an option.
... i'd go buy another drive and back it up!!!!
But nevertheless I'll ask the question: can anyone point me to a definitive standard for partition tables?
... that's the prob - there is NO standard. although the information about drives and how they're sliced, there are many other variables at work which complicates matters. and each vendor is free to interpret how THEY want to deal with a drive and partitioning it. -- << http://michaeljtobler.homelinux.com/ >> I don't mind what Congress does, as long as they don't do it in the streets and frighten the horses. - Victor Hugo