idisk(1M) idisk(1M)
Itanium(R)-based Processor Family Only
NAME [Toc] [Back]
idisk - create partitions for Itanium(R)-based system's disks
SYNOPSIS [Toc] [Back]
idisk [-p |-a |-l |-b |-q |-v |-r |-R |-w ] [-f {- |
partition_description_file}] device
DESCRIPTION [Toc] [Back]
idisk creates operating system partitions on a disk that is to be used
for Itanium-based systems. It reads in the partition information from
a data file that may be specified in the command string or redirected
from stdin. By default, idisk operates in read-only mode and displays
the partition information that is currently on the disk. To write new
partition information on the disk the user must specify the -w option.
Options [Toc] [Back]
idisk recognizes the following options:
-p Print the primary EFI partition header and partition tables.
-a Print the alternate EFI partition header and partition
tables.
-l Print the legacy partition table that resides in the master
boot record. idisk writes partition information for the
first four partition in the partition table in used by
legacy DOS and Windows. This information is used as a
backup in the event all the EFI information is corrupted.
-b Print the first usable and last usable block numbers that
are available to create partitions. First usable is the
first block a partition can start on. Last usable is the
last block that can be contained in a partition. These
numbers are relative to the whole disk and do not take into
account any partitions that may exist. They represent the
total disk space that can be partitioned. Use the -q option
to only print the values without headings.
-q Work silently. No user prompts or warnings. For use in
shell scripts.
-v Validate EFI partition information. Does the same checks
the driver does verifying that both the primary and
alternate EFI partition headers and tables are correct.
Returns two if either is bad and zero if both are correct.
-r Restore the EFI partition headers and tables. This option
checks both the primary header and tables and the alternate
header and tables. If one is found bad it is restored from
the other good version. One of either the primary or
alternate header and tables must be good for this option to
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idisk(1M) idisk(1M)
Itanium(R)-based Processor Family Only
succeed. The -w option must be specified for information to
be written to the disk.
-R Remove all EFI partition headers and tables from the disk.
This option also destroys the information contained in the
MBR (master boot record). The -w option must be specified
for information to be written to the disk.
-f { - | partition_description_file}
The partition_description_file contains the number of
partitions to be created and the type and requested size of
each partition. The filename may be specified here or
redirected from stdin when the ``-'' is used.
-w Enable write mode. By default idisk operates in read-only
mode. To create and write partition information to the disk
you must specify the -w option.
Partition Description File [Toc] [Back]
The first entry in the partition description file is the number of
partitions to create. This is followed by a line containing the type
and size for each of the partitions. Recognized partition types are:
EFI, HPUX, and HPDUMP. Size may be specified in megabytes or as a
percentage of the whole disk. Internally, idisk creates the
partitions whose size is specified in MB first then creates those
whose size was specified as a percentage. Those partitions specified
as a percent are assigned space from what is available after the MB
partitions are created. If the size of a partition is specified as
100% then all space remaining is assigned to that partition.
An example partition description file is shown below:
2
EFI 100MB
HPUX 100%
The first entry specifies the number of partitions to create. The
second specifies an EFI partition of 100 megabytes. The last entry
specifies a HPUX partition consisting of all the remaining space on
the disk after the EFI partition has been created.
When creating partitions, the device file name must be that of the
whole disk and must not have any partition number bits set in the
minor number. For disk devices, the last eight bits of the minor
number represent the option bits. For Itanium-based system's disks,
the last four option bits are used to indicate the partition number.
Since there are only four bits for partition number, only one to
fifteen partitions are supported. For example, a device node with a
minor number of 0x008001 would indicate a disk at target eight,
partition number one. A minor number of 0x00500F would indicate a
disk at target 5 partition fifteen. A minor number with no partition
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idisk(1M) idisk(1M)
Itanium(R)-based Processor Family Only
bits set would indicate the whole disk (.ie 0x008000 would be the same
disk as above but represent the whole disk and not a partition).
Note [Toc] [Back]
idisk has been ported to Windows NT 4.0 and 2000.
RETURN VALUE [Toc] [Back]
Exit values are:
0 Successful completion.
>0 Error condition occurred.
EXAMPLES [Toc] [Back]
Create the partitions specified in the above description file,
printing only the primary partition information:
idisk -w -p -f ia64dsk.dat /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0
Create the partitions specified in the above description file,
printing all available information (default), redirecting input from
stdin:
idisk -w -f - /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0 < ia64dsk.dat
Only read the disk, printing all tables (default) on the disk:
idisk /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0
Get the first and last usable block for partitioning on the disk:
idisk -b /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0
Destroy all partition information on the disk:
idisk -R /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0
Restore partition information from either a good primary or alternate
header or table to the header or table that is bad:
idisk -w -r /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0
AUTHOR [Toc] [Back]
idisk was developed by HP.
SEE ALSO [Toc] [Back]
efi(4).
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