Arch Linux

inp3dance

Member

Registered: 2008-06-23

Posts: 106

After fixing drive partition numbers, got error

Hi,

After fixing drive partition numbers, I got the following error from cfdisk:

 FATAL ERROR: Bad logical partition 6: enlarged logical partitions overlap
                                                                 Press any key to exit cfdisk

However, I can see all my partitions with fdisk and gparted, I can mount and use all of them.
I used the following guide to fix the drive numbers order:
http://www.linkedbits.com/2011/05/26/re … -in-linux/
Does somebody know whet is cfdisks problem and how can I fix it?

Thank you!

thisoldman

Member

From: Pittsburgh

Registered: 2009-04-25

Posts: 1,172

Re: After fixing drive partition numbers, got error

Do you see any problems after 'fdisk -l'?

I don't know if the cfdisk error message is showing something catastrophic or something that can be safely ignored.  I have found that the only sure-fire method to avoid cfdisk errors is to edit partitions by using cfdisk.

cfdisk is very particular about what it considers correct and often shows errors on disks originally partitioned by fdisk or gparted.  Oddly, cfdisk is recommended over fdisk in the fdisk man page – see the 'BUGS' section.  The man page for sfdisk recommends using parted in some situations.

You might be able to see the problem cfdisk finds by using cfdisk:

# cfdisk -P t /dev/sda
Partition Table for /dev/sda

         ---Starting----      ----Ending-----    Start     Number of
 # Flags Head Sect  Cyl   ID  Head Sect  Cyl     Sector    Sectors
-- ----- ---- ---- ----- ---- ---- ---- ----- ----------- -----------
 1  0x80   32   33     0 0x83  223   19    12        2048      204800
 2  0x00  223   20    12 0x82  244   35   273      206848     4194304
 3  0x00  244   36   273 0x05   70    5 38913     4401152   620740608
 4  0x00    0    0     0 0x00    0    0     0           0           0
 5  0x00   22    5   274 0x83   53   61  2232        2048    31457280
 6  0x00   86   31  2232 0x83  128   62  2754        2048     8388608
 7  0x00  161   32  2754 0x83  236   21 33431        2048   492830720
 8  0x00   13   54 33432 0x07   70    5 38913         872    88055808

# cfdisk -P s /dev/sda
Partition Table for /dev/sda

               First       Last
 # Type       Sector      Sector   Offset    Length   Filesystem Type (ID) Flag
-- ------- ----------- ----------- ------ ----------- -------------------- ----
   Primary           0        2047*     0#       2048*Free Space           None
 1 Primary        2048*     206847*     0      204800*Linux (83)           Boot
 2 Primary      206848*    4401151*     0     4194304*Linux swap / So (82) None
 3 Primary     4401152*  625141759*     0   620740608*Extended (05)        None
 5 Logical     4401152*   35860479*  2048#   31459328*Linux (83)           None
 6 Logical    35860480*   44251135*  2048#    8390656*Linux (83)           None
 7 Logical    44251136*  537083903*  2048#  492832768*Linux (83)           None
   Logical   537083904*  537085079      0        1176*Free Space           None
 8 Logical   537085080   625141759*   872#   88056680*HPFS/NTFS/exFAT (07) None
   Pri/Log   625141760*  625142447*     0         688*Free Space           None

Other options to print a partition table to the terminal screen, besides fdisk and cfdisk, are 'parted /dev/sdX unit s print' and 'sfdisk -l -V /dev/sdX'.

inp3dance

Member

Registered: 2008-06-23

Posts: 106

Re: After fixing drive partition numbers, got error

With cfdisk -P I got the same error

FATAL ERROR: Bad logical partition 6: enlarged logical partitions overlap

thisoldman

Member

From: Pittsburgh

Registered: 2009-04-25

Posts: 1,172

Re: After fixing drive partition numbers, got error

Do any of the other tools show overlapping sectors?

Is there some reason to not follow the safe course: backup, repartition, reformat, restore?  Time consuming, I know, but you'd be assured your data was as safe as you could make it.  With the current status, you are left wondering if or when a preventable problem will show up.

inp3dance

Member

Registered: 2008-06-23

Posts: 106

Re: After fixing drive partition numbers, got error

Yes, it is some reason: I did not had where to backup. I have about 200gigs of data, half of them unsorted, but I have no time to sort them and delete what I don't need, or the money right now to buy an external storage. Believe me, I wasn't happy to do this way - but it was needed.
Right now I am wondering if cfdisk is stupider than fdisk/gparted and shows me error when there isn't, or it is smarter, and there is something what fdisk does not see.

thisoldman

Member

From: Pittsburgh

Registered: 2009-04-25

Posts: 1,172

Re: After fixing drive partition numbers, got error

Oh!  I have been in similar circumstances.  That's not good. 

Please post the output of the command,

fdisk -l /dev/sda

Please also post the type or types of filesystems on each partition.

Without some specifics, people can't really help you.  Sometimes a partition may be reduced in size but it does depend on the filesystem used.  Perhaps the overlapping partition may be reduced.