SUMMARY: Disk Device Driver Semantics Question

From: Ed Mehlschau <em_at_icess.ucsb.edu>
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 97 11:35:18 -0800

Apparently, the driver protects the first block of the 'c' partition so
that the disk label won't get blown away accidentally. However, the
usual disk label that one would do when installing a new drive followed
by a "disklabel -z" allows dd(1) to write over the entire drive. For
example, I was able to successfully restore my advfs file system on
three drives with the following script:

    :
    for i in 11 13 14; do
        disklabel -wr /dev/rrz${i}c XXX
        disklabel -z /dev/rrz${i}c
        rsh -n -l root tapehost mt -f /dev/nrmt1h rew
        sleep 10
        rsh -n -l root tapehost dd if=/dev/rmt1h bs=1024k | dd of=/dev/rrz${i}c bs=1024k
        sleep 10
        rsh -n -l root tapehost mt -f /dev/nrmt1h offline # stacker loads next tape
        sleep 10
    done

To the following people from whom I received replies:

    Gyula Szokoly
    Jon Craig
    Alan
    Sam Sarasin
    Dave Golden

and to the list maintainers,

THANKS!

-- Ed

----------
Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most
automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gage, nor any of the
numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the
driver makes any mistake, a giant "?" lights up in the center of the
dashboard. "The experienced driver", he says, "will usually know
what's wrong."
Received on Thu Feb 06 1997 - 20:55:55 NZDT

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