I have received a large amount of replies, nearly all suggested to use
disklabel  -z rz3 
to clear the disklable, however, this didn't work.  I forgot to write in my
original post that I tried that before I posted to the group.
disklabel -e rz3 to edit the partition table does not work as the system thinks
that the partitions are in use.
I have to mention that I am NOT using anything from the disk but the system 
somehow thinks that it is using the disk, probably because the strange 
partition table (it didn't start at block 0).
Some suggested to use, scu  (SCSI CAM Utilies), format command to reformat the 
disk and then disklabel the disk.  This works, it took about 25 minutes to format a 
36 GB, 10KRPM drive. Alan (alan_at_nabeth.cxo.dec.com) and Tim Brown (brownt_at_celerent.com)
made this suggestion.
Thanks you for all who responded to my post:
Larry Clegg (Larry_Clegg_at_intuit.com)
Bobbi Spitzberg (bobbi_at_od.nih.gov)
Mike Johnson (mike_at_du.edu)
Howard Arnold (arnoldh_at_celerent.com)
Tyler Hall (tyler_h_at_bellsouth.net)
Lars Bro (Lars.Bro_at_nettest.com)
Henrik Sloth (henrik.sloth_at_dk.transport.bombardier.com)
Acklin Michael - mackli <Michael.Acklin_at_acxiom.com>
Dan Harrington <dan.harrington_at_av.com>
John Venier <venier_at_odin.mdacc.tmc.edu>
"Mohamed K. Ahmed" <mkahmed_at_vsc.teksystems.com>
"David J. DeWolfe" <sxdjd_at_java.sois.alaska.edu>
-----Original Message-----
From: Zhi-Wei Lu [mailto:zwluxx_at_chopin.cipic.ucdavis.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2001 5:10 PM
To: tru64-unix-managers_at_ornl.gov
Subject: Disklabel a "new" disk
I am replacing a failed (three months old 36 GB IBM drive)!  But I was
unable 
to put a disklable on it ( I didn't have this problem with three other
drives 
of the same model before, including this failed on).
disklable -rw rz3 rzxx
gives me this error message:
disklabel: ioctl DIOCSDINFO: Open partition would move or shrink
Use alternate partition
If I do a 
disklabel -r rz3
I see the following strange partitions and I can not change anything,
it complains about partition be used and can not be modified!
I just wonder how I can wipe the current partition and put a 
new one on!  I am running Tru64 UNIX 4.0g.   Thanks
# /dev/rrz3a:
type: SCSI
disk: DDYS-T3695
label: 
flags: dynamic_geometry
bytes/sector: 512
sectors/track: 399
tracks/cylinder: 12
sectors/cylinder: 4788
cylinders: 15110
sectors/unit: 71687340
rpm: 10000
interleave: 1
trackskew: 11
cylinderskew: 20
headswitch: 0		# milliseconds
track-to-track seek: 0	# milliseconds
drivedata: 0 
5 partitions:
#          size     offset    fstype   [fsize bsize   cpg]      # NOTE:
values not exact
  a:   20482875      16065   resrvd8                    	# (Cyl.
3*- 4281*)
  b:    2104515   20498940      swap                    	# (Cyl.
4281*- 4720*)
  c:    2104515   22603455   resrvd8                    	# (Cyl.
4720*- 5160*)
  d:    2104515   24707970   resrvd8                    	# (Cyl.
5160*- 5599*)
  e:    2104515   26812485   resrvd8                    	# (Cyl.
5599*- 6039*)
-- 
Zhi-Wei Lu 		
CIPIC (Center for Image Processing and Integrated Computing)
UC Davis 	  	Phone:	(530)-752-0494
Davis, CA 95616		Fax:   	(530)-752-8894
-- 
Zhi-Wei Lu 		
CIPIC (Center for Image Processing and Integrated Computing)
UC Davis 	  	Phone:	(530)-752-0494
Davis, CA 95616		Fax:   	(530)-752-8894
-- 
Zhi-Wei Lu 		
CIPIC (Center for Image Processing and Integrated Computing)
UC Davis 	  	Phone:	(530)-752-0494
Davis, CA 95616		Fax:   	(530)-752-8894
Received on Thu Sep 13 2001 - 16:18:29 NZST