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divvy sees NONFS

As noted here, this can come from drive geomtery when transferring a drive.

It can also come from a damaged superblock, of course. The post here explains how older SCO unix might not see a valid file system in "divvy".

From: "Radek Tomis" <r...@mediumsoft.cz>
Subject: Re: Problem with FS
Date: 1999/12/09
Message-ID: <015401bf4221$f36d6510$8e0314ac@rtsnt>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 558487357
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sco.misc

> From: Tom Parsons <c...@tegan.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 3:28 AM

> Pat Welch enscribed:
> |

[...]

> | > | Pat Welch <pat...@inreach.com> a icrit dans le message :
> | > | 384CA505.EAB50...@inreach.com...
> | > | > Franck GILBERT wrote:
> | > | > >
> | > | > > I need help !!! Please
> | > | > >
> | > | > > At first I have a FS that type is EAFS.
> | > | > > Now this type is No FS.
> | > | > > HELP, how can I do to make it in EAFS (no destructive solution)?

[...]

> | Something obviously hosed his VTOC. What can be done depends on exactly
> | which SCO release you are on.
>
> Not necessarily.  We don't have all of the information but
> pre-OSR5.0.{something} divvy looked on the primary hard disk for the
> filesystem type while about everything else looked at the actual
> filesystem.  Move the second scsi drive from one 3.2v4.2 system to
> another and you will see non-FS.  Or replace the primary drive and
> the secondard will display non-FS.
>
> Someone along the family tree, divvy started looking at the filesystem
> and by 5.0.,5, this nagging annoyance no longer exists.

Tom, I think you are still being a bit mistaken about these problems.

Pre v5.0.0 `divvy` does not look on the primary drive to obtain file system
*type* of corresponding division on the given partition (no matter whether
this partition is on primary or secondary disk).

The problem is that pre v5.0.0 `divvy` scans "/dev" directory (which is
under normal circumstances on the primary drive, of course) to obtain device
*nodes* (e.g. "/dev/root", "/dev/u"), that can be opened to read the
superblock of the corresponding division and determine its filesystem type
(EAFS, HTFS, etc.), if any. If there is no corresponding device node in
"/dev" for the given division (e.g. in situations that you described above),
then pre v5.0.0 `divvy` skips that division and merely displays "NON FS"
(without division name -- device node name in "/dev" -- that could not be
found). This, however, does not mean, that the file system type
"disappeared". Naming that division ('n'ame command in divvy), which creates
corresponding device node name in "/dev", and running `divvy` again usually
fixes the "problem". If not, then the other most usual problem is different
HDD geometry currently in use (other than the one that was in use when the
division table was created).

v5.0.x `divvy` doesn't need "/dev" entries in order to read divisions'
superblocks to obtain file system type. `divvy` creates corresponding
temporary device nodes itself (whether this applies only for missing "/dev"
entries or for all divisions, I don't know at the moment) and read the
superblock from these temporary device nodes to determine file system type.

Conclusion for `divvy`:

OS          division name   FS type   Possible reason/fix
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
pre v5.0.0  not present     NON FS    name the division and run divvy again
pre v5.0.0  present         NON FS    incorrect HDD geometry in use or
                                      division table/superblock overwritten
                                      or bad track table size change
v5.0.x      doesn't matter  NON FS    incorrect HDD geometry in use or
                                      division table/superblock overwritten
                                      or bad track table size change

Incorrect HDD geometry is usually caused by SCSI adapter change (different
brand or model) for SCSI drives, or LBA/NORMAL setting change for IDE
drives. The original geometry can be determined in most cases.

--
Radek Tomis
r...@mediumsoft.cz

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