On Tue, Feb 07, 2012 at 02:20:38PM +0800, Alan Cheng wrote: > Hello list, > > I'm playing around with fdisk on a vmware virtual machine with 5.0 i386. > Despite what's in FAQ14.4, I found I can still create disklabel partitions > without a fdisk partition (no fdisk -i $disk) on a blank disk. > > I'm confused. So my question is: > 1. Is fdisk partition a must for a NON-SYSTEM disk on i386? > 2. what is the disadvantage of using a disklabel partition without fdisk > partition in above mentioned scenario? > > thanks. > > - Alan >
1. Theoretically, no, it is not required. 2. Confusion can result in some circumstances. In particular, since the disklabel-only setup does not put the disklabel in the same place as the MBR on i386 and amd64, it is possible to subsequently add in an MBR and not overwrite the disklabel. And if you add an OpenBSD partition to the MBR, the disklabel you created will 'disappear'. Possibly to surprisingly 'reappear' if the OpenBSD partition or entire MBR is removed. As with many things, seeing a pile of rope lying around does not mean you have to use it. :-) .... Ken
