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WebSite Information => Article Discussions => Topic started by: millese on 2008.10.21, 22:25:53

Title: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.21, 22:25:53
1st off I want to thank you for your time. I am new to your forum and probably like many others, I am here because I am having an issue with my os2 computer(s). I work in the semi conductor industry and we have a fleet of tools running os2 computers to run the machinery. The tools are running various versions IBM 7587 industrial computers running OS2 warp NDIS 2.0.1 and driver 1.06 and they have hard drive ranging in size for 4 to 6.4 Gig's. As these computers get older the HD's are beginning to fail, and finding drives this small is becoming very hard. Yesterday, I had a HD fail and was able to get another HD of the same size off of a working computer and had a local company do a sector for sector copy from the 6.4 Gig drive to a 40 Gig drive. When I installed the 40 gig into the computer it booted to the boot manager auto selected the os2 partition as it usually does then just froze with os2 logo screen up. I went into the bios and it recoginizes the HD as a 40 Gig, but the guy who did the copy said that he has never had an issue going from a smaller drive to a larger one, but again he is not usually copying os2 drives. Is this a OS2 limitation or a bios limitation or both? I have been reading through this forum a bit and have seen some posts relative to the IDE driver and its ability to see the entire drive when using large HD's is it possible all I need is an upgraded IDE driver?
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Fahrvenugen on 2008.10.22, 21:08:21
Hi,

A few additional things.

First, as noted in the previous reply, the problem is likely that you have an old IBM1S506.add driver, the older vsrsions of this driver do not recognize large hard disks (by large, anything above about 6 Gigs).  The best is to download the Danis506 driver as above.

Second, you don't mention which version of OS/2 you're working with, but if you're working with either Version 3 or 4 (pre-LVM), then you're going to need to make sure that OS/2 is installed on a partition which is entirely located within the first 1024 cylinders of the hard disk.  In your case, if that initial partition is within the first 6.4 Gigs (as you mentioned you were going from a 6.4 Gig HD) then you'll be fine.


The third thing, if you're trying to get the install that you have on that 40 Gig HDD up and running, you'll need a set of boot disks (or a custom made boot CD).  Boot to a command prompt and copy the danis506.add file into c:\os2\boot and (or whatever drive holds your OS/2 stuff, usually C but it is possible for it to be different) then modify the config.sys in your root directory  (for this you can use the tedit.exe application that usually resides on either the boot disks or c:\os2) to REM out the ibm1s506.add and add in the basedev line for DANIS506

Hope this helps.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.23, 02:46:46
Thank you both for you input. I'm going to sound even more idiotic than I already appear with my next question. I am not sure which version of OS2 I am dealing with. When I turn on the computer is goes to a boot manager with a small 6.0 dos partition on C: and what is listed as WARP 4 on the D: partition. When I get to the desk top I go under system properties like I do on any other o.s I have used, but it does not say what version I am on. Can you help me with where to find this info on the computer? Another question I have is with the age of the computers I am working with will the BIOS be an issue with disk size as well? I have read a bit on here that seems to indicate that OS2 deals with drive's and overrides the bios is this correct? And one more question, can I mount my 40gig as a slave on an os2 computer that has the dani upgrade and just move the files without the boot disks? Can the driver just be copied into the proper directories, or does it need to be "installed"?  I am up to speed with how to modify the config.sys, I just want to make sure I put the danis506.add file in all the correct directories. Again, please forgive me for my lack of knowledge here and I very much appreciate your time.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.23, 07:35:44
That was great info, I'll try in now and let you know how it goes!
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.23, 09:26:42
It worked!!!! I was able to install the Dani driver on a working machine and mount the 40 gig drive and install the driver now it's booting just fine. ;D ;D I feel very lucky that there are people out there this generous with their time and knowledge. Thanks ddan and Fahrvenugen. Is there and add I can click on somewhere for you guys? LOL  :D
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Saijin_Naib on 2008.10.23, 17:34:05
Be aware that the current and previous generation of CF and CFII type drives have no wear-leveling mechanisms built in and will quickly meet/exceed their 10,000-100,000 writes per cell limit imposed by the current generation of flash memory.

If you intend to use flash memory in a Operating System capacity you should really look into a proper SSD with SLC (Single Level Cells) and Wear Leveling or find a very new CF card that has 100,000+ writes per cell.

Also, as an addendum to the above you should strongly consider disabling any swap path on the CF card but instead use a RAM-DRIVE (IFS-Installable File System driver) to make a virtual swap that is held in memory to cut down on excess read/write operations to the flash media. On top of that, you should choose wisely the filesystem you use on the CF card. For eCS we are very limited to HPFS and JFS, both which have their positives and negatives. JFS will fragment but does not require pre-boot consistency checks of the entire volume (but rather just the journal) and may save you a few write cycles that way.

I'd ask another with more in-depth knowledge of the write habits of HPFS/HPFS386/JFS to step in and elaborate further on this matter so that we all may benefit and learn which IFS to be used on our currently limited flash media.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Saijin_Naib on 2008.10.23, 19:05:35
No, I am not. As far as I have found, the wear leveling employed in consumer grade CF cards is barely passable as wear leveling and may only rate wear statistics on block 0 of the storage media or rely on filesystem driver assistance to complete it's task. I know that industrial grade CF devices have much more advanced wear leveling and will withstand being used in Operating System capacity much better. Also, SSDs (being designed purposefully for this task) employ better wear leveling methods and are (if you get SLC) physically more robust to write-cycle issues. I am only trying to offer what info I can to possibly prevent a failure down the road due to improper application of a CF card. Also, SSDs are not very large at all. You can get 4 and 8gb ones fairly easily and for about the same price of CF cards at times.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Saijin_Naib on 2008.10.23, 19:40:23
Not reckless, just shrewd.
"SanDisk does not warrant, and shall not be responsible for, any lost data or images contained in any product (including in any returned product), regardless of the cause of the loss. SanDisk's products are not warranted to operate without failure. SanDisk products must not be used in life support systems or other applications where failure could threaten injury or life."

Now, in the USA, it's warrantied so long as the original purchaser holds it (10 years from DOP elsewhere). The warranty covers the product being free from material defects, but the write cycle limitations of flash are NOT material defects, they are an inherent limitation of the medium and as cited above, are NOT covered under warranty.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Saijin_Naib on 2008.10.23, 19:59:22
1)I believe it does
2)So you get another CF card which will fail the same way? Excellent.
3)Point to you.

Edit: hiatus for now, I've much work to do.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Fahrvenugen on 2008.10.23, 21:38:16
Quote from: millese on 2008.10.23, 09:26:42
It worked!!!! I was able to install the Dani driver on a working machine and mount the 40 gig drive and install the driver now it's booting just fine. ;D ;D I feel very lucky that there are people out there this generous with their time and knowledge. Thanks ddan and Fahrvenugen. Is there and add I can click on somewhere for you guys? LOL  :D

Hi Millese,

First, don't feel "idiotic" or anything like that.  OS/2 can be a bit of a challenge to understand, especially at first.  But rest assured you've found one of the best places for help.  :)

Glad to hear it worked, and glad to help!  I know I've benefited from the knowledge of others over the years, and am happy to help when I can.

As far as the other questions about how to create another boot drive, once you get a booting system (which is probably a good idea, create a "spare" bootable drive and leave it on a shelf somewhere if you have a drive failure in the future)...  here's my suggestions.

As mentioned, DANIS506.ADD (and IBM1S605.ADD does this too, but not as well as the DANIS driver) over rides the BIOS settings on a hard disk.  So if you can get a computer to recognize a hard disk enough to boot, once DANIS506 kicks in, it does the work.  But on older computers, it can sometimes be difficult to get the computer to even just recognize the hard disk.  So here's what I'v found...

Newer systems generally don't have a problem, but older systems with LBA turned on in the BIOS still sometimes have issues with the BIOS recognizing anything above 137 Gigs (I have an old P3 that has this exact problem). Unless you know your system will recognize it, get a spare drive that is less then this (I recommend either a 40 or 80 Gig to be safe....  and I know 80 Gig drives can still be found new...  but you *will* need to have LBA turned on in the BIOS).

For partitioning the drive, OS/2 version 4.52 (or eCS) is not limited by where the boot partition is on the drive, but older versions of OS/2 (version 4.5, Version 4, and Version 3) the boot partition needs to be within the first 1024 cylinders of the drive.

So given that it looks like you have Version 4, I'm going to play it safe, and guess that you might have the older version of V4 instead of one with LVM.  Having said that, here's what I would do:

1.  Get a 40 (or 80) Gig HDD
2.  Set that drive to be a "Slave", install it in a computer that currently boots to OS/2, make sure the drive is showing up in BIOS, and boot up OS/2
3.  When in OS/2, fire up fdiskpm.exe - open up an OS/2  command prompt and type fdiskpm.exe
4.  In the FDISK window, make sure you select the "new" drive (it'll probably show up as drive 2 or 3  or something like that, in the top part of the GUI, when you select it the drive will probably show up as "unpartitioned" too)
5.  Use the menu options to install boot manager on to that drive
6.  Create a primary partition on that drive, something relatively small to make sure it'll be within the first 1024 cylinders (4 to 6 gigs should work)
7.  Once you've created the partition you may have to reboot to get it to assign a drive letter.  Sometimes it will assign a drive letter, sometimes a reboot is required.
8.  Once rebooted, you'll need to format the drive, format with HPFS (start an OS/2 command prompt and type:

format x: /fs:hpfs

where X is the new drive letter

9.  Once formatted, use the command:

xcopy d:\*.* x: /H /O /T /S /E /R /V

where D is your boot drive, X is your newly formatted drive

10.  Once everything has copied over, use the command:

sysinstx x:

This is like the old DOS bases SYS command - it copies over a few boot files

11.  Start up fdiskpm again, make sure your partition on that new drive is set to bootable (or startable)

12.  Once done, put the hard disk into a machine as the primary master drive and test it.  It should boot up.  Once it boots up, you may have to start up fdiskpm again and set the Boot Manager partition as "startable" and add the new "boot" partition to the boot manager menu.

13.  Once you have a booting system, you can also partition the rest of the space on that hard disk for data if you like.  Just use fdiskpm for that.

Just a side note... use caution when using fdiskpm.  If you have the wrong disk selected (for example, if you have your primary boot drive selected instead of the "new" drive you're trying to partition) you can run into a situation where you mess up your boot drive!  Check and double check to make sure you're working with the correct drive before saving any changes!

Hope this helps!


Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.24, 19:43:34
That is great information. For the machines I am running they are set up as follows
                            startable          primary           boot manager         7meg
pc dos 7                bootable       C: primary          Fat                    102meg
OS2 WARP 4           bootable       D: Logical           Fat                    502meg
                                               E: Logical          HPFS                2000meg
                                              :Pri/Log              Freespace          3537meg
As I stated in original post I work in semiconductor and have over 50 of these in slightly different configurations. One thing they all have in common is the dos partition preceding the os2 partition. Can you think of any reason for this? The one thing I have noticed along this path of file and driver upgrading was than even with the larger drive size (40gig) after I did the sector for sector copy the dos partition continued to operate and I was able to add the dani driver to the os2 partition and modify the config.sys from the DOS prompt and this made it so I did not have to boot the drive as a slave. Do you think they do this purpose so if screw something up in the config.sys while loading specific components (I.E. ELO drivers) and are unable to boot to os2 they still would have a path in? Or, in that case would they just Alt-F1 and reload the default config.sys. I'm just curious... for the sake of standardization for people that may follow long after I have gone, I would like to maintain this partition format. In that case I would need to copy the DOS 7 files over to the dos partition I would have to create. Is this possilble? Sorry in advance for my grammer. :)
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.24, 20:32:30
The DOS partition precedes the OS/2 partition because DOS prefers booting from the first primary partition on the first hard drive, and residing in the first 1024 cylinders (0-1023) meaning up to 8GB - and the FAT16 file system for OS/2 does not support more than 2GB. Thus, the first partition should be the DOS boot partition (or boot manager followed immediately by it), and under 2GB (including bootmanager if installed).

IIRC, it's simply a limitation of the FAT16 file system.

Robert
(corrections and/or better explanations welcome)
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.24, 21:24:11
Hey ddan,

Thanks... yes I did. millese, skip my answer for all but the technical (HDD/filesystem related) reasons for the partition layout - and see ddan's answer for the maintenance and logistic reasons.

Rob
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.24, 22:30:05
Cool thank you both. Is a fat partition a fat partition whether it's created with DOS using Fdisk or using os2 fdiskpm? I'm just wondering if there is an advantage to one over the other seeing as how I can boot to either dos or os2. Thanks
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.24, 22:35:43
Quote from: millese on 2008.10.24, 22:30:05
Cool thank you both. Is a fat partition a fat partition whether it's created with DOS using Fdisk or using os2 fdiskpm? I'm just wondering if there is an advantage to one over the other seeing as how I can boot to either dos or os2. Thanks

Probably the best way (especially since you seem to need to install Boot Manager) is to simply do it via OS/2's fdisk or fdiskpm. If you use the DOS fdisk, ensure it's FAT16 partitions you create, and that you have already created your BootManager using OS/2's fdisk first.

Rob
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.25, 01:03:55
That is fantastic! I have to run down a spare HD to attemp this, but I will get back with you on my sucess/failure! I'm glad that this exercise was useful for you as well. I know I've been blasting with questions, but here was another glitch that happened to me that I was hoping you could shed some light on. When I put a second drive on as a slave the boot mananger changed all of my drive designations which really P$%## off my config.sys as nearly every line referenced the D: drive. I went through and changed every instance of D: to E: and the system then booted, but it said it could not find my desktop in os2.ini. When I found os2.ini in the os2/install directory and tried to open it with E:e os2.ini it said the editor found embedded null characters in the file. I elected to open it anyway and can see more references to the D: drive, but there is a bunch of gobblie gook as well. Is there some way I can view this file in a normal fashion so I can change the references to E: as well. P.S. i made backup copies of all the original files so i can go back, and even when the desktop couldn't be stared in gave me a command window. It just raised another question for me.  If this is getting tiresome please tell me. Thanks
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.25, 01:08:38
One addition... if the machines are very old, and have problems either booting or finishing post with that configuration (re point #2) then install the CD ROM as slave on the 2nd IDE controller (instead of master).
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.25, 01:55:52
Ya, I agree I don't need it, was just curious more than anything. I can do anything I need from the os2, but I came across it and wondered if there was anyway I could deal with it just for learning more than anything.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: ivan on 2008.10.25, 01:59:18
The OS2*.INI files are binary data files and should only be edited with something like INIedit by Goran (Hobbes is your friend).

You can use the SET DESKTOP=<d>\desktop in config.sys where <d> is the drive with the desktop dir.

Some information you may find interesting I have quoted below (edited to show only the relevant information)

Quote
  FIXED IDE HARD DRIVE AND REMOVABLE MEDIA SUPPORT

  June  12, 2003

  OS/2 Device Driver Development
  IBM Solution Technologies
  Austin, TX

  (c) Copyright International Business Machines Corporation, 2001, 2003.
  All rights Reserved.

  CONTENTS
  ________

  1.0  INTRODUCTION

  2.0  INSTALLATION
  2.1  Updating the Installation Diskettes
  2.2  Updating a Previously Installed Warp System

  3.0  LARGE HARD DRIVE CONSIDERATIONS
  3.1  System Hang or Hard Drive Hesitation
  3.2  Cannot Mark a Partition Installable
  3.3  IPE on Boot, "Trap D"
  3.4  Inconsistencies in Total Disk Space
  3.5  Application Install Fails with "Not Enough Space"
  3.6  Performance Problems With Two Devices on a Single Channel
  3.7  Install Diskettes or Utility Diskettes Hang on Boot (APAR JR12065)
  3.8  Additional Parameters For IDE Device Driver
  3.9  Additional Parameters for IBMATAPI.FLT and IBMIDECD.FLT drivers
  3.10 Very Large (128/137 Gb limit) Hard drive considerations (48 bit LBA)

  4.0  REMOVABLE MEDIA SUPPORT
  4.1  Partitioned Removable Media
    4.1.1  Using Protected Media
    4.1.2  Assignment of Drive Letters
    4.1.3  Configuring Partition Support (OS2DASD)
    4.1.4  Ejecting the media
    4.1.5  Limitations of Partitioned Removable Media Support
  4.2  Large Floppy Removable Media (LS-120)
    4.2.1  Limitations of LS-120 Support
  4.3 CD-ROM Device Manager (OS2CDROM.DMD)
  4.4 CD-RW media support in IBMIDECD.FLT

  5.0 SUPPORTED CHIPSETS, KNOWN RESTRICTIONS AND LIMITATIONS
  5.1 Supported chipset table
  5.2 Known restrictions and limitations
    5.2.1 Intel chipsets limitations
    5.2.2 VIA chipsets restrictions
    5.2.3 SiS chipset limitation
  5.3 Chipset Extended Detection Algorithm for Intel chipsets

  6.0  COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK INFORMATION

  1.0  INTRODUCTION
  _________________

  FixPak 35 (FP35) for Warp 3 and FixPak 6 (FP6) for Warp 4 extended support
  for fixed Enhanced IDE drives to sizes up to 8.4GB and added new caching HPFS
  and FAT file system support for removable media drives such as SCSI Syquest
  Syjet 1.5GB portable hard drive and the Iomega jaz 1GB and 2GB personal hard
  drives.

  This package contains updates to the support in FP35 and FP6,
  extending support to fixed Enhanced IDE drives greater than 8.4GB,
  fixing some problems, and adding additional documentation on
  removable media support.  Beginning with FP40 and FP10 OS/2 base
  device drivers were separated into a Base Device Driver FixPak.

  This package also contains extensions to OS2CDROM.DMD, providing support for
  multi-session CDROM media.

  The package also contains an updated floppy diskette driver (IBM1FLPY.ADD),
  which corrects a failure that occurs upon a Resume on a ThinkPad when
  the diskette drive is installed in the ThinkPad docking station.

  For Warp Server Advanced HPFS386 support of removable media, you additionally
  need LAN Server SelectPack IP_8508.

  These fixpaks are available from http://ps.software.ibm.com/ under the link
  "Downloads and News."  Install the fixpaks first, carefully following the
  instructions with the fixpaks; then follow the directions in this README to
  install this package.

  If you are attempting to install Warp 3 or Warp 4 for the first time on a
  fixed hard drive greater than 4.3GB, then:

  1.  Follow the instruction on "Updating the Installation Diskettes" in this
      README and use the new diskettes to install Warp.

  2.  Install FP35 for Warp 3 or FP6 for Warp 4.

  3.  Follow the instructions in this README to install this package.

  2.0  INSTALLATION
  _________________

  2.1  UPDATING THE INSTALLATION DISKETTES
  ________________________________________

  If you are attempting to install Warp on a hard drive greater than
  4.3GB, or your are attempting to install Warp Server for e-business on
  a hard drive greater than 30GB, then the Installation diskettes must
  be updated.

  1.  Make a backup copy of your Diskette 1 (D1).

  2.  Copy the new versions of IBM1S506.ADD, and IBMIDECD.FLT
      device driver files onto your D1 diskette.

  3.  If the installation diskettes are for Warp Server for e-business,
      Warp Server for e-business Convenience Pak, or Warp 4 Convenience Pak,
      copy the DASD32.DMD file to your D1 diskette and rename it to
      OS2DASD.DMD.  Otherwise copy the DASD16.DMD file to your D1
      diskette and rename it to OS2DASD.DMD.

  4.  Add the statement SET COPYFROMFLOPPY=1 to the CONFIG.SYS on D1.

  5.  Save the changes.

  6.  Start the installation with the Installation Diskette.

  7.  When you are prompted for Diskette 1, use the diskette you modified.

  8.  Proceed with the installation.

  9.  If during the installation process or when restarting your system, you
      lose connection to your hard disk or CDROM, make sure that the device
      driver statements are in the CONFIG.SYS file and the new versions of the
      IBM1S506.ADD, IBMIDECD.FLT and OS2DASD.DMD device drivers have been
      copied to the \OS2\BOOT directory.  Use the date of the files to distin-
      guish the newer versions.

  2.2  UPDATING A PREVIOUSLY INSTALLED WARP SYSTEM
  ________________________________________________

  1.  (Optional) Save the existing (old) level of drivers in your system.

      a.  Change Directory to the \os2\boot directory on your boot drive.

      b.  Rename the drivers (for example, where the boot drive is C:).  The
          IBMATAPI.FLT driver may not have been previously installed.

            [C:\os2\boot] rename IBM1S506.ADD  IBM1S506.ORG
            [C:\os2\boot] rename IBM1FLPY.ADD  IBM1FLPY.ORG
            [C:\os2\boot] rename IBMIDECD.FLT  IBMIDECD.ORG
            [C:\os2\boot] rename IBMATAPI.FLT  IBMATAPI.ORG
            [C:\os2\boot] rename OS2CDROM.DMD  OS2CDROM.ORG
            [C:\os2\boot] rename OS2DASD.DMD   OS2DASD.ORG

  2.  Open an OS/2 Window and enter the SYSLEVEL X: (where X: is your
      boot drive).  Look for the entry x:\OS2\INSTALL\SYSLEVEL.OS2 and
      see which version of OS/2 you have installed; for example "Version
      4.00" or "Version 4.50".

  3.  Device Driver Install

      o   (Warp 3, Warp Server) Open the Device Driver Install program
          in the OS/2 System Folder/System Setup Folder.

      o   (Warp 4, Warp Server for e-business) Open the Device Driver
          Install program in the OS/2 System/System Setup/Install-Remove
          Folder.

  3.  Point the Device Driver Install file dialogue to the directory where you
      have placed the new files in this package.

         If your version of OS/2 is 4.00 or earlier, select the driver
         named IBM IDE AND REMOVABLE MEDIA SUPPORT (V4.00).

         If your version of OS/2 is 4.50 or later, select the driver
         named IBM IDE AND REMOVABLE MEDIA SUPPORT (V4.50).

      Click on INSTALL.

  4.  Reboot the system.

  3.0  LARGE HARD DRIVE CONSIDERATIONS
  ____________________________________

    3.2  CANNOT MARK A PARTITION INSTALLABLE
  ________________________________________

  There is a BIOS restriction that installable (startable) or bootable parti-
  tions must be contained within the first 1024 logical cylinders of the disk.
  This is true for both EIDE and SCSI hard disk drives.  If FDISK fails to
  allow a partition to be marked installable, the partition is either above
  1024 cylinders or the partition spans the first 1024 logical cylinders of the
  disk.  Use FDISK to reduce the size of the startable or bootable partition by
  sufficient MBytes.  One way to calculate the correct partition size is to do
  the following:

  1.  Edit your CONFIG.SYS and add the parameter /W or /V to the
      BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD statement.

  2.  Save this change and reboot the system.

  3.  At initialization, record the far left hand column of numbers of the
      geometry information under the OS2:log heading; for example, where
      C=cylinder, H=head, and S=sector:

            OS2:log
       C       1027
       H         63
       S        128

  4.  Calculate the 1024 cylinder size in MBytes as ( H x S ) / 2.  (round
      down).

      All bootable partitions must be contained within this size.  In this
      example the bootable partition must be contained in the first 4032
      MBbytes of the disk and cannot exceed a single partition size of 4032
      MBytes within this area.  No bootable partition may extend beyond the
      first 4032 MBytes.

  5.  Use FDISK to resize the partitions and reboot.

  ---------------------------------------
  3.5  APPLICATION INSTALL FAILS WITH "NOT ENOUGH SPACE"
  ______________________________________________________

  FAT partitions under OS/2 are limited to a 2.1GB maximum size.  HPFS parti-
  tions are limited to a 64GB maximum size.  However there is the magic number,
  2,147,483,647 (2.1GB).  This 2.1GB value is the maximum number that will fit
  into a signed 32-bit integer.  Some application software installation pro-
  grams query OS/2 about the available remaining space on the partition and
  save the result into a signed 32-bit integer.  If more than 2.1GB is avail-
  able there is an overflow, it appears no space is available, and the instal-
  lation program refuses to continue.  Two solutions are:

  o   Partition the remaining space into maximum 2GB partitions.

  o   Retain the large partition, but before trying to install software create
      a large temporary file that reduces available space to less than 2.1GB.
      After installation of the application delete the temporary file.


  3.10  Very Large (128/137 Gb limit) Hard drives considerations (48 bit LBA)
  _____________________________________________________________________________

      Legacy LBA (also know as 28 bit LBA) maximum drive size is limited to 137
  GB (268,435,455 sectors by 512 bytes each). The 48 Bit LBA support was
  introduced to break this barrier and provide support for hard disk with sizes
  larger than 137 GB.
      This version  of the IBM1S506.ADD driver has the 48 bit LBA support and
  the driver will automaticaly detect drives with the capability of 48 bit LBA.
  This 48 bit LBA support will allow the use of hard disk drives with up up to
  2 TB (Terabytes) (1 TB = 1024 GB) in size.
      Currently the OS2DASD.DMD driver has a limitation of 502 GB in size for a
  hard disk.  Therefore the maximum physical hard disk size OS/2 will support
  currently is 502 GB.
      To maintain backward compatibility a new config.sys parameter,"/!BIGLBA",
  is introduced. If "/!BIGLBA" is specify in config.sys, this parameter for the
  specfic drive will disable 48 bit LBA  support and will revert to legacy 28
  bit LBA and usable drive size will be limited to 137 GB (268,435,455 sectors
  by 512 bytes each). If the drive is partitioned when using this switch, then
  it will be compatible when connected to a system without 48 bit LBA support.
  See section 3.8 for the "/!BIGLBA" parameter syntax.


  4.1.2  ASSIGNMENT OF DRIVE LETTERS

  New Algorithm: no filters assumed

     Primary from fixed disk 1
     Primary from fixed disk 2

     Primary from fixed disk n
     Extended from fixed disk 1
     Extended from fixed disk 2

     Extended from fixed disk n
     Primary from removable disk 1
     Extended(s) from removable disk 1
     Primary from removable disk 2
     Extended(s) from removable disk 2

     Primary from removable disk n
     Extended(s) from removable disk n

  Lack of a primary partition (or Extended Partition only) is allowed.  If no
  media is present at boot, a single logical drive is reported.  Note that some
  drives, Syquest EZ135A for example, do NOT report correctly when no media is
  present and will not be seen at all.  If media with multiple partitions is
  present at boot, then all partitions will be assigned drive letters.

 

Another thing, to install boot manager on a new install you need updated install disks and you must select advanced install.  You will automatically be presented with the fdisk screen from which you can select boot manager etc.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.25, 03:06:21
"In that case, resort to DOS 6.22 (or whatever version you have already on HDs) may be necessary to first "un-lock" the drive, from whatever OS/2 FDISK won't touch."

Which may mean deleting any "non-standard" partitions (ie: any that OS/2 doesnt like, like a FAT32 partition, a greater than 2GB FAT16 partition, or an NTFS or Linux partition, or another bootloader).
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.25, 05:29:30
Quote from: ddan on 2008.10.25, 04:06:56
Oh, and there's NO difference between FAT16 partitions as such created by whatever OS, though are OS-dependent differences in master boot records (MBR).

Yeah, I wasnt entirely sure about that - I just know that certain versions of Windows (and maybe certain DOS versions?) started using weird (or different) codes to represent them that fdisk would choke on.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Fahrvenugen on 2008.10.25, 20:52:08
Quote from: millese on 2008.10.25, 01:03:55
That is fantastic! I have to run down a spare HD to attemp this, but I will get back with you on my sucess/failure! I'm glad that this exercise was useful for you as well. I know I've been blasting with questions, but here was another glitch that happened to me that I was hoping you could shed some light on. When I put a second drive on as a slave the boot mananger changed all of my drive designations which really P$%## off my config.sys as nearly every line referenced the D: drive. I went through and changed every instance of D: ...


Hi,

Skimming through, I think this was hit upon in one of the posts, but just if it wasn't...  the second drive you installed as a slave probably had a primary partition on it.

The way non-LVM OS/2 assigns drive letters is to first assign them to primary partitions, then logical partitions.  So if you add a new primary to the system, upon boot, it'll scan and find it, and anything on a logical partition will have its drive letter changed.  (at least that's the quick answer).  I know, it is a pain in the a**.

Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.26, 00:40:36
O.K. all I went to run the sysinstx command and it says it is not recognized as an internal or external command. Any Ideas? I tried "help sysinstx" and it comes back as "topic not found". Thanks
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.26, 00:47:23
Quote from: millese on 2008.10.26, 00:40:36
O.K. all I went to run the sysinstx command and it says it is not recognized as an internal or external command. Any Ideas? I tried "help sysinstx" and it comes back as "topic not found". Thanks

Hi,

From the CD media, do the following...

DIR SYSINSTX* /S /P

That will tell you where it is located. Then simply call it by it's full path (eg: "g:\OS2\BOOT\SYSINSTX C:")

It just means that the program is not in the path statements defined by the installer.


Though, I am curious, why are you trying to run sysinstx?

-Robert
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.26, 01:48:44
I'm not sure how you copy and paste in peoples comments like you do, but earlier on in ddan's suggestions on how to copy a system over he said to xcopy c: x: /h /o /t /s /e /r /v then run sysinstx x: i'm assuming x: is the drive i'm trying to set up. One other question does the xcopy command move all the files? I though I caught a glimpse of file that wouldn't copy when I kicked it off, but it was going by so fast I wasn't sure. 
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.26, 02:23:23
Quote from: millese on 2008.10.26, 01:48:44
I'm not sure how you copy and paste in peoples comments like you do, but earlier on in ddan's suggestions on how to copy a system over he said to xcopy c: x: /h /o /t /s /e /r /v then run sysinstx x: i'm assuming x: is the drive i'm trying to set up. One other question does the xcopy command move all the files? I though I caught a glimpse of file that wouldn't copy when I kicked it off, but it was going by so fast I wasn't sure. 

Assuming you did not boot off either drive, there should be no errors, and all files should copy. If you booted off either drive, you may have gotten an error about a file bing locked and unabled to be copied. It should be accompanyied by a beep. Ideally, you should have booted off some other form of OS/2 boot media (floppies, bootable Warp v4.52 CD, etc) and then xcopy'd.

I've successfully moved entire OS/2 installs that way - and only once had to run sysinstx using that method.

Robert
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: Fahrvenugen on 2008.10.26, 06:00:56
I'd suggested sysinstx.com - I've found that when I copy over an entire partition using xcopy, it usually won't boot for me until I run sysinstx

but you're right, sometimes it is not needed.
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: BigWarpGuy on 2008.10.27, 02:38:23
I tried to do a xcopy of the first cd of the eCS 1.1r disc onto an usb drive but it would not boot. I will check out the sysnstx.com .  8)

http://www.markcrocker.com/rexxtipsntricks/rxtt28.2.0113.html (http://www.markcrocker.com/rexxtipsntricks/rxtt28.2.0113.html)
"The SYSINSTX command

Use the command SYSINSTX.COM (normally in the directory
\OS2\INSTALL\BOOTDISK or on the installation disk) to make an OS/2 drive
or diskette bootable. Note that for using this command on HPFS drives the
DLL UHPFS.DLL must be in a directory in the <LIBPATH.   

Source:  The OS/2 WARP Survival Guide
http://www.markcrocker.com/rexxtipsntricks/rxtt28.2.0570.html (http://www.markcrocker.com/rexxtipsntricks/rxtt28.2.0570.html)
"
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2008.10.27, 03:18:47
Quote from: BigWarpGuy on 2008.10.27, 02:38:23
I tried to do a xcopy of the first cd of the eCS 1.1r disc onto an usb drive but it would not boot. I will check out the sysnstx.com .  8)

Indeed. For USB media, running sysinstx would be a requirement as there is no MBR set up (or not a proper one for OS/2 booting). The same would be true for various hard drive scenarios as well. It cant (or is unlikely to) hurt by running it as a "just in case" - as well as of course in scenarios such as above.

Robert
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: BigWarpGuy on 2008.10.27, 04:49:24
I have a 1 gig usb flash drive and will give it another try. Thanks for the information.  8)
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: rudi on 2008.10.27, 09:12:21
Quote from: RobertM on 2008.10.27, 03:18:47
Indeed. For USB media, running sysinstx would be a requirement as there is no MBR set up (or not a proper one for OS/2 booting).

It's not so much about the MBR. That is set up when partitioning the media. However, it is mandatory,
if you copy to a different file system. And - as already noteted - for everything except FAT SYSINSTX
requires the utility DLL for the target IFS (UHPFS.DLL, UJFS.DLL).

Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.28, 06:27:04
OK...... So I'm almost done. I have taken a blank drive and have it totally set up.... ALMOST. My last minor issue is this, the boot manager has the dos partition and the os2 partition which is what I want and it will boot to either one. The problem is when I restart the system it defaults to which ever system I chose last. My old set up defaults to the os2 partition every time. Any ideas on how to configure boot manager to do this?
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: millese on 2008.10.28, 06:51:33
Disregard the above I found where to select the default drive in the fdisk program. I also found the setboot /0: command which is supposed to remove the default. Anyway, thanks to everyone here that chipped in to help me out. I have worked with these tools for years and have been held hostige to the vendor whenever I had a failed HD now I can save my company the $1100 dollars they charge for a new HD. Unreal eh??? Thanks again
Title: Re: OS2 warp 4 hard drive size problems
Post by: RobertM on 2009.03.31, 07:36:12
Quote from: ddan on 2008.10.25, 04:06:56
Oh, and there's NO difference between FAT16 partitions as such created by whatever OS, though are OS-dependent differences in master boot records (MBR).

There are - besides that... some OS's will allow 4GB FAT16 partitions... which some other OS's dont particularly like (OS/2 being one of them).