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OS/2 - Technical => Utilities => Topic started by: steve b on 2010.05.23, 02:43:14

Title: Does DFSee do everything LVM does?
Post by: steve b on 2010.05.23, 02:43:14
After weeks of rebooting and experimenting, I'm feeling a little more comfortable with LVM. I've seen the LVM menu items in DFSee but have been afraid to use them. I've discovered that DFSee will also format FAT32, and you can kind of get it to format hpfs if the drive had hpfs and you want the partition the same size. I had mentioned to Jan years ago that it would be great if DFSee would format and he said he was working on it.

So, now that I'm comfortable with LVM on DFSee, I don't see a reason to include LVM on the install (when I get 2.0). Have I missed a functionality of IBM's LVM that I may need? Steve
Title: Re: Does DFSee do everything LVM does?
Post by: DougB on 2010.05.23, 22:18:59
Personally, I never use anything except the MiniLVM for LVM operations (partitioning, setting drive letters, changing Boot Manager etc.). It seems to have fixed the problems that I have seen with IBM's LVM, or the LVMGUI (a disaster from the beginning, IMO). DFSEE does have LVM capabilities that have worked properly when I tried them.

I am not too sure, exactly, what you are trying to say. If you have your hard disk set up the way you want it, you should not need to use LVM, MiniLVM, or DFSEE, to change it again. MiniLVM will be presented, during install, if you choose to change your disk configuration, but you may also see DFSEE (or a sub set of it) if you need to do something like shrink a FAT32, or NTFS, partition to make room for eCS. DFSEE is also used to check your disk configuration. You may need to bypass that if it finds problems.
Title: Re: Does DFSee do everything LVM does?
Post by: steve b on 2010.05.24, 21:07:39
Doug, is MiniLVM command line LVM? Otherwise, I don't know what it is.

For various reasons, I have 4 HDDs that I have been using on my T43 with OS/2, eCS and FAT32. On 2 of them I get near full functionality for me, i.e., boot from either the caddy or UltraBay, can install eCS from CD, can partition FAT32 as D: and OS/2 or eCS can see it. I have 2 other drives that function normally the UltraBay except a FAT32 D: partition cannot be mounted. They will not boot from the caddy. The eCS installer doesn't see them. When I buy my DFSee upgrade I will ask Jan a few questions, but otherwise I feel I have predictable and acceptable operations now.


My question is, since I'm going to use DFSee, are there any functions that IBM's LVM performs that DFSee does not?  The reason I ask is if there are no additional functons in IBM's LVM over DFSee then I would probably not include the LVM option when I install eCS.
Title: Re: Does DFSee do everything LVM does?
Post by: DougB on 2010.05.25, 05:16:07
I doubt if LVM will be an option. It is a very basic part of eCS (even in eCS 1.0), and it would be foolish to think that it should not be installed.

DFSEE is a wonderful, and full featured, tool, but you had better know what you are doing with it, or you can get yourself into major trouble. Most (if not all) of the menu items are pretty safe, and they do ask to be sure that you really want to do what you tell it to do, but it will do it if you tell it to. Some of the options are capable of completely erasing your hard disk. There are also some "hidden" options that can really do damage if used incorrectly. Of course, MiniLVM amd LVM can do just as much damage, but they generally make it much more difficult to do that.

MiniLVM is written for eCS, and it is the recommended tool for doing what LVM does. I would recommend that you use it when possible. I also recommend that you learn how to use LVM, and MiniLVM, for when you need them. They are very versatile tools, with many options. You won't want to be fumbling around trying to figure them out when your system is down, and you are trying to fix it.

FWIW, MiniLVM won't run without the WPS running, so you will need either DFSEE, or LVM, for those cases when the WPS won't start.