[Parted-maintainers] Bug#477333: when a pre-existing DOS label is used on a > 2 TiB disk, partman gets confused

[Robert Millan]

clone 477333 -1
retitle -1 should warn the user when disk is being wasted due to sub-optimal use of DOS labels on >2TB disk
block -1 477333
reassign -1 partman-auto
thanks

On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 11:47:43PM +0200, Frans Pop wrote:
> reassign 477333 libparted1.7-1 1.7.1-5.1
> tags 477333 d-i
> thanks
> 
> On Tuesday 22 April 2008, Robert Millan wrote:
> > When a pre-existing DOS label is used on a > 2 TiB disk, partman still
> > thinks it can use the remaining free portion of the disk without
> > replacing the partition label.
> 
> To be completely clear: the screenshot you provided was after you told 
> partman to do guided partitioning and use "largest free space", correct?
> If that's the case, then IMO partman has done nothing wrong. It has just 
> calculated the partitions based on the info provided by parted.
> 
> IMO the bug here is in libparted because that should "know" the restrictions 
> of the various disklabels it supports and should:
> - not be telling partman that there is FREE SPACE above 2199020382720 [1]
> - return an error when asked to create partitions above 2199020382720
> 
> The log you supplied clearly shown that libparted does neither.
> Therefore reassigning.

Thanks.  Though, reporting "disk is full, remove partitions so that I can
use more space in the DOS label" is much better than corrupting your data
but still not optimal.

For extra bonus points, it could tell the user that disk space is being
wasted, and that replacing the DOS label with a GPT one would resolve that,
at the cost of losing all data.

Since the typical situation in which this happens is a user migrating from
Windows to Debian, this would make a nice example of what a real OS looks
like ;-)

-- 
Robert Millan

"The technological evasion of the license is as unacceptable as the
 legal evasion of the license [...].  That's the provision in section
 1 regarding keys. [...]  We say one thing: when you sell somebody a
 home... give him the keys"  -- Eben Moglen on GPLv3