Mageia forum

With reference to the bug I filed https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=8496 does anyone else have a problem where they cannot install Mageia 3, beta 1 because they cannot see a list of partitions on the drive to install to? I am wondering if this is a bug that affects an SSD install, or hard drives (I can test the former as it's a new SSD but not latter).

I installed Windows7 on the SSD, but the partitions are not showing up, but if I boot to my regular Mageia 2 desktop and run gparted, it shows all the partitions on the SSD, and the space I left for Mageia to be installed.

I believe this might be something to do with GPT partitioning as used by windows. Gparted can see them, so you should either partition in gparted or if you are dedicating the disk to Mageia erase them and allow the partitioning to take place in the installer. GPT partitions are a known problem IINM.

I've no hardware modern enough to warrant a SSD disk and certainly no GPT partitions to check with so may be wrong here.

The problem I have is two fold.

1) I tried to install Mageia3Beta1 to test it, as I've done with Mageia before, and Mandriva / Mandrake.. I am assuing role of a new user from Windows would want to install. If they installed and trusted the partition section, they could lose Windows IF they want to dual boot. They will NOT be happy if they lost Windows setup and curse Mageia / Linux.

2) I have read that Mageia3 will have certain partitions / files re-organised, I have not found out what moves where, so although I could use gparted to make partitions, they could be vastly too big partitions, or too small, or one that will no longer be needed.

Upon further tests I tried to partition the SSD using gparted in Mageia2 with Linux formatted partitions in an extended* partition, no problems were reported by gparted in it's report it generated.

Also, I ran the command
fdisk -lu /dev/sdd
Whi reported no problems, even the start sectors landing on correct boundaries.

However, when I tried to install Mageia3Beta1, the installation routine did not even see any of the new Linux partitions on the SSD. So there appears to be something wrong with the partitioner software in the installation routine.


* My current setup also has Linux OS in the extended partition on a regular HDD, no problems.

o In your bug report, you stated ssd is gpt partitioned
o you said you run "fdisk /dev/sdd" without errors
o you mention secure boot is disabled, implying use of UEFI instead of BIOS

Some facts.....
o fdisk won't run on gpt partitions
A warning will result as follows.. (in red)
WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.
o UEFI won't work on msdos partitioning, only gpt partitioning
o Mageia (including M3) will automatically install grub-legacy, and in M3 even if you want grub2, it will then install both.
(I uninstalled grub-legacy after installation)
o grub-legacy won't work on gpt partition
(some claim there are modified grub-legacy which works on gpt. I doubt it but I am not sure)
o in mixing gpt drives and msdos drives, operations done on one cannot 'see' the other
eg, update-grub on OS in gpt won't see OS's on msdos and vice-versa


I cannot with above uncertainties/contradictions make any sense out of your situation but...
In some computers that claim UEFI but allows 'legacy-bios' (note I don't mean grub-legacy), I'd suggest just making the drives ms-dos partitioned or just using grub2 if gpt is already setup (by windows7/8).