Ubuntu doesn't recognize existing partitions during an install

[psyoptic]

I've noticed that there was a similar thread to this just a few days ago, but didn't know if I was having the same problem, which is a corrupted partition table. Anyways, while trying to install Ubuntu 9.04, the partition manager does not recognize my existing partition table. I am able to mount the partitions on a live CD, but the partition manager is not able to recognize them for some reason.

Here are my results for

sudo fdisk -lu
sudo sfdisk -d
sudo parted /dev/sda print


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu
omitting empty partition (5)

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x4f804f7f

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 63 453129389 226564663+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 453129390 488392064 17631337+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda3 484488333 488392064 1951866 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda5 453129516 461033369 3951927 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 461033433 484488269 11727418+ 83 Linux

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d
# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 63, size=453129327, Id= 7, b
/dev/sda2 : start=453129390, size= 35262675, Id= 5
/dev/sda3 : start=484488333, size= 3903732, Id=82
/dev/sda4 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
/dev/sda5 : start=453129516, size= 7903854, Id=83
/dev/sda6 : start=461033433, size= 23454837, Id=83

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print
Error: Can't have overlapping partitions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[psyoptic]

Bump. Any suggestions?

[caljohnsmith]

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu
omitting empty partition (5)

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x4f804f7f

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 63 453129389 226564663+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 453129390 488392064 17631337+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda3 484488333 488392064 1951866 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda5 453129516 461033369 3951927 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 461033433 484488269 11727418+ 83 Linux


Psyoptic, please be patient and observe the forum rules of not bumping your post sooner than every 24 hours. Also, it would be better if you could post a smaller screen shot rather than the large size that you did. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation. :)

Anyway, about your partition problem, unfortunately you do have a corrupt partition table at this point, and that's why the Ubuntu partitioner is not able to display your current partitions. As shown highlighted in red above, your sda3 primary partition is inside your sda2 extended partition, so sda3 should be a logical partition instead. To fix the problem, how about downloading the attached "partition_table.txt" file to your Ubuntu desktop, and then do:

sudo sfdisk --no-reread -f /dev/sda < ~/Desktop/partition_table.txt
And please post the output. Then reboot, and post the new output of:

sudo fdisk -lu
sudo parted /dev/sda print
If the parted command above shows your correct partitions instead of returning an error, then the Ubuntu installer should also be able to see your current partitions. Let me know how that goes or if you run into problems.

John

[psyoptic]

Thank you for your quick response, caljohnsmith. Sorry about bumping my topic in less than 24 hours and for posting a large image. I wasn't able to find a stickied thread with the rules in it (Only one for malicious commands and another for the debate between ext3 and ext4), so I wasn't sure how long I had to wait between posts.

I've got some good news though. That new partition table you posted did the trick! After restarting and starting the installer again, Jaunty picked up my other operating systems flawlessly.

Here are the results of the commands you wanted me to try.


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk --no-reread -f /dev/sda < ~/Desktop/partition_table.txt

Disk /dev/sda: 30401 cylinders, 255 heads, 63 sectors/track
Old situation:
Units = cylinders of 8225280 bytes, blocks of 1024 bytes, counting from 0

Device Boot Start End #cyls #blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 0+ 28205 28206- 226564663+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 28206 30400 2195 17631337+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda3 30158+ 30400 243- 1951866 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda4 0 - 0 0 0 Empty
/dev/sda5 28206+ 28697 492- 3951927 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 28698+ 30157 1460- 11727418+ 83 Linux
New situation:
Units = sectors of 512 bytes, counting from 0

Device Boot Start End #sectors Id System
/dev/sda1 * 63 453129389 453129327 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 453129390 488392064 35262675 5 Extended
/dev/sda3 0 - 0 0 Empty
/dev/sda4 0 - 0 0 Empty
/dev/sda5 453129516 461033369 7903854 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 461033433 484488269 23454837 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 484488333 488392064 3903732 82 Linux swap / Solaris
Successfully wrote the new partition table

Re-reading the partition table ...
BLKRRPART: Device or resource busy
The command to re-read the partition table failed
Reboot your system now, before using mkfs

If you created or changed a DOS partition, /dev/foo7, say, then use dd(1)
to zero the first 512 bytes: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/foo7 bs=512 count=1
(See fdisk(8).)


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x4f804f7f

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 63 453129389 226564663+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 453129390 488392064 17631337+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 453129516 461033369 3951927 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 461033433 484488269 11727418+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 484488333 488392064 1951866 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdb: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders, total 156301488 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x12345678

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 63 156296384 78148161 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdc: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders, total 156301488 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x60c52a96

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 63 156296384 78148161 7 HPFS/NTFS


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print
Model: ATA ST3250410AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 250GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 32.3kB 232GB 232GB primary ntfs boot
2 232GB 250GB 18.1GB extended
5 232GB 236GB 4047MB logical ext3
6 236GB 248GB 12.0GB logical ext3
7 248GB 250GB 1999MB logical linux-swap

Thanks again for your help!

[caljohnsmith]

That's good news--glad your partition table is OK now. Cheers and have fun with your new Ubuntu install. :)

John

[balanionut]

Hello guys.

I have a similar problem with my laptop. I use Vista, Windows 7 RC and a previous Linux install. I cannot install Ubuntu 9.04 because the installer doesn't see may partitions.

they look like this:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb86566e3

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 2048 3074047 1536000 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 * 3074088 122206454 59566183+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 211270816 456213869 122471527 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 122206455 488392064 183092805 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 122206518 211270814 44532148+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda6 456213933 487074734 15430401 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 487074798 488392064 658633+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Partition table entries are not in disk order
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[caljohnsmith]

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb86566e3

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 2048 3074047 1536000 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 * 3074088 122206454 59566183+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 211270816 456213869 122471527 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 122206455 488392064 183092805 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 122206518 211270814 44532148+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda6 456213933 487074734 15430401 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 487074798 488392064 658633+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris


Hi Balanionut, it looks like you too have a corrupted partition table; as shown highlighted in red above, your sda3 primary partition is inside your sda4 extended partition, therefore sda3 should be a logical partition instead. If you would like help fixing your partition table, how about posting:

sudo sfdisk -d
And we can work from there.

John

[noelrocha]

Hi Guys,

I'm having the same problem.

Follow bellow the results for:


sudo fdisk -lu
sudo sfdisk -d



- The "Unknown" partition is an "Mac Journaled" filesystem.
- The "Linux" partition is an old ubuntu installation.

Results:


Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x54494d48

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 126062054 63030996 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 * 126062055 318570110 96254028 af Unknown





# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 63, size=126061992, Id=83
/dev/sda2 : start=126062055, size=192508056, Id=af, bootable
/dev/sda3 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
/dev/sda4 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0


Thanks in advance,

Noel

[caljohnsmith]

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x54494d48

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 126062054 63030996 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 * 126062055 318570110 96254028 af Unknown


Hi Noel, your sda2 partition ends on a sector that is past the end of the drive, so that is what must be causing you problems right now. What is on that partition? I would recommend using "testdisk" to try and determine the correct ending sector for sda2 and rebuild your partition table, but it may take us a few iterations since testdisk can't read Mac Journaled file systems. To use testdisk, how about downloading the testdisk-6.11.1.linux26.tar.bz2 (http://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk-6.11.1.linux26.tar.bz2) package to your Ubuntu desktop, and then do:


cd ~/Desktop
tar xvf testdisk-6.11.1.linux26.tar.bz2
sudo testdisk-6.11/linux/testdisk_static
After starting testdisk with the above command, choose "No Log", select the correct HDD and then "Proceed", "Intel", "Analyze", "Quick search", "N" to search for Vista partitions, hit enter to continue, select "Deeper Search" so it does a deeper search, which could take a while. Please post the output of the screen that has the deep search results. Also, use your up/down arrow keys to select each partition listed in the deep search results, and press "p" to get a directory listing; please let me know exactly which partitions give you a directory listing, and also which of those partitions seem to be your existing partitions.

John

[noelrocha]

Hi John,

thanks for your reply. Follow bellow the results:



TestDisk 6.11.2, Data Recovery Utility, April 2009
Christophe GRENIER <grenier@cgsecurity.org>
http://www.cgsecurity.org

Disk /dev/sda - 160 GB / 149 GiB - CHS 19457 255 63
Partition Start End Size in sectors
* Linux 0 1 1 7846 254 63 126061992
P HFS 7847 0 1 19457 254 63 186530715


Follow the "p" :D screen of Linux partition:


TestDisk 6.11.2, Data Recovery Utility, April 2009
Christophe GRENIER <grenier@cgsecurity.org>
http://www.cgsecurity.org
* Linux 0 1 1 7846 254 63 126061992
Directory /

drwxr-xr-x 999 999 4096 23-May-2008 01:28 .
drwxr-xr-x 999 999 4096 23-May-2008 01:28 ..
drwx------ 0 0 16384 27-Mar-2008 18:48 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 19-Mar-2008 21:38 var
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 12288 2-Dec-2008 00:05 etc
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 1-Dec-2008 20:24 media
lrwxrwxrwx 0 0 11 27-Mar-2008 18:49 cdrom
drwxr-xr-x 999 999 4096 23-May-2008 01:29 bin
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 24-Apr-2008 04:57 boot
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 21-Apr-2008 20:38 dev
drwxr-xr-x 999 999 4096 14-May-2008 22:53 home
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 19-Mar-2008 21:15 initrd
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 12288 4-May-2008 18:45 lib
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 6-Feb-2008 16:47 mnt
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 4-Apr-2008 19:08 opt
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 6-Feb-2008 16:47 proc
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 23-Sep-2008 22:01 root
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 12-May-2008 02:10 sbin
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 19-Mar-2008 21:15 srv
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 12-Mar-2008 15:24 sys
drwxrwxrwt 0 0 4096 2-Dec-2008 00:05 tmp
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 4096 19-Mar-2008 21:17 usr
lrwxrwxrwx 0 0 33 14-Apr-2008 05:31 initrd.img
lrwxrwxrwx 0 0 30 14-Apr-2008 05:31 vmlinuz
lrwxrwxrwx 0 0 30 6-Apr-2008 15:07 vmlinuz.28774
lrwxrwxrwx 0 0 33 6-Apr-2008 15:07 initrd.img.old
lrwxrwxrwx 0 0 30 6-Apr-2008 15:07 vmlinuz.old



I couldn't get the "p" screen of HFS partition. Is that bad?

Both partition exists and they work. The Linux partition is an old Ubuntu and the HFS partition is an Mac Os Leopard. I'm able to boot both of them. I'm using GRUB as boot loader.

What I'm trying to do is to install Ubuntu 9.04 in the Linux partition erasing all data. But I can't erase the Mac partition.

Thanks again,

Noel

[caljohnsmith]

What I'm trying to do is to install Ubuntu 9.04 in the Linux partition erasing all data. But I can't erase the Mac partition.

Thanks again,

Noel
So do you want to erase the Mac partition? If so, how about doing the following:

echo '0,0,0,-' | sudo sfdisk --no-reread -fuS /dev/sda -N2
Then reboot, and after that the Ubuntu installer should be able to recognize your existing sda1 linux partition. Let me know how that goes or if you run into problems.

John

[noelrocha]

So do you want to erase the Mac partition? If so, how about doing the following:
John

Actually, I don't want to erase the Mac partition. I want to install Ubuntu 9.04 in the old Ubuntu partition. I cannot erase the Mac partition :D


What does this command do?

Thanks again John,

Noel

[caljohnsmith]

Actually, I don't want to erase the Mac partition. I want to install Ubuntu 9.04 in the old Ubuntu partition. I cannot erase the Mac partition :D

In that case, I unfortunately can't help you any further; the forum rules state clearly that piracy and/or illegal activities will not be supported in the forums. Your Mac OS Leopard partition is obviously an illegal copy, because Apple does not support Mac OS software on PCs. I'm sorry, but the bottom line is I cannot finish helping you with your partition problem.

John

[balanionut]

Thanks John,

Here you have:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d
# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 2048, size= 3072000, Id=27
/dev/sda2 : start= 3074088, size=119132367, Id= 7, bootable
/dev/sda3 : start=211270816, size=244943054, Id= 7
/dev/sda4 : start=122206455, size=366185610, Id= 5
/dev/sda5 : start=122206518, size= 89064297, Id= 7
/dev/sda6 : start=456213933, size= 30860802, Id=83
/dev/sda7 : start=487074798, size= 1317267, Id=82

Can you explain the principle on how you make the txt file to rearrange the partitions?

Thank you!

[caljohnsmith]

Balanionut, how about downloading the attached "partition_table.txt" file to your Ubuntu desktop, and then do:

sudo sfdisk --no-reread -f /dev/sda < ~/Desktop/partition_table.txt
And please post the output. To explain a little, here is the contents of the "partition_table.txt" file:

# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 2048, size= 3072000, Id=27
/dev/sda2 : start= 3074088, size=119132367, Id= 7, bootable
/dev/sda3 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
/dev/sda4 : start=122206455, size=366185610, Id= 5
/dev/sda5 : start=122206518, size= 89064297, Id= 7
/dev/sda6 : start=211270816, size=244943054, Id= 7
/dev/sda7 : start=456213933, size= 30860802, Id=83
/dev/sda8 : start=487074798, size= 1317267, Id=82
So if you compare the above partition table with the one in your post #14, you will see that all I did is copy sda3 to a new logical partition after sda5, and then I renumbered the logical partitions so they have consecutive numbering. Also I deleted sda3 by making all the fields "0". It is important to note that sfdisk cannot create partition tables where the logical partitions are not in the physical order they are on the drive, so that's why I moved sda3 so that it is right after sda5 and did not put sda3 after your existing sda7 swap partition. There are other factors to consider too, but I don't want to go into all the details as it would take too much time.

So anyway, after you run the sfdisk command above, reboot to your Jaunty Live CD, and post the new output of:

sudo fdisk -lu
sudo parted /dev/sda print
If that last parted command does not return any errors and instead shows your partitions, the Jaunty installer should be able to see your partitions too, so go ahead and try installing Jaunty. Let me know how that goes or if you run into problems. :)

John

[balanionut]

John,

Thank you for helping me on this. My new table partition looks like this:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb86566e3

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 2048 3074047 1536000 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 * 3074088 122206454 59566183+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 122206455 488392064 183092805 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 122206518 211270814 44532148+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda6 211270816 456213869 122471527 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda7 456213933 487074734 15430401 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 487074798 488392064 658633+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
ubuntu@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ sudo parted /dev/sda print
Model: ATA Hitachi HTS54252 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 250GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 1049kB 1574MB 1573MB primary ntfs
2 1574MB 62.6GB 61.0GB primary ntfs boot
4 62.6GB 250GB 187GB extended
5 62.6GB 108GB 45.6GB logical ntfs
6 108GB 234GB 125GB logical ntfs
7 234GB 249GB 15.8GB logical ext3
8 249GB 250GB 674MB logical linux-swap

[balanionut]

John,

It worked. Now I'm posting from Ubuntu 9.04. Good job!

Thanks again!

[caljohnsmith]

Glad to hear that worked OK, balanionut. Cheers and enjoy your new 9.04 install. :)

John

[noelrocha]

Hi John,

I just would like to know how do I set the end sector of a partition.

Thanks,


Noel

[allbutnow]

Hi Ubuntu Community,

I've got a laptop with Win7 RC on it. Today I spent 6 hours trying to install Ubuntu. The partition tool doesn't see any of my existing (NTFS) partitions (screenshot: http://img404.imageshack.us/content.php?page=done&l=img404/6880/screenshotsbh.png).

That's how it looks like on Win7: http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/5286/captureo.png

After many researches I found this thread. It seems that you guys found out how to resolve this issue. From what I understand, I have to give you the output of some console commands.

Could you please help me? Thanks in advance.


sudo fdisk -lu
sudo sfdisk -d
sudo parted /dev/sda print
gives the following:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.


Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf6846516

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 2048 206847 102400 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 206848 163842047 81817600 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda3 163842048 409602047 122880000 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util sfdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.

# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 2048, size= 204800, Id= 7, bootable
/dev/sda2 : start= 206848, size=163635200, Id= 7
/dev/sda3 : start=163842048, size=245760000, Id= 7
/dev/sda4 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print
Warning: /dev/sda contains GPT signatures, indicating that it has a GPT table.
However, it does not have a valid fake msdos partition table, as it should.
Perhaps it was corrupted -- possibly by a program that doesn't understand GPT
partition tables. Or perhaps you deleted the GPT table, and are now using an
msdos partition table. Is this a GPT partition table?
Yes/No? i'm not sure :D

[allbutnow]

I still can't install any Linux without formatting whole disk... Any help would be appreciated.

thanks in advance

[owkaye]

Hello everyone,

I've experienced the same (or a similar) problem as psyoptic with what appears to be a corrupted partition table, so I hope I'm not out of line by adding to this thread instead of starting a new one.

Here is the information I collected in an attempt to diagnose the problem:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb6c759d4

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 2048 3074047 1536000 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 3662820 90847574 43592377+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 * 295649280 312580095 8465408 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 3084480 295644194 146279857+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 3084543 3662819 289138+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 90847638 254678444 81915403+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 254678508 295644194 20482843+ b W95 FAT32

Partition table entries are not in disk order


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d
# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 2048, size= 3072000, Id=27
/dev/sda2 : start= 3662820, size= 87184755, Id= 7
/dev/sda3 : start=295649280, size= 16930816, Id=17, bootable
/dev/sda4 : start= 3084480, size=292559715, Id= 5
/dev/sda5 : start= 3084543, size= 578277, Id=82
/dev/sda6 : start= 90847638, size=163830807, Id=83
/dev/sda7 : start=254678508, size= 40965687, Id= b


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print
Error: Can't have overlapping partitions.My guess is that I'm going to need to install a new partition table like psyoptic did after caljohnsmith gave him a new one. Unfortunately I don't know how to create a valid partition table, which leads me to this request:

Caljohnsmith, can you possibly create a new partition table for me so I can install it and run the same tests and procedures as psyoptic did? Thanks in advance if you can help me with this! :)

It seems I may have a problem psyoptic did not have, too:

Partition 1 does not end on a cylinder boundary. Given the fact that the next partition does not begin at the end of Partition1, can this be fixed simply by adjusting the size of Partition 1 in the new partition table? Or is my thinking incorrect here?

Thanks for any help.

[Gilles92]

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to install Ubuntu 9.04 on my IBM laptop currently running WinXP but the installer doesn't see the the 3 existing partitions.

Below is the information I collected :
sda1 is my windows partition that I want to replace by Ubuntu.
sda3 and sda5 are NTSF partition with my data that I want to keep.


sudo fdisk -l

Disque /dev/sda: 250.0 Go, 250059350016 octets
240 têtes, 63 secteurs/piste, 32301 cylindres
Unités = cylindres de 15120 * 512 = 7741440 octets
Identifiant de disque : 0x071f071e

Périphérique Amorce Début Fin Blocs Id Système
/dev/sda1 * 1 1084 8195008+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 1085 17753 126017640 f W95 Etendue (LBA)
/dev/sda3 17754 32302 109988077+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda5 1085 17753 126017608+ 7 HPFS/NTFSalso


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d
Attention : la partition étendue ne débute pas sur une frontière de.
cylindres. DOS et Linux interpréteront les contenus différemment.
# table de partitions de /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 63, size= 16390017, Id= 7, bootable
/dev/sda2 : start= 16390080, size=252035280, Id= f
/dev/sda3 : start=268430085, size=219976155, Id= 7
/dev/sda4 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
/dev/sda5 : start= 16390143, size=252035217, Id= 7
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -l

Disque /dev/sda : 30401 cylindres, 255 têtes, 63 secteurs/piste
Attention : la partition étendue ne débute pas sur une frontière de.
cylindres. DOS et Linux interpréteront les contenus différemment.
Attention : la table de partitions semble avoir été créée
pour C/H/S=*/240/63 (au lieu de 30401/255/63).
Pour ce rapport, cette géométrie sera supposée telle.
Unités= cylindres de 7741440 octets, blocs de 1024 octets, décompte à partir de 0

Périph Amor Début Fin #cyls #blocs Id Système
/dev/sda1 * 0+ 1083 1084- 8195008+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 1084 17752 16669 126017640 f W95 Etendue (LBA)
début: (c,h,s) attendu (1023,239,63) trouvé (1023,0,1)
/dev/sda3 17753+ 32301 14549- 109988077+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
début: (c,h,s) attendu (1023,239,63) trouvé (1023,75,1)
/dev/sda4 0 - 0 0 0 Vide
/dev/sda5 1084+ 17752 16669- 126017608+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
début: (c,h,s) attendu (1023,239,63) trouvé (1023,1,1)(sorry it's in french), it says that the extended partition doesn't start on the cylinder boundary... and I don't know how to fix this...


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Gilles92]

Hi CalJohnSmith,

Is it possible to fix my partition table like you did for Balanionut or do I have to format the whole disk ?

Gilles92

[manox]

Hi I'm having same problem my disk is showed as 1 partition in ubuntu installer

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu
omitting empty partition (5)

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xe0000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 63 40965749 20482843+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 40965750 312576704 135805477+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda3 53255538 293041664 119893063+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda5 40965876 46042289 2538207 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 46058418 53255474 3598528+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 293041728 312576704 9767488+ 83 Linux

[Domukuan]

I am also having the same problem. Here's the code I could get:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util sfdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.

# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 63, size=209717185, Id=42
/dev/sda2 : start=209717248, size= 52428800, Id=42
/dev/sda3 : start=262146048, size=1691377072, Id=42
/dev/sda4 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
sudo sfdisk -lu gave this:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.


Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x496a4200

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 209717247 104858592+ 42 SFS
/dev/sda2 209717248 262146047 26214400 42 SFS
/dev/sda3 262146048 1953523119 845688536 42 SFS


Don't really know how to read this though... any help is greatly appreciated.

[iapelaezf69]

Hi everybody,

I'm having the same problem as the guy with the two partitions that end with the same number. I haven't seen any more replies from John though.

Is anybody there willing to help me? I'd appreciate it!

Cheers,

Ivan

[manox]

I actually have dual boot with XP and I have tried to install Partition magic on xp which has fixed partitions issues and the Ubuntu hasn't got any problem to find all partitions

[jchstevens]

I've been having similar problems to those being posted in this thread whilst trying to install 9.04 on my Dell Inspiron 6400.

I've reduced the size of my Vista partition and tried to keep the other Dell partitions intact. After losing my MBR and struggling to recover it with testdisk, I eventually ended up with partitions that work for Vista and can be seen and mounted by the live Ubuntu CD. However, when I try to install Ubuntu to the free space on my disk(/dev/sda4), it sees the whole disk as being unpartitioned.

Please could someone take a look at the following output and give me some advice:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x18000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 160649 80293+ de Dell Utility
/dev/sda2 * 161792 21133311 10485760 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda3 21133312 174987240 76926964+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda4 174996045 312592769 68798362+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 308385792 312578047 2096128 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print
Error: Can't have a partition outside the disk!

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d
# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 63, size= 160587, Id=de
/dev/sda2 : start= 161792, size= 20971520, Id= 7, bootable
/dev/sda3 : start= 21133312, size=153853929, Id= 7
/dev/sda4 : start=174996045, size=137596725, Id= f
/dev/sda5 : start=308385792, size= 4192256, Id= c


Thanks very much.

[cool_viju77]

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders, total 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xc3ffc3ff

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 63 52420094 26210016 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 52420095 234436544 91008225 5 Extended
/dev/sda3 114366739 155975084 20804173 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda5 52420162 114366734 30973286+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda6 155975155 229841954 36933400 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda7 229842018 234436544 2297263+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdb: 4043 MB, 4043284480 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 491 cylinders, total 7897040 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 128 7896959 3948416 b W95 FAT32
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(490, 254, 63) logical=(491, 143, 36)







ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo sfdisk -d
# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors

/dev/sda1 : start= 63, size= 52420032, Id= 7, bootable
/dev/sda2 : start= 52420095, size=182016450, Id= 5
/dev/sda3 : start=114366739, size= 41608346, Id= 7
/dev/sda4 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
/dev/sda5 : start= 52420162, size= 61946573, Id= 7
/dev/sda6 : start=155975155, size= 73866800, Id= 7
/dev/sda7 : start=229842018, size= 4594527, Id=82
# partition table of /dev/sdb
unit: sectors

/dev/sdb1 : start= 128, size= 7896832, Id= b, bootable
/dev/sdb2 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
/dev/sdb3 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0
/dev/sdb4 : start= 0, size= 0, Id= 0

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS ONE.....
THANKX......