Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (
More info?)
On 10 Jan 2005 18:29:07 -0800, "Irwin" <ebct@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>Also the partition you want to boot (on a particular drive) has to be
>>visible, primary & active.
>
>The above is apparently not true either. I know that you can boot linux
>from logical drives, and I have recently researched several websites
>that say you can boot windows from logical partitions. I did not know
>that, and have not tried it to confirm, but they sound like they know
>what they are talking about.
>
>IMF
I guess I'm becoming an old fart. As I recall there was a time this
was not the case (or maybe I was led to believe it was not the case
when I was toying with Linux and multiboot like mid-'90s. (I never
thought of trying to install to anything other than pri parts before
that.) I've never revisited the issue because it only really applies
to the most extreme multiboot scenarios of which I see no value or
from great sloppiness in partitioning while resisting using modern
partitioning tools which is equally silly.
IIRC with regard to booting to partitions the waters are a little
muddy. Sometimes the boot loader is located in the MBR of Drive 0 and
sometimes requires use of a primary partition. So running an OS in an
extended parition of disk 3, for example, doesn't necessarily mean the
BIOS didn't direct a boot to something else first.
I'm glad you brought this up. It might just be curious enough now to
brush up on some of these proceures/tools. (Oh, who am I kidding. I
just adore computers w' dedicated roles & virtual machines & other
virtualizing software).