[parted-devel] [parted 1.8.8] msdos label and file system corruption issues with > 2TB disk

[H. Peter Anvin]

Jim Meyering wrote:
> 
>> Is there any discussion in the community about being able to boot a
>> BIOS based system from a disk that is larger than 2 TB?  I'd like to
>> get hooked into any discussions in this area.
> 
> I don't know off hand, but this is a good place to ask.
> Also, you might want to monitor #parted @irc.freenode.net on IRC.
> 

The only consensus (and, in particular, the only thing that works for 
multiple operating systems) is:

- boot partitions < 2 TB
- boot partitions are aliased as MBR partitions in the PMBR

That is the protocol that's available, and the only thing that will work 
with Redmond OSes.  It will let normal MBR-loading code work, and the OS 
can then pick up its filesystem partitions from the GPT table.

	-hpa