Download Version 2 - Linux LEO

v. 3.78 The Law Enforcement and Forensic Examiner's Introduction to Linux The fdisk program can be used to create or list partitions on a supported device. This is an example of the output of fdisk on a dual boot system using the “list” option (­l [dash “el”]):
root@rock:~# fdisk -l /dev/hda
Disk /dev/hda: 60.0 GB, 60011642880 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7296 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot
/dev/hda1
*
/dev/hda2
/dev/hda3
/dev/hda5
/dev/hda6
/dev/hda7
Start
1
655
2479
2479
4304
4367
End
654
2478
7296
4303
4366
7296
Blocks
5253223+
14651280
38700585
14659281
506016
23535193+
Id
7
7
5
83
82
c
System
HPFS/NTFS
HPFS/NTFS
Extended
Linux
Linux swap
W95 FAT32 (LBA)
fdisk –l /dev/hdx gives you a list of all the partitions available on a particular drive, in this case and IDE drive). Each partition is identified by its Linux name. The "boot flag" is indicated, and the beginning and ending cylinders for each partition is given. The number of blocks per partition is displayed. Finally, the partition "Id" and file system type are displayed. To see a list of valid types, run fdisk and at the prompt type "l" (the letter “el”). Do not confuse Linux fdisk with DOS fdisk. They are very different. The Linux version of fdisk provides for much greater control over partitioning.
Remember that the partition type identified in the last column, under “System” has nothing to do with the file system found on that partition. Do not rely on the partition type to determine the file system. On most normal systems, a type “c” (W95 FAT32) partition type will contain a FAT32 partition, but not always. Also, consider partitions of type 83 (Linux). Type 83 partitions can normally hold EXT2, EXT3, ReiserFS, or any number of other file system types. We will discuss file system identification later in this document.
BEFORE FILE SYSTEMS ON DEVICES CAN BE USED, THEY MUST BE MOUNTED! Any file systems on partitions you define during installation will be mounted automatically every time you boot. We will cover the mounting of file systems in the section that deals with Linux commands, after you have some navigation experience.
Keep in mind, that even what not mounted, devices can still be written to. Simply not mounting a file system does not protect it from being inadvertently changed through your actions. Barry J. Grundy
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