HELP WANTED----plan9 overwrote linux partition

[Bill Hogan bhogan@bedlam.rahul.net]

"NR" == Nigel Roles <ngr@symbionics.co.uk> writes:

  >> Hi, there,
  >> 
  >> Help wanted, Plan9, the so boasted next generation os is just a piece of
  >> junk. This time, AT&T really picked a good name for plan9.
  >> 
  >> I've run linux1.2.0 for about a half year, everything seems OK.
  >> Today, I download the plan9 to play with, it looks working too.
  >> However, actually when I was installing plan9, it overwrote my linux
  >> partition without any pre-warning.
  >> 
  NR> Oh dear. The installation instructions referenced in 
  NR> http://www.plan9.att.com/distrib.html implored people to read the 
  NR> errata document. In particular, a new version of prep (the disk 
  NR> partitioner) is required to avoid this. The original version installs after the 
  NR> highest numbered DOS active partiton. Evidently your Linux partition 
  NR> is after your DOS partition.
 
  >> My linux partition is not bootable now, and I try to boot from floppy,
  >> and do fsck on it, it says: "bad magic number". So definately
  >> plan9 overwrote my linux partition.
  >> 
  NR> Yes no question that your Linux partition is totalled.
 
  >> I want to recover my more than half-year work, since I don't have tape
  >> backup. Please help! Any suggestion will be mostly appreciated.
  >> I guess this is doable, since my linux partition occupies 400Mbytes, 
  >> while plan9 only occupies 20Mbytes according to its installation notes,
  >> so it looks like the rest 380Mbytes should be able to recoverd, sounds
  >> reasonable?
  >> 

  NR> Unfortunately, again, the installation documents are clear that Plan 
  NR> 9 will occupy ALL the space at the 'end' of the disk, not just 20Mb. 
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Excuse me, but exactly where does it say that?

    For example, where errata.html says,

   "Installation from diskettes works correctly only on systems with a
single DOS partition. On systems with multiple partitions, Plan 9 will
install over the second through last partitions."

it is only with the benefit of hindsight and considerable effort
(forgetting such things as "hop over", "skip over", "jump over", "pass
over", etc.) that I can discern in the phrase "Plan 9 will install
over the second through last partitions" the idea that Plan 9 will
*DESTROY* my second through the last partitions -- so when it goes on
to say

   "If you have multiple partitions, pick up
ftp://plan9.att.com/plan9/pcdist/prep.  After the installation step
entitled Installing diskette 1 on your DOS hard drive, return to
DOS. Copy the new prep onto C:\plan9\386\bin\disk\prep. Then continue
with the Plan 9 installation."

and then assures me

   "This will ensure that any newly created partition will occupy the
unallocated portion at the high end of the disk, avoiding existing DOS
partitions."

I am even now quite frankly not convinced I should believe it.
 
    For one thing, what does "the high end of the disk" mean when I
have four SCSI hard drives, and what does "[thus] avoiding existing
DOS partitions" mean three of those four drives contain a mixture of
FAT, HPFS, and Linux partitions?

    Believe me, if plan9 wiped out every partition after the first one
on my C: drive, and every partition on each of my three remaining
drives, the internet would never hear the end of it.
    
    Bill