| .. | ||
| OpenOS/etc/rc.d | ||
| driveboot.lua | ||
| partition.lua | ||
| README.md | ||
Minitel Partition Table (MTPT)
This document specifies a general partition table format suitable for both unmanaged disks, and tapes.
Partition table
The partition table resides at the end of the disk - the last sector of the disk, for several reasons:
- Ease of implementation for firmware to load from first partition
- Compatibility with existing partition table formats
The partition table takes one sector (512 bytes) and is divided into 16 entries, 32 bytes each. The first entry must have a type of mtpt or the partition table is to be considered invalid. This first entry's name should be considered the label for the whole disk.
Partition entry
Each entry consists of:
- A 20 byte name field, padded with null characters.
- A 4 byte type field. This can be used either as a number or a string.
- A 32-bit big-endian start sector field.
- A 32-bit big-endian length field.
Any entry with no name should be ignored.
Tape considerations
In the case of tapes, the partition table uses the last whole sector and any remaining space, as some tapes aren't evenly divisible by 512 bytes.
Booting
It is suggested that firmware loads and runs the first partition with type "boot". More advanced booting logic may be implemented if desired.