diff --git a/include/lib/partition.h b/include/lib/partition.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..576bc97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/lib/partition.h
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2009 Travis Geiselbrecht
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
+ * a copy of this software and associated documentation files
+ * (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
+ * including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
+ * publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
+ * and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
+ * included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
+ * EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
+ * MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
+ * IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
+ * CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
+ * TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
+ * SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+#ifndef __LIB_PARTITION_H
+#define __LIB_PARTITION_H
+
+#include <sys/types.h>
+
+/* examine and try to publish partitions on a particular device at a particular offset */
+int partition_publish(const char *device, off_t offset);
+
+/* remove any published subdevices on this device */
+int partition_unpublish(const char *device);
+
+#endif
+
diff --git a/lib/partition/partition.c b/lib/partition/partition.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5565fe5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/partition/partition.c
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2009 Travis Geiselbrecht
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
+ * a copy of this software and associated documentation files
+ * (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
+ * including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
+ * publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
+ * and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
+ * included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
+ * EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
+ * MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
+ * IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
+ * CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
+ * TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
+ * SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+#include <debug.h>
+#include <printf.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <compiler.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <arch.h>
+#include <lib/bio.h>
+#include <lib/partition.h>
+
+struct chs {
+	uint8_t c;
+	uint8_t h;
+	uint8_t s;
+} __PACKED;
+
+struct mbr_part {
+	uint8_t status;
+	struct chs start;
+	uint8_t type;
+	struct chs end;
+	uint32_t lba_start;
+	uint32_t lba_length;
+} __PACKED;
+
+static status_t validate_mbr_partition(bdev_t *dev, const struct mbr_part *part)
+{
+	/* check for invalid types */
+	if (part->type == 0)
+		return -1;
+	/* check for invalid status */
+	if (part->status != 0x80 && part->status != 0x00)
+		return -1;
+
+	/* make sure the range fits within the device */
+	if (part->lba_start >= dev->block_count)
+		return -1;
+	if ((part->lba_start + part->lba_length) > dev->block_count)
+		return -1;
+
+	/* that's about all we can do, MBR has no other good way to see if it's valid */
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int partition_publish(const char *device, off_t offset)
+{
+	int err = 0;
+	int count = 0;
+
+	// clear any partitions that may have already existed
+	partition_unpublish(device);
+
+	bdev_t *dev = bio_open(device);
+	if (!dev) {
+		printf("partition_publish: unable to open device\n");
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	// get a dma aligned and padded block to read info
+	STACKBUF_DMA_ALIGN(buf, dev->block_size);
+	
+	/* sniff for MBR partition types */
+	do {
+		int i;
+
+		err = bio_read(dev, buf, offset, 512);
+		if (err < 0)
+			goto err;
+
+		/* look for the aa55 tag */
+		if (buf[510] != 0x55 || buf[511] != 0xaa)
+			break;
+
+		/* see if a partition table makes sense here */
+		struct mbr_part part[4];
+		memcpy(part, buf + 446, sizeof(part));
+
+#if DEBUGLEVEL >= INFO
+		dprintf(INFO, "mbr partition table dump:\n");
+		for (i=0; i < 4; i++) {
+			dprintf(INFO, "\t%i: status 0x%hhx, type 0x%hhx, start 0x%x, len 0x%x\n", i, part[i].status, part[i].type, part[i].lba_start, part[i].lba_length);
+		}
+#endif
+
+		/* validate each of the partition entries */
+		for (i=0; i < 4; i++) {
+			if (validate_mbr_partition(dev, &part[i]) >= 0) {
+				// publish it
+				char subdevice[128];
+
+				sprintf(subdevice, "%sp%d", device, i); 
+
+				err = bio_publish_subdevice(device, subdevice, part[i].lba_start, part[i].lba_length);
+				if (err < 0) {
+					dprintf(INFO, "error publishing subdevice '%s'\n", subdevice);
+					continue;
+				}
+				count++;
+			}
+		}
+	} while(0);
+
+	bio_close(dev);
+
+err:
+	return (err < 0) ? err : count;
+}
+
+int partition_unpublish(const char *device)
+{
+	int i;
+	int count;
+	bdev_t *dev;
+	char devname[512];	
+
+	count = 0;
+	for (i=0; i < 16; i++) {
+		sprintf(devname, "%sp%d", device, i);
+
+		dev = bio_open(devname);
+		if (!dev)
+			continue;
+
+		bio_unregister_device(dev);
+		bio_close(dev);
+		count++;
+	}
+
+	return count;
+}
+
diff --git a/lib/partition/rules.mk b/lib/partition/rules.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f80eb44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/partition/rules.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+LOCAL_DIR := $(GET_LOCAL_DIR)
+
+MODULES += lib/bio
+
+OBJS += \
+	$(LOCAL_DIR)/partition.o