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Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -08001.\" Copyright 2011-2013 Roderick W. Smith (rodsmith@rodsbooks.com)
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -05002.\" May be distributed under the GNU General Public License
Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -08003.TH "SGDISK" "8" "0.8.10" "Roderick W. Smith" "GPT fdisk Manual"
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -05004.SH "NAME"
5sgdisk \- Command\-line GUID partition table (GPT) manipulator for Linux and Unix
6.SH "SYNOPSIS"
7.BI "sgdisk "
8[ options ]
9.I device
10
11.SH "DESCRIPTION"
12GPT fdisk is a text\-mode menu\-driven package for creation and manipulation of
13partition tables. It consists of two programs: the text\-mode interactive
14\fBgdisk\fR and the command\-line \fBsgdisk\fR. Either program will
15automatically convert an old\-style Master Boot Record (MBR) partition table
16or BSD disklabel stored without an MBR carrier partition to the newer Globally
17Unique Identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT) format, or will load a GUID
18partition table. This man page documents the command\-line \fBsgdisk\fR
19program.
20
21Some advanced data manipulation and
22recovery options require you to understand the distinctions between the
23main and backup data, as well as between the GPT headers and the partition
24tables. For information on MBR vs. GPT, as well as GPT terminology and
25structure, see the extended \fBgdisk\fR documentation at
26\fIhttp://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/\fR or consult Wikipedia.
27
28The \fBsgdisk\fR program employs a user interface that's based entirely on
29the command line, making it suitable for use in scripts or by experts who
30want to make one or two quick changes to a disk. (The program may query the
31user when certain errors are encountered, though.) The program's name is
32based on \fBsfdisk\fR, but the user options of the two programs are
33entirely different from one another.
34
35Ordinarily, \fBsgdisk\fR operates on disk device files, such as
36\fI/dev/sda\fR or \fI/dev/hda\fR under Linux, \fI/dev/disk0\fR under
37Mac OS X, or \fI/dev/ad0\fR or \fI/dev/da0\fR under FreeBSD. The program
38can also operate on disk image files, which can be either copies of whole
39disks (made with \fBdd\fR, for instance) or raw disk images used by
40emulators such as QEMU or VMWare. Note that only \fIraw\fR disk images
41are supported; \fBsgdisk\fR cannot work on compressed or other advanced
42disk image formats.
43
44The MBR partitioning system uses a combination of cylinder/head/sector
45(CHS) addressing and logical block addressing (LBA). The former is klunky
46and limiting. GPT drops CHS addressing and uses 64\-bit LBA mode
47exclusively. Thus, GPT data structures, and therefore
48\fBsgdisk\fR, do not need to deal with CHS geometries and all the problems
49they create.
50
51For best results, you should use an OS\-specific partition table
52program whenever possible. For example, you should make Mac OS X
53partitions with the Mac OS X Disk Utility program and Linux partitions
54with the Linux \fBgdisk\fR, \fBsgdisk\fR, or GNU Parted programs.
55
56Upon start, \fBsgdisk\fR attempts to identify the partition type in use on
57the disk. If it finds valid GPT data, \fBsgdisk\fR will use it. If
58\fBsgdisk\fR finds a valid MBR or BSD disklabel but no GPT data, it will
59attempt to convert the MBR or disklabel into GPT form. (BSD disklabels are
60likely to have unusable first and/or final partitions because they overlap
61with the GPT data structures, though.) GPT fdisk can identify, but not use
62data in, Apple Partition Map (APM) disks, which are used on 680x0\- and
srs569408bb0da2010-02-19 17:19:55 -050063PowerPC\-based Macintoshes. If you specify any option that results in
64changes to an MBR or BSD disklabel, \fBsgdisk\fR ignores those changes
65unless the \fI\-g\fR (\fI\-\-mbrtogpt\fR), \fI\-z\fR (\fI\-\-zap\fR), or
66\fI\-Z\fR (\fI\-\-zap\-all\fR) option is used. If you use the \fI\-g\fR
67option, \fBsgdisk\fR replaces the MBR or disklabel with a GPT. \fIThis
68action is potentially dangerous!\fR Your system may become unbootable, and
69partition type codes may become corrupted if the disk uses unrecognized
70type codes. Boot problems are particularly likely if you're multi\-booting
71with any GPT\-unaware OS.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -050072
73The MBR\-to\-GPT conversion will leave at least one gap in the partition
74numbering if the original MBR used logical partitions. These gaps are
75harmless, but you can eliminate them by using the \fI\-s\fR (\fI\-\-sort\fR)
76option, if you like. (Doing this may require you to update your
77\fI/etc/fstab\fR file.)
78
79When creating a fresh partition table, certain considerations may be in
80order:
81
82.TP
83.B *
84For data (non\-boot) disks, and for boot disks used on BIOS\-based computers
85with GRUB as the boot loader, partitions may be created in whatever order
86and in whatever sizes are desired.
87
88.TP
89.B *
90Boot disks for EFI\-based systems require an \fIEFI System
91Partition\fR (\fBsgdisk\fR internal code 0xEF00) formatted as FAT\-32.
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -040092The recommended size of this partition is between 100 and 300 MiB.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -050093Boot\-related files are stored here. (Note that GNU Parted identifies
94such partitions as having the "boot flag" set.)
95
96.TP
97.B *
98Some boot loaders for BIOS\-based systems make use of a \fIBIOS Boot
99Partition\fR (\fBsgdisk\fR internal code 0xEF02), in which the secondary
100boot loader is stored, possibly without the benefit of a filesystem. This
101partition can typically be quite small (roughly 32 to 200 KiB), but you
102should consult your boot loader documentation for details.
103
104.TP
105.B *
106If Windows is to boot from a GPT disk, a partition of type \fIMicrosoft
107Reserved\fR (\fBsgdisk\fR
108internal code 0x0C01) is recommended. This partition should be about 128 MiB
109in size. It ordinarily follows the EFI System Partition and immediately
110precedes the Windows data partitions. (Note that GNU Parted creates all
111FAT partitions as this type, which actually makes the partition unusable
112for normal file storage in both Windows and Mac OS X.)
113
114.TP
115.B *
116Some OSes' GPT utilities create some blank space (typically 128 MiB) after
117each partition. The intent is to enable future disk utilities to use this
118space. Such free space is not required of GPT disks, but creating it may
119help in future disk maintenance.
120
121.SH "OPTIONS"
122Some options take no arguments, others take one argument (typically a partition
123number), and others take compound arguments with colon delimitation. For
124instance, \fI\-n\fR (\fI\-\-new\fR) takes a partition number, a starting
125sector number, and an ending sector number, as in \fBsgdisk \-n 2:2000:50000
126/dev/sdc\fR, which creates a new partition, numbered 2, starting at sector
1272000 an ending at sector 50,000, on \fI/dev/sdc\fR.
128
129Unrelated options may be combined; however, some such combinations will be
130nonsense (such as deleting a partition and then changing its GUID type code).
131\fBsgdisk\fR interprets options in the order in which they're entered, so
132effects can vary depending on order. For instance, \fBsgdisk \-s \-d 2\fR
133sorts the partition table entries and then deletes partition 2 from the
134newly\-sorted list; but \fBsgdisk \-d 2 \-s\fR deletes the original partition
1352 and then sorts the modified partition table.
136
137Error checking and opportunities to correct mistakes in \fBsgdisk\fR are
138minimal. Although the program endeavors to keep the GPT data structures legal,
139it does not prompt for verification before performing its actions. Unless you
140require a command\-line\-driven program, you should use the interactive
141\fBgdisk\fR instead of \fBsgdisk\fR, since \fBgdisk\fR allows you to
142quit without saving your changes, should you make a mistake.
143
144Although \fBsgdisk\fR is based on the same partition\-manipulation code as
145\fBgdisk\fR, \fBsgdisk\fR implements fewer features than its interactive
146sibling. Options available in \fBsgdisk\fR are:
147
148.TP
149.B \-a, \-\-set\-alignment=value
150Set the sector alignment multiple. GPT fdisk aligns the start of partitions
Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -0800151to sectors that are multiples of this value, which defaults to 2048 on
152freshly formatted disks. This alignment value is necessary to obtain optimum
153performance with Western Digital Advanced Format and similar drives with larger
154physical than logical sector sizes, with some types of RAID arrays, and
155with SSD devices.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500156
srs56949ddc14b2010-08-22 22:44:42 -0400157.TP
158.B \-A, \-\-attributes=list|[partnum:show|or|nand|xor|=|set|clear|toggle|get[:bitnum|hexbitmask]]
159View or set partition attributes. Use \fIlist\fR to see defined (known)
160attribute values. Omit the partition number (and even the device filename)
161when using this option. The others require a partition number. The
162\fIshow\fR and \fIget\fR options show the current attribute settings
163(all attributes or for a particular bit, respectively). The \fIor\fR,
srs56944307ef22012-05-30 12:30:48 -0400164\fInand\fR, \fIxor\fR, \fI=\fR, \fIset\fR, \fIclear\fR, and
srs56949ddc14b2010-08-22 22:44:42 -0400165\fItoggle\fR options enable you to change the attribute bit value. The
166\fIset\fR, \fIclear\fR, \fItoggle\fR, and \fIget\fR options work on a
167bit number; the others work on a hexadecimal bit mask. For example, type
168\fBsgdisk -A 4:set:2 /dev/sdc\fR to set the bit 2 attribute (legacy BIOS
169bootable) on partition 4 on \fI/dev/sdc\fR.
170
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500171.TP
172.B \-b, \-\-backup=file
173Save partition data to a backup file. You can back up your current
174in\-memory partition table to a disk file using this option. The resulting
175file is a binary file consisting of the protective MBR, the main GPT
176header, the backup GPT header, and one copy of the partition table, in that
177order. Note that the backup is of the current in\-memory data structures, so
178if you launch the program, make changes, and then use this option, the
179backup will reflect your changes. If the GPT data structures are damaged,
180the backup may not accurately reflect the damaged state; instead, they
181will reflect GPT fdisk's first\-pass interpretation of the GPT.
182
183.TP
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400184.B \-c, \-\-change\-name=partnum:name
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500185Change the GPT name of a partition. This name is encoded as a UTF\-16
srs5694699941e2011-03-21 21:33:57 -0400186string, but proper entry and display of anything beyond basic ASCII values
187requires suitable locale and font support. For the most part, Linux ignores
Roderick W. Smith946866e2014-03-02 13:33:44 -0500188the partition name, but it may be important in some OSes. If you want to
189set a name that includes a space, enclose it in quotation marks, as in
srs5694c54e9b42010-05-01 21:04:23 -0400190\fIsgdisk \-c 1:"Sample Name" /dev/sdb\fR. Note that the GPT name of a
191partition is distinct from the filesystem name, which is encoded in the
192filesystem's data structures.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500193
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400194.TP
195.B \-C, \-\-recompute-chs
196Recompute CHS values in protective or hybrid MBR. This option can sometimes
197help if a disk utility, OS, or BIOS doesn't like the CHS values used by the
198partitions in the protective or hybrid MBR. In particular, the GPT
199specification requires a CHS value of 0xFFFFFF for over-8GiB partitions,
200but this value is technically illegal by the usual standards. Some BIOSes
201hang if they encounter this value. This option will recompute a more normal
202CHS value -- 0xFEFFFF for over-8GiB partitions, enabling these BIOSes to
203boot.
204
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500205.TP
206.B \-d, \-\-delete=partnum
207Delete a partition. This action deletes the entry from the partition table
208but does not disturb the data within the sectors originally allocated to
209the partition on the disk. If a corresponding hybrid MBR partition exists,
210\fBgdisk\fR deletes it, as well, and expands any adjacent 0xEE (EFI GPT)
211MBR protective partition to fill the new free space.
212
213.TP
srs569455d92612010-03-07 22:16:07 -0500214.B \-D, \-\-display\-alignment
215Display current sector alignment value. Partitions will be created on multiples
216of the sector value reported by this option. You can change the alignment value
217with the \-a option.
218
219.TP
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500220.B e, \-\-move\-second\-header
221Move backup GPT data structures to the end of the disk. Use this option if
222you've added disks to a RAID array, thus creating a virtual disk with space
223that follows the backup GPT data structures. This command moves the backup
224GPT data structures to the end of the disk, where they belong.
225
226.TP
srs56949ddc14b2010-08-22 22:44:42 -0400227.B \-E, \-\-end\-of\-largest
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500228Displays the sector number of the end of the largest available block of
229sectors on the disk. A script may store this value and pass it back as
230part of \fI\-n\fR's option to create a partition. If no unallocated
231sectors are available, this function returns the value 0.
232
233.TP
234.B \-f, \-\-first\-in\-largest
235Displays the sector number of the start of the largest available block of
236sectors on the disk. A script may store this value and pass it back as
237part of \fI\-n\fR's option to create a partition. If no unallocated
srs5694ab4b0432010-09-25 20:39:52 -0400238sectors are available, this function returns the value 0. Note that this
239parameter is blind to partition alignment; when you actually create a
240partition, its start point might be changed from this value.
241
242.TP
243.B \-F, \-\-first\-aligned\-in\-largest
244Similar to \fI\-f\fR (\fI\-\-first\-in\-largest\fR), except returns the
245sector number with the current alignment correction applied. Use this
246function if you need to compute the actual partition start point rather
247than a theoretical start point or the actual start point if you set the
248alignment value to 1.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500249
250.TP
251.B \-g, \-\-mbrtogpt
srs56943c0af382010-01-15 19:19:18 -0500252Convert an MBR or BSD disklabel disk to a GPT disk. As a safety measure, use of
253this option is required on MBR or BSD disklabel disks if you intend to save your
254changes, in order to prevent accidentally damaging such disks.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500255
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400256.TP
257.B \-G, \-\-randomize\-guids
258Randomize the disk's GUID and all partitions' unique GUIDs (but not their
259partition type code GUIDs). This function may be used after cloning a disk
260in order to render all GUIDs once again unique.
261
srs569455d92612010-03-07 22:16:07 -0500262.TP
srs569408bb0da2010-02-19 17:19:55 -0500263.B \-h, \-\-hybrid
264Create a hybrid MBR. This option takes from one to three partition numbers,
265separated by colons, as arguments. The created hybrid MBR places an EFI GPT
266(type 0xEE) partition first in the table, followed by the partition(s) you
267specify. Their type codes are based on the GPT fdisk type codes divided by
2680x0100, which is usually correct for Windows partitions. If the
269active/bootable flag should be set, you must do so in another program, such
270as \fBfdisk\fR. The \fBgdisk\fR program offers additional hybrid MBR
271creation options.
272
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500273.TP
274.B \-i, \-\-info=partnum
275Show detailed partition information. The summary information produced by
276the \fI\-p\fR command necessarily omits many details, such as the partition's
277unique GUID and the translation of \fBsgdisk\fR's
278internal partition type code to a plain type name. The \fI\-i\fR option
279displays this information for a single partition.
280
281.TP
282.B \-l, \-\-load\-backup=file
283Load partition data from a backup file. This option is the reverse of the
284\fI\-b\fR option. Note that restoring partition data from anything
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -0400285but the original disk is not recommended. This option will work even if the
286disk's original partition table is bad; however, most other options on the
287same command line will be ignored.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500288
289.TP
290.B \-L, \-\-list\-types
srs569400b6d7a2011-06-26 22:40:06 -0400291Display a summary of partition types. GPT uses a GUID to identify partition
292types for particular OSes and purposes. For ease of data entry,
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500293\fBsgdisk\fR compresses these into two\-byte (four\-digit hexadecimal)
294values that are related to their equivalent MBR codes. Specifically, the
295MBR code is multiplied by hexadecimal 0x0100. For instance, the code for
srs569400b6d7a2011-06-26 22:40:06 -0400296Linux swap space in MBR is 0x82, and it's 0x8200 in \fBgdisk\fR. A
297one\-to\-one correspondence is impossible, though. Most notably, the codes
298for all varieties of FAT and NTFS partition correspond to a single GPT code
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500299(entered as 0x0700 in \fBsgdisk\fR). Some OSes use a single MBR code but
srs569400b6d7a2011-06-26 22:40:06 -0400300employ many more codes in GPT. For these, \fBsgdisk\fR adds code numbers
301sequentially, such as 0xa500 for a FreeBSD disklabel, 0xa501 for FreeBSD
302boot, 0xa502 for FreeBSD swap, and so on. Note that these two\-byte codes
303are unique to \fBgdisk\fR and \fBsgdisk\fR. This option does not require
304you to specify a valid disk device filename.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500305
srs569455d92612010-03-07 22:16:07 -0500306.TP
srs569408bb0da2010-02-19 17:19:55 -0500307.B \-m, \-\-gpttombr
308Convert disk from GPT to MBR form. This option takes from one to four
309partition numbers, separated by colons, as arguments. Their type codes are
310based on the GPT fdisk type codes divided by 0x0100. If the active/bootable
311flag should be set, you must do so in another program, such as \fBfdisk\fR.
312The \fBgdisk\fR program offers additional MBR conversion options. It is not
313possible to convert more than four partitions from GPT to MBR form or to
314convert partitions that start above the 2TiB mark or that are larger than
3152TiB.
316
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500317.TP
318.B \-n, \-\-new=partnum:start:end
srs56940873e9d2010-10-07 13:00:45 -0400319Create a new partition. You enter a partition number, starting sector, and
320an ending sector. Both start and end sectors can be specified in absolute
321terms as sector numbers or as positions measured in kibibytes (K),
322mebibytes (M), gibibytes (G), tebibytes (T), or pebibytes (P); for
323instance, \fI\fB40M\fR\fR specifies a position 40MiB from the start of the
324disk. You can specify locations relative to the start or end of the
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500325specified default range by preceding the number by a '+' or '\-' symbol, as
326in \fI\fB+2G\fR\fR to specify a point 2GiB after the default start sector,
327or \fI\fB\-200M\fR\fR to specify a point 200MiB before the last available
srs5694df9d3632011-01-08 18:33:24 -0500328sector. A start or end value of 0 specifies the default value, which is the
329start of the largest available block for the start sector and the end of
330the same block for the end sector. A partnum value of 0 causes the program
Roderick W. Smith946866e2014-03-02 13:33:44 -0500331to use the first available partition number. Subsequent uses of the
332\fI\-A\fR, \fI\-c\fR, \fI\-t\fR, and \fI\-u\fR options may also use
333\fI0\fR to refer to the same partition.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500334
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400335.TP
srs569461768bc2010-07-04 01:54:00 -0400336.B \-N, \-\-largest\-new=num
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400337Create a new partition that fills the largest available block of space on
Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -0800338the disk. Note that if used on a completely blank disk, this is likely to
339result in a sector-moved warning, since the first available sector
340(normally 34) doesn't fall on a 2048-sector boundary (the default for
341alignment). You can use the \fI\-a\fR (\fI\-\-set\-alignment\fR) option to
srs5694df9d3632011-01-08 18:33:24 -0500342adjust the alignment, if desired. A num value of 0 causes the program to
343use the first available partition number.
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400344
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500345.TP
346.B \-o, \-\-clear
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -0400347Clear out all partition data. This includes GPT header data, all partition
348definitions, and the protective MBR. Note that this operation will, like
349most other operations, fail on a damaged disk. If you want to prepare a
350disk you know to be damaged for GPT use, you should first wipe it with -Z
351and then partition it normally. This option will work even if the
352disk's original partition table is bad; however, most other options on the
353same command line will be ignored.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500354
355.TP
356.B \-p, \-\-print
Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -0800357Display basic partition summary data. This includes partition
358numbers, starting and ending sector numbers, partition sizes,
359\fBsgdisk\fR's partition types codes, and partition names. For
360additional information, use the \fI\-i\fR (\fI\-\-info\fR) option.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500361
362.TP
363.B \-P, \-\-pretend
364Pretend to make specified changes. In\-memory GPT data structures are
365altered according to other parameters, but changes are not written
366to disk.
367
srs569455d92612010-03-07 22:16:07 -0500368.TP
srs569408bb0da2010-02-19 17:19:55 -0500369.B \-r, \-\-transpose
370Swap two partitions' entries in the partition table. One or both partitions
371may be empty, although swapping two empty partitions is pointless. For
372instance, if partitions 1\-4 are defined, transposing 1 and 5 results in a
373table with partitions numbered from 2\-5. Transposing partitions in this
374way has no effect on their disk space allocation; it only alters their
375order in the partition table.
376
srs56949ddc14b2010-08-22 22:44:42 -0400377.TP
378.B \-R, \-\-replicate=second_device_filename
379Replicate the main device's partition table on the specified second device.
380Note that the replicated partition table is an exact copy, including all
381GUIDs; if the device should have its own unique GUIDs, you should use the
382\-G option on the new disk.
383
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500384.TP
385.B \-s, \-\-sort
386Sort partition entries. GPT partition numbers need not match the order of
387partitions on the disk. If you want them to match, you can use this option.
388Note that some partitioning utilities sort partitions whenever they make
389changes. Such changes will be reflected in your device filenames, so you
390may need to edit \fI/etc/fstab\fR if you use this option.
391
392.TP
srs5694327129e2010-09-22 01:07:31 -0400393.B \-t, \-\-typecode=partnum:{hexcode|GUID}
394Change a single partition's type code. You enter the type code using either
395a two\-byte hexadecimal number, as described earlier, or a fully-specified
396GUID value, such as EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500397
398.TP
399.B \-T, \-\-transform\-bsd=partnum
400Transform BSD partitions into GPT partitions. This option works on BSD
401disklabels held within GPT (or converted MBR) partitions. Converted
402partitions' type codes are likely to need manual adjustment. \fBsgdisk\fR
403will attempt to convert BSD disklabels stored on the main disk when
404launched, but this conversion is likely to produce first and/or last
405partitions that are unusable. The many BSD variants means that the
406probability of \fBsgdisk\fR being unable to convert a BSD disklabel is
407high compared to the likelihood of problems with an MBR conversion.
408
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400409.TP
410.B \-u, \-\-partition-guid=partnum:guid
srs56948f1b2d62010-05-23 13:07:19 -0400411Set the partition unique GUID for an individual partition. The GUID may be
412a complete GUID or 'R' to set a random GUID.
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400413
414.TP
415.B \-U, \-\-disk-guid=guid
srs56948f1b2d62010-05-23 13:07:19 -0400416Set the GUID for the disk. The GUID may be a complete GUID or 'R' to set a
417random GUID.
srs56949ba54212010-05-18 23:24:02 -0400418
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500419.TP
420.B \-\-usage
421Print a brief summary of available options.
422
423.TP
424.B \-v, \-\-verify
425Verify disk. This option checks for a variety of problems, such as
426incorrect CRCs and mismatched main and backup data. This option does not
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -0400427automatically correct most problems, though; for that, you must use options
428on the recovery & transformation menu. If no problems are found, this
429command displays a summary of unallocated disk space. This option will work
430even if the disk's original partition table is bad; however, most other
431options on the same command line will be ignored.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500432
433.TP
434.B \-V, \-\-version
435Display program version information. This option may be used without
436specifying a device filename.
437
438.TP
439.B \-z, \-\-zap
srs569408bb0da2010-02-19 17:19:55 -0500440Zap (destroy) the GPT data structures and then exit. Use this option if you
441want to repartition a GPT disk using \fBfdisk\fR or some other GPT\-unaware
442program. This option destroys only the GPT data structures; it leaves the
443MBR intact. This makes it useful for wiping out GPT data structures after a
srs569455d92612010-03-07 22:16:07 -0500444disk has been repartitioned for MBR using a GPT\-unaware utility; however,
srs569408bb0da2010-02-19 17:19:55 -0500445there's a risk that it will damage boot loaders or even the start of the
446first or end of the last MBR partition. If you use it on a valid GPT disk,
447the MBR will be left with an inappropriate EFI GPT (0xEE) partition
448definition, which you can delete using another utility.
449
srs569455d92612010-03-07 22:16:07 -0500450.TP
srs569408bb0da2010-02-19 17:19:55 -0500451.B \-Z, \-\-zap\-all
452Zap (destroy) the GPT and MBR data structures and then exit. This option
453works much like \fI\-z\fR, but as it wipes the MBR as well as the GPT, it's
454more suitable if you want to repartition a disk after using this option,
455and completely unsuitable if you've already repartitioned the disk.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500456
457.TP
458.B \-?, \-\-help
459Print a summary of options.
460
461.SH "RETURN VALUES"
462\fBsgdisk\fR returns various values depending on its success or failure:
463
464.TP
465.B 0
466Normal program execution
467
468.TP
469.B 1
470Too few arguments
471
472.TP
srs56943c0af382010-01-15 19:19:18 -0500473.B 2
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500474An error occurred while reading the partition table
475
476.TP
477.B 3
Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -0800478Non\-GPT disk detected and no \fI\-g\fR option
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500479
480.TP
481.B 4
482An error prevented saving changes
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -0400483
484.TP
srs5694a6297b82012-03-25 16:13:16 -0400485.B 5
486An error occurred while reading standard input (should never occur with
487sgdisk, but may with gdisk)
488
489.TP
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -0400490.B 8
491Disk replication operation (-R) failed
492
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500493.SH "BUGS"
Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -0800494As of March 2014 (version 0.8.10), \fBsgdisk\fR
495should be considered beta software. Known bugs and limitations include:
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500496
497.TP
498.B *
499The program compiles correctly only on Linux, FreeBSD, and Mac OS X. Linux
500versions for x86\-64 (64\-bit), x86 (32\-bit), and PowerPC (32\-bit) have been
501tested, with the x86\-64 version having seen the most testing.
502
503.TP
504.B *
505The FreeBSD version of the program can't write changes to the partition
506table to a disk when existing partitions on that disk are mounted. (The
507same problem exists with many other FreeBSD utilities, such as
srs56947dbb9322010-01-20 16:56:30 -0500508\fBgpt\fR, \fBfdisk\fR, and \fBdd\fR.) This limitation can be overcome
509by typing \fBsysctl kern.geom.debugflags=16\fR at a shell prompt.
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500510
511.TP
512.B *
513The fields used to display the start and end sector numbers for partitions
514in the \fI\-p\fR option are 14 characters wide. This translates to a limitation
515of about 45 PiB. On larger disks, the displayed columns will go out of
516alignment.
517
518.TP
519.B *
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500520The program can load only up to 128 partitions (4 primary partitions and
521124 logical partitions) when converting from MBR format. This limit can
522be raised by changing the \fI#define MAX_MBR_PARTS\fR line in the
srs5694bf8950c2011-03-12 01:23:12 -0500523\fIbasicmbr.h\fR source code file and recompiling; however, such a change
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500524will require using a larger\-than\-normal partition table. (The limit
525of 128 partitions was chosen because that number equals the 128 partitions
526supported by the most common partition table size.)
527
528.TP
529.B *
530Converting from MBR format sometimes fails because of insufficient space at
531the start or (more commonly) the end of the disk. Resizing the partition
532table (using the 's' option in the experts' menu) can sometimes overcome
533this problem; however, in extreme cases it may be necessary to resize a
534partition using GNU Parted or a similar tool prior to conversion with
535\fBgdisk\fR.
536
537.TP
538.B *
539MBR conversions work only if the disk has correct LBA partition
540descriptors. These descriptors should be present on any disk over 8 GiB in
541size or on smaller disks partitioned with any but very ancient software.
542
543.TP
544.B *
545BSD disklabel support can create first and/or last partitions that overlap
546with the GPT data structures. This can sometimes be compensated by
547adjusting the partition table size, but in extreme cases the affected
548partition(s) may need to be deleted.
549
550.TP
551.B *
552Because of the highly variable nature of BSD disklabel structures,
553conversions from this form may be unreliable \-\- partitions may be dropped,
554converted in a way that creates overlaps with other partitions, or
555converted with incorrect start or end values. Use this feature with
556caution!
557
558.TP
559.B *
560Booting after converting an MBR or BSD disklabel disk is likely to be
561disrupted. Sometimes re\-installing a boot loader will fix the problem, but
562other times you may need to switch boot loaders. Except on EFI\-based
563platforms, Windows through at least Windows 7 RC doesn't support booting
564from GPT disks. Creating a hybrid MBR (using the 'h' option on the recovery &
565transformation menu) or abandoning GPT in favor of MBR may be your only
566options in this case.
567
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -0400568.PP
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500569
570.SH "AUTHORS"
571Primary author: Roderick W. Smith (rodsmith@rodsbooks.com)
572
573Contributors:
574
575* Yves Blusseau (1otnwmz02@sneakemail.com)
576
577* David Hubbard (david.c.hubbard@gmail.com)
578
srs569461768bc2010-07-04 01:54:00 -0400579* Justin Maggard (justin.maggard@netgear.com)
srs56948f1b2d62010-05-23 13:07:19 -0400580
Aurimas Liutikasbdbab022017-03-07 09:50:36 -0800581* Dwight Schauer (dschauer@ti.com)
srs5694659eaf12010-08-23 11:26:12 -0400582
srs569464cbd172011-03-01 22:03:54 -0500583* Florian Zumbiehl (florz@florz.de)
584
srs5694659eaf12010-08-23 11:26:12 -0400585
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500586.SH "SEE ALSO"
587\fBcfdisk (8)\fR,
srs5694a17fe692011-09-10 20:30:20 -0400588\fBcgdisk (8)\fR,
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500589\fBfdisk (8)\fR,
590\fBgdisk (8)\fR,
591\fBmkfs (8)\fR,
592\fBparted (8)\fR,
593\fBsfdisk (8)\fR
srs5694bf8950c2011-03-12 01:23:12 -0500594\fBfixparts (8)\fR
srs569473ba4792010-01-12 18:18:17 -0500595
596\fIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table\fR
597
598\fIhttp://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn2006/tn2166.html\fR
599
600\fIhttp://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/\fR
601
602.SH "AVAILABILITY"
603The \fBsgdisk\fR command is part of the \fIGPT fdisk\fR package and is
604available from Rod Smith.