[Linux-NTFS-Dev] Extra cluster half-way along NT flelsystem

[Bird, B. <bar...@ed...>]

Hello,

I only write this E-mail after trying various things and failing every time.

Mine is I suspect a common requirement. I wanted to make space on a 20Gb
drive which is 
completely occupied by Windows 2000 so that I could install Red Hat Linux
alongside it 
so I was pleased to discover ntfsresize which promised to shrink my NTFS
partition.   
Unfortunately it did not work for me.    

Perhaps this experience could be used to improve ntfsresize.

I used a Red Hat linux rescue disc to get Linux up and running on this
Windows-only computer.
On running ntfsresize from a floppy I got

  ./ntfsresize -i /dev/hda1
  ntfsresize version:  1.7.1s

  Cluster Size: 512 bytes
  Current volume/device size: 20011590144 bytes (20012 MB)

  cluster accounting failed at 19542568 (ox12a3228): extra cluster in
$Bitmap
  ERROR: filesystem check failed! Windows wasn't shut down properly 
  or inconsistent filesystem.  Please run chkdsk on Windows.

So I followed the advice, ran Chkdsk, made sure Windows shut down properly,
and it made 
no difference. With Windows 2000 you have to schedule chkdsk to run and make
corrections 
to NTFS at the next Windows reboot. One time I also ran the Windows
Defragmenter.
All told I must have run chkdsk 3 times, rebooting each time. The first time
it did find an 
error in the MFT but claimed to have corrected that and subsequent chkdsk
runs found no 
errors.  ntfsresize on the other hand persistently comes up with the same
error, and I can't 
over-ride it using -f (just as well, you might say). 

It is interesting to note however, that the position of this alleged error
is exactly 
half-way along the partition, which is where the 'More metadata' is located.


I should also point out that this is a relatively fresh installation of W2k,
and I had 
used the Windows 2000 defragmenter to squeeze all the files (only 1.7Gb) to
the start 
of the partition (was this my mistake?). Norton Antivirus is installed.

Has anyone else reported this problem?

Hope this is useful to you.

Barry Bird
HP CA Account
EDS, 7 Bartley Way
Hook, RG27 9XA, UK
Tel: (+44) 1256 74 8636
Fax: (+44) 1256 748769
bar...@ed...