Anaconda tells my HD need to be reinitializated

[3esmit]

Hello,

Im actually using Fedora 11 in Dual Boot with Vista

I used to have Fedora 11 and then I installed Ubuntu and it (and myself) screwed my partitioning, and Just linux used to run.
Ubuntu wrote the boot sector over the NTFS like it was ext3.
I tryed everything the get beck my windows partition booting.
Reinstalled a Fedora 11 clean, to see if it could help me (thinking in reintstall it later).
Using testdisk application I managed to have back access to my disks files, but no boot working. I tryed a lot of things in testdisk and Windows Vista Recorvery, with no work.
So I ran the Acer Recorvery Disks, that reseted my NTFS with Vista to a brand new installation from Acer.

Now I want a Full Fresh Fedora Install from DVD but anaconda tells me (in pt-br): "Error in processing the disk sda. Maybe it would be necessary to reinitialize. YOU WILL LOOSE AL THE DATA IN THIS DISK."

I really cannot reinitalize it becouse my NB have some recorvery partitions that I use to reinstall the windows to its factory settings, and Im scared of reinitalizing it becouse maybe it could just screw everything and make it not work as well, now with no OS running.

The GNOME Partitioning Software just detect a full unpartitioned hard drive.

I think the problem is that I changed the LVM to something wierd that anaconda dosent recognizes.

Some hardware information (my fedora is in PT-BR):


dmraid -r
no raid disks

blkid
/dev/sda1: LABEL="PQSERVICE" UUID="650F-FA80" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sda2: UUID="22A269C7A2699FD1" LABEL="ACER" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda3: UUID="a147f637-e853-40d5-a0db-914274d70832" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda5: UUID="lsgXYJ-dHPd-dzHi-bFvf-Icup-kWQ4-7VguV9" TYPE="lvm2pv"
/dev/dm-0: UUID="94c00a2e-b84b-4ec7-bcc2-33579dfe0c2d" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/dm-1: TYPE="swap" UUID="88a82b43-6f83-4254-86d4-2faa399a2a7a"
/dev/mapper/vg_schmidt-lv_swap: TYPE="swap" UUID="88a82b43-6f83-4254-86d4-2faa399a2a7a"
/dev/mapper/vg_schmidt-lv_root: UUID="94c00a2e-b84b-4ec7-bcc2-33579dfe0c2d" TYPE="ext4"

fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 320.0 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders
Units = cilindros of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xce3b2daa

Dispositivo Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 1530 12288000 27 Desconhecido
/dev/sda2 * 1530 33814 259320828 7 HPFS ou NTFS
/dev/sda3 33814 33840 204800 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 33841 38914 40756905 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 33841 38913 40748032 8e Linux LVM

Disk /dev/dm-0: 35.5 GB, 35567697920 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4324 cylinders
Units = cilindros of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

O disco /dev/dm-0 não contém uma tabela de partições válida (dosent contains a valid partition table)

Disk /dev/dm-1: 6157 MB, 6157238272 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 748 cylinders
Units = cilindros of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

O disco /dev/dm-1 não contém uma tabela de partições válida (dosent contains a valid partition table)



It looks like my partitioning is messed up..
Windows Vista detects just 4 partitions, the Windows RE(corvery) that is sda1, it owns that is sda2 and another that linux is using and one more of 9mb.

What can I do to fix this issue?

Thank you.

[zackf]

I would just use a liveCD and GParted (partitioning program) to delete the old ext3/ext4 partitions (being careful to keep your NTFS ones). You can just delete the partitions and make them free space, anaconda will pick up on that and shouldn't give you those errors.

It looks like sda1 and sda2 are your Windows and recovery partions.

[3esmit]

I cannot edit the partitions in my disk using GParted, it tells me that /dev/sda is 298.09 GB not allocated, but this is untrue. It cannot see my partitions, than I cannot delete or nither edit.
I could do that using Windows Vista partitioning native program, which do what its meant to do (Create, Edit (shrink) and Remove Partitions).
OR I could delete my partitions trought testdisk, but I dont see that safe.

[zackf]

They're not mounted when you're trying to edit them by chance are they?

[3esmit]

Hello zackf,

Thanks for the reply.

Actually there is no diferrence if its mount or not. The real problem is with the partitioning information. I dont know why Windows indentifys it correctaly as fdisk and testdisk, but gparted tells like no partitioning exists, just like anaconda.

This bug started when I tryed to fix my partitioning with testdisk, using some advanced filesystem utils like fixing the MFT, fixing boot sector. But the real problem is that I choose to Write TestDisk MBR code to first sector.

How can I undo that?

[zackf]

I don't think I've been able to delete a mounted partition in Gparted, so it just kinda sparked my memory.