If fdisk would allow for more than four partitions, I could just make multiple 8gb partitions across whatever size disk I’ve got. That’s less ideal, I suppose, but kind of a good way to compartmentalize different backup options if I can codify a procedure.
It’s understandable why you would think this. It’s all wrong. The partition table has a fixed size on the first sector, and the rest is used for booting code. On the other hand, you can have more than 4 partitions. The partition table is a convenient place to indicate the configuration for the partitions and it’s needed for the BIOS to boot of the HD, but that’s it. Using the o= and s= options of mount, you can mount from anywhere, regardless of what the partition table shows. This is an issue with the number. I’m not sure if you can overwrite disk 1, the floppy disk nor is it clear you would want to. The same for disk 2. You probably can. I think that QNX2 only supports 8 disks which might mean 6 other partitions. If you also need a ram disk, that’s one less. So somewhere between 8 and 5 partitions are possible.
I don’t know of any floppy exclusive commands, although fdformat willl not work. Dinit and fbackup require parameters to work.
If you have any real interest in the ATA driver changes, time may be of the essence. In the next few months I will be purging the old legacy hardware I would need to do this and I don’t think it will be replacable.