Hide Partition Problems...

[xavielson]

Hello guys, im getting a rly weird problem here, ill try to make it clear.
I have my SSD with 3 partitions, a small one for chameleon, one for Mac OS and another for Windows XP. Everything is working smoothly, i can boot in both systems ok. Problem is after ive done that, i cant Hide Partition anymore, it simple doesnt work to hide ANY partition. When i use the SAME Boot.plist in my Flash Drive and boot from it, it will successfully hide the partitions.
Also i noticed that "Scan Single Drive" will work, although thats better than nothing, i still want to read from other disks so i can set another OS's in future.
At first i thought that this option was somehow missing from RC5 or something, so i tried to install RC4 just to test but no luck. Then i tried with my flash drive and it did work no matter the version.

EDIT: I also tried to format the disk in GUID, cause it was MBR, but no luck.

Thx in advance

Ps. Chameleon 2 RC5 r629 (Although ive tried older versions too).

[xavielson]

Ok i think i figured that out. I got confused so nvm the first post. I think this is not a bug at all but maybe some kind of "protection". I have multiple Mac OS's installed and want to hide them, but looks like its impossible to hide Mac OS's system partition using this feature am i right?

I think ill keep with the "Scan Single Drive" and use F10 when i need to access my 3rd OS.

Thx again for the amazingly epic work guys   

 

[Azimutz]

Yeah... only foreign systems can be hidden, but you can disable that if you know how to compile the booter from source.
I can give you some pointers on that...
Also, what value are you using on "Hide Partition" argument? hd(x,y), UUID, label... it can make some difference, mainly if you're using hd().

[xavielson]

Yeah... only foreign systems can be hidden, but you can disable that if you know how to compile the booter from source.
I can give you some pointers on that...
Also, what value are you using on "Hide Partition" argument? hd(x,y), UUID, label... it can make some difference, mainly if you're using hd().

Hi Azimutz and thx for ur answer. I use hd(x,y) method cause I could never successfully hide partitions using either UUID or Label methods, i dont know why. Tryed with and without quotes but never worked, on the same partition hd(x,y) works ok.
Im not an expert but i could try to remove this part of the code myself, if theres not a lot of details involved.

Anyway, heres how i tryed the UUID and Label methods, do i get this right? (I have no problem hiding this one using hd(1,1) method. NTFS partiton.)

Code: [Select]

<key>Hide Partition</key>
<string>E89C5AEC-02FB-4AB5-A88F-D278B481CC4F</string>  #Also Tried with quotes


Code: [Select]

<key>Hide Partition</key>
<string>"Apps & Games"</string>

EDIT: Ive found the "Hide Partition" part of the code in "disk.c", played with this a little with no success. Am I going in the right direction? Thx

[Azimutz]

yeah.. it's a very simple "hack" and easy to revert; on line 1603 edit the if statement like this:

Code: [Select]

if ( (newBVR->flags/* & kBVFlagForeignBoot*/) )and compile the booter

I asked what value you are using because you mentioned that the Boot.plist works fine on the usb stick and not on the HD;
if using hd() you need to correct the value, it changes according to the device were the booter is installed, which is always hd(0,x). Use Tab key at boot prompt to change to Text Mode and check it.
The other values should work, the keys seem ok... will check.

[xavielson]

Thats perfect Azimutz! Worked like a charm.

About the usb stick, yea thats where i got confused and also why i stroked my first post. With the pen on, i was actually hiding my NTFS partitions.

Thanks once again, i have no words, much respect to u and all the Chameleon Team. 

[konsti]

Guys, my turn now to address to an issue that I would really appreciate your help!

I am using the RC5 build 619 of Chameleon that Azimutz kindly posts in his signature.

On my mobo, I have an Intel SSD 80GB in one partition under GUID type. The OS 10.6.5 reports it as disk1s2

On the secondary channel, I have another small Toshiba HDD in one partition of Apple type. The OS reports it as disk0s3!

I intentionally partitioned the second drive as Apple because I never want it bootable and besides, it's only for storing stuff.

In the GUI of Chameleon, with normal com.apple.Boot settings, I only get the Intel SSD as option. However, the moment I press an arrow or other key, the other Apple partition appears.

I tried hiding it, too, but no luck; whenever I press a key (e.g. arrow to get boot partition in verbose boot) I always get the other drive to appear.

Is this expected? How can I completely remove the Apple partition/drive from the selections available?

Thanks!

[xavielson]

Hey, did u try using this mod and then using Hide Partiton on that part.? Maybe that helps.

Xav

[konsti]

Guys, just to remind that I am using Azimutz's compiled binaries. I am not compiling them myself as I don't know how.

So do you know if Build 619 hides partitions in the way mentioned above, or is it an upcoming feature? Anyone?

Is normal behaviour to have the drives displayed when pressing arrows or keys at the Chameleon GUI?

[Azimutz]

Hi guys... i'm not gone neither i forgot this issue.. just a bit busy.

Konsti, Chameleon is hardcoded to hide only bootable "foreign" partitions; meaning e.g. you can hide a partition with Windows 7 installed but not one with OS X installed. That small "hack" i explained to Xavielson disables this behaviour, allowing to hide also "native" partitions and that's it, nothing else changes.
That behavior you have it's not normal, afaik.

I intentionally partitioned the second drive as Apple because I never want it bootable and besides, it's only for storing stuff.

Change that disk to GPT or MBR and check if still does the same

Xavielson and anyone
I did some testing to "Hide Partition" and see if it works:
- uuid only works for hfs partitions. No luck with Linux (ext4) or Windows (ntfs) (not even Windows style uuid)
- Label and hd() works fine; use label like this:

Code: [Select]

<key>Hide Partition</key>
<string>Windows 7 Ubuntu Mac OS X Install DVD</string>no quotes and just space as separator. The above works fine for me. I already got to this conclusion earlier.
There are some keys that are not working properly or at least as mentioned.. i need time to check them and document properly...

[konsti]

Aziumutz to the rescue!
Pal, you know I am using your binaries, so I can't possibly apply the hack/patch you suggested to Xavielson!
However, due to sensitive and personal data on that Apple-partitioned drive, I can't change its format (for the time being)  And I just closed the darn mobo's case and screwed everything, need to find some incentive to open it and install another drive as you suggest 

You say "That behavior you have it's not normal, afaik." Did you actually mean, it's NOT normal? So you accept it's a bug? I thought that Apple partitions, since you can't boot from them on Intel, are indeed foreign in some way...

So here you are, discovered another bug? Together with my other SMcputype not being passed, the list grows longer again    I wonder if more time is spent by the dear developers to evolve Chameleon than to fix its bugs! (I am not being sarcastic-just curious and eternally grateful)

Thank you again for your time, I understand it's precious. I still owe you a pint!

Hi guys... i'm not gone neither i forgot this issue.. just a bit busy.

Konsti, Chameleon is hardcoded to hide only bootable "foreign" partitions; meaning e.g. you can hide a partition with Windows 7 installed but not one with OS X installed. That small "hack" i explained to Xavielson disables this behaviour, allowing to hide also "native" partitions and that's it, nothing else changes.
That behavior you have it's not normal, afaik.

I intentionally partitioned the second drive as Apple because I never want it bootable and besides, it's only for storing stuff.

Change that disk to GPT or MBR and check if still does the same

Xavielson and anyone
I did some testing to "Hide Partition" and see if it works:
- uuid only works for hfs partitions. No luck with Linux (ext4) or Windows (ntfs) (not even Windows style uuid)
- Label and hd() works fine; use label like this:

Code: [Select]

<key>Hide Partition</key>
<string>Windows 7 Ubuntu Mac OS X Install DVD</string>no quotes and just space as separator. The above works fine for me. I already got to this conclusion earlier.
There are some keys that are not working properly or at least as mentioned.. i need time to check them and document properly...

[xavielson]

Hello Azimutz, i was playin with "Rename Partiton" and since looks like ure reviewing the possible format of the strings, i want to add something.
It worked fine, but i was having a hard time trying to rename more than one partiton, i was reading the description of BootHelp.txt. So i wanted to check the code to see if i could get any hints, and the description that comes commented right before the code was right to the point. I needed a ";" between the partitons. That isnt clear at BootHelp.txt and i dont remeber needing this for any other string, so its kinda hard to figure.
The string must look like:

Code: [Select]

<key>Rename Partition</key>
<string>hd(0,4) "Windows XP";hd(3,1) "Windows 7"</string>


Xav


EDIT: @konsti: I could attach the modified binaries if u want. It rly sounds like a bug or something, but maybe if u hide that partition using this build, it could work. Not actually a fix but may work as a "bandage". =p   

[Azimutz]

Konsti,

Pal, you know I am using your binaries, so I can't possibly apply the hack/patch you suggested to Xavielson!
  ...

I don't think that hack would help you on your situation, since the partition you're trying to hide is not bootable, it should be hidden and stay hidden by default. But you can always try; Xavielson offered to post the booter for you.

You say "That behavior you have it's not normal, afaik." Did you actually mean, it's NOT normal? So you accept it's a bug? I thought that Apple partitions, since you can't boot from them on Intel, are indeed foreign in some way...

It's not normal a partition that is not showing, start showing after you press a key, like you explained. I never had that behavior on my machine with GPT or MBR partition maps; can't comment about APM since it never even crossed my mind to use it it should be handled like any other partition that Chameleon can recognize.
So, i assume we can call it a bug...

As a side note, OS X now also has native support for ExFAT partitions... Can this be an incentive for opening the belly of the beast?

I wonder if more time is spent by the dear developers to evolve Chameleon than to fix its bugs! (I am not being sarcastic-just curious and eternally grateful)

True, to some extent... users put more pressure on that area too


Xavielson,
yep, that stuff is clearer on the code comments; BootHelp.txt needs some face lift i've been working on a new one, maybe it's time to put it up on my branch; it's a bit incomplete but since i don't now when it will be ready, it's better than nothing and people can at least give an opinion?!
Can you confirm the "Hide Partition" stuff i posted?

[konsti]

OK guys, a quick update. I removed the secondary HDD from my system that was formatted with Apple type (single partition) as mentioned previously--I could not hide that partition in the Chameleon GUI.

Replaced it with a new drive formatted (again, single partition) with GUID Partition Table, and apparently with the proper entry in my com.apple.Boot.plist I can make the partition disappear from boot options.

Code: [Select]

<key>Hide Partition</key>
 <string>3883BF43-6467-3CC4-8301-23730D915D0F</string>
This should normally happen to Apple type partitions, too, so perhaps it should be considered by the Chameleon programmers... Unless I am the last person in the world formatting still with Apple type!

Using Chameleon build R699 from Azimutz.

Many thanks to all.

[rocksteady]

I wonder if more time is spent by the dear developers to evolve Chameleon than to fix its bugs! (I am not being sarcastic-just curious and eternally grateful)

True, to some extent... users put more pressure on that area too

Just wait till I get my own branch, I'd keep it under .1a and stress-test everything forever due to old-school perfectionism 

Sarcasm and humour is all right, especially in tough times. Stay cool y'all!