Re: [MiNT] Partition sizes

[Peter Slegg <p.slegg@scubadivers.co.uk>]

On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:22:43 , Miro Kropacek <miro.kropacek@gmail.com> wrote:
> > If there really is a 2GB limit in Mint fs then can it be increased ?
> >
> It's probably quite painful process as this 2GB limit is from using
> signed integers for storing file sizes. So every place where file
> sizes are used / calculated in both mintlib and freemint must be
> changed to something bigger (like 64-bit value) but I'm not really
> sure if it's even possible in all cases since most (all) GEMDOS calls
> return stuff in LONG (32-bit) and bit #31 is used as indicator for
> error => 2 GB limit. If this would be changed, 99% of existing apps
> would stop to work.
>
> Hmm, it's really bad thing this heritage from 80s...
>
>

A nasty problem.

The GEMDOS calls could be re-written but then the apps calling them
wouldn't handle to returned 64 bit value.

I presume this is was the same problem that Windows, MacOS and others
have had to deal with.

Has the Atari not had to deal with similar problems in the past ?

Peter