Every so often one runs into garbage files with escape sequences in them (ls
doesn't "execute" anything, it only lists; I presume therefore that the
console driver responds to ls's output). Is this a nonexistent filesystem,
or an application bug, or user braindamage? Might be any of the three.
| > So we have to execute the boot block (read: *boot* it) or interpret it
| No. The boot block is sector 0, AKA the MBR. Which is outside the
+--->8
Partitions have boot blocks as well.
Reiteration: *MS-DOS doesn't have a superblock*. The filesystem metadata
are encoded into the boot block... but you can't always tell that what's
there is valid. And some versions of DOS don't bother to fill in all the
pieces.
-- brandon s. allbery [os/2][linux][solaris][japh] allbery@kf8nh.apk.net system administrator [WAY too many hats] allbery@ece.cmu.edu electrical and computer engineering carnegie mellon university (bsa@kf8nh is still valid.)
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