[ale] LVM partition type fubar

[Keith Hopkins]

Hello everyone,

  The call for help goes out once more as I've got a sticky one here.  I'm trying to setup (new install) of SuSE 6.4 using LVM, but the partition type on the disk keeps getting changed at reboot.  If anyone has any idea what might cause this, I'd appreciate the help.  Attached is what I reported to SuSE's support desk.  

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  The install of SuSE Linux 6.4 went along fine.  I used the std Pent optimized kernel.  I installed min/default/gnome software sets.  LILO is installed on /boot (/dev/sdb1).  OS Selection is done through System Commander.

  The system failed to find any volume groups at reboot.  I was left with a (repair filesystem)# prompt.  /etc/lvmtab was empty and vgscan would not find the VG.  I discovered that the partition types of sdb2 and sdb4 and been changed to 0x92 and 0x9e, respectively.  I changed them back to what I thought they should be (0x82 for swap and 0x8e for LVM).  vgscan then found the vg and
updated lvmtab as it should.  I was able to activate the vg, check and mount the fs in each lvol.
  After another reboot, the two partitions had reverted back to 0x92 and 0x9e!  I changed it back again (using Linux fdisk, then checking w/cfdisk).
  I used a DOS based partition manager (PowerQuest PartitionMagic) to verify the partition types were actually changed, and it was not that Linux was simply reporting the wrong type.  PM confirmed that the partitions are actually getting changed.  I changed the partition type back to valid values and rebooted to DOS again.  I again verified the change to the correct values lived through a
reboot by using PM again.  The values were still correct.  I rebooted again, into Linux.
  The two partitions had reverted back to 0x92 and 0x9e, again!  
  I fixed the values using Linux's fdisk & rebooted into single user mode (LILO: linux single)
  The two partitions had reverted back to 0x92 and 0x9e, again!  
  I fixed the partition types, sync'd the disk and powered off the box.  I booted into Linux single user mode.
  The two partitions had reverted back to 0x92 and 0x9e, again!  

  LVM is not working with the partition set to 0x9e instead of 0x8e.

  Any ideas?

  Details:
The Computer:
  DIY: 
Asus P5A MB, 
AMD K6-2/450 CPU w/fan, 
2x 128M Generic PC100 SDRAM, 
BusLogic (Mylex) FlashPoint LW (BT-950) RAIDPlus (non-RAID config) SCSI HA (PCI), 
ATI Rage 128 (AGP)
Netgear FA310TX (tulip) 10/100 ethernet card (PCI)
CL Sound Blaster 16 (ISA),
2x Conner CFP2107W 2G Wide-SCSI drives,
1.4M Floppy,
Toshiba 16x SCSI CD-ROM,
generic case, ps & extra fans.

  The hard drives are/were partitioned:
partition:      mount:  type:   size:   fs:
/dev/sda1       /dos            2G      fat
/dev/sdb1       /boot   0x83    64M     ext2
/dev/sdb2       (swap)  0x82    128M    swap
/dev/sdb3       /       0x83    128M    reiser
/dev/sdb4       (lvm)   0x8e    1700M

There is no lv01-lv03
/dev/vg00/lv04 	/home           64M     ext2
/dev/vg00/lv05 	/tmp            128M    reiser
/dev/vg00/lv06 	/var            128M    reiser
/dev/vg00/lv07 	/opt            384M    reiser
/dev/vg00/lv08 	/usr            1300M   reiser

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