partition table is empty, check to see if we have something that
looks sufficiently like a BPB. On non-i386 machines, the boot
sector typically doesn't contain boot code; the end of the boot
sector is all zeroes. This is also where the partition table is
for MBRs.
We only check the sector size and cluster size, as that seems to
be the most reliable across implementations, BPB versions and
platforms.
only because there's a partition table where the boot sector has
boot code. Boot sectors without boot code look like a MBR for all
practical purposes. This change adds a check for the partition table
and fails the probe when it's obvously invalid. The assumption being
that the sector contains a boot sector and not a MBR.
More checks are needed to distinguish a boot secto without boot code
from a (empty) MBR.
don't have it. Some partitioning schemes, as well as file systems,
operate on the geometry and without it such schemes (e.g. MBR)
and file systems (e.g. FAT) can't be created. This is useful for
memory disks.