double the size of a harddisk?

[Alma J Wetzker]

M.W. Chang wrote:
>>     "So this is old news :) Although the host-protected area (HPA) can 
>> be used
>>      for insidious purposes such as DRM/CPRM that is completely hidden 
>> from the
> 
> 
> I wonder whether one could use dd/fdisk/whatever to access that area 
> from linux. It seems that that area should have been locked out from 
> access by the harddisk's firmware.

That area needs to be accessed through the IDE port for basic testing and 
setup.  I am sure there are some low-level functions that allow access.

     -- Alma