[hannaframmis]

hey all...i'm trying to install Linux for the first time and i am quite confused on the partitioning process. i'm using Ubuntu - not sure how the other distro installs are set-up, so my question is at least partially Ubuntu-specific...

i have Wxp, with a 40g master hd and a 120 gig slave hd, that was formatted into 2 partitions when i installed it (80g/40g), with the intent of installing Linux on the 40g partition and using a dual boot system.. when i load the Ubuntu cd, and i get to the partitioning part, i get quite lost, and i have been unable to find specific how-to's on this particular step (prolly coz it's so basic). several questions, not necessarily in order (coz i can't refer back to the areas i'm confused about while i post this):

- i do not see how to subdivide this 40g drive in order to create a small partition for a swap file nor am i clear on what is meant by "mount a partition on /".

- i am not clear on the appropriate usage method or file system, relative to the way i want to set this up.

- i am also not clear on where the RAID step comes into play as well as the file volume step that appears beneath it on the Partition Disk screen.

can anyone either clarify this are for me or point me to a faq/tutorial/how-to that explains this area a bit more clearly (like, step by step)?

the Ubuntu site does not seem to go into this in any detail, so i'm scrapping around for anything i can find - thanks for any input anyone may have

[saikee]

Generally from a frest start you need to provide 2 partitions to install a Linux.

The main partition normally needs about 5Gb large (all of my 26 Linux are 5Gb each including Ubruntu) and a swap of the size 2 to 3 times your physical memory. Thus a 2Gb swap will do if you having 1 GB ram. The swap partition is common to all Linux and I have one swap serving the 26 distros.

Linux operates a filing system like a tree and the "/" is its root. Therefore by assigning a partition for "/" you effectively instruct Ubruntu to install in it.

There are two ways you can install a Linux; single partition or multi partitions.

One can put various parts of a Linux tree-like filing system on more than one partitions like "/root", "/home".... etc. Alternatively just provide one partition so that Linux put everyting in it. I prefer the single partition as it is simpler and easier to maintain for newbies. It works well if you play around with more than one Linux.

Installing Linux can be very simple. In my case I partition the hard disks, with the exception of one swap partition, in standard size of 5Gb each. Get one Linux and install it in one partition and so on. My 200Gb disk has over 40 partitions. Grub can boot all of them including any number of Windows and DOS you can find. The other Linux bootloader Lilo can boot 15 systems. Using XP's NTloader you can boot 10 systems. Grub is by far the easiest of the three to work with.

My suggestion to you is do not allocate all the hard disk space. You can have part of the hard disk "unallocated". Install Ubruntu first and then use Linux's cfdisk command to do future partition work. Life is a lot easier once you have a Linux up and running.

As a rule it is much harder to squeeze hard disk space from an operating system after it has been installed. Personal data should always be stored in a partition without any operating system in it so that it can be shared by all operating systems.

You can read a book on how to install a Linux or just have the 5Gb partition ready and follow the installer instructions carefully.

[hannaframmis]

Originally Posted by saikee

Generally from a frest start you need to provide 2 partitions to install a Linux.

The main partition normally needs about 5Gb large (all of my 26 Linux are 5Gb each including Ubruntu) and a swap of the size 2 to 3 times your physical memory. Thus a 2Gb swap will do if you having 1 GB ram. The swap partition is common to all Linux and I have one swap serving the 26 distros.

Linux operates a filing system like a tree and the "/" is its root. Therefore by assigning a partition for "/" you effectively instruct Ubruntu to install in it.

There are two ways you can install a Linux; single partition or multi partitions.

One can put various parts of a Linux tree-like filing system on more than one partitions like "/root", "/home".... etc. Alternatively just provide one partition so that Linux put everyting in it. I prefer the single partition as it is simpler and easier to maintain for newbies. It works well if you play around with more than one Linux.

Installing Linux can be very simple. In my case I partition the hard disks, with the exception of one swap partition, in standard size of 5Gb each. Get one Linux and install it in one partition and so on. My 200Gb disk has over 40 partitions. Grub can boot all of them including any number of Windows and DOS you can find. The other Linux bootloader Lilo can boot 15 systems. Using XP's NTloader you can boot 10 systems. Grub is by far the easiest of the three to work with.

My suggestion to you is do not allocate all the hard disk space. You can have part of the hard disk "unallocated". Install Ubruntu first and then use Linux's cfdisk command to do future partition work. Life is a lot easier once you have a Linux up and running.

As a rule it is much harder to squeeze hard disk space from an operating system after it has been installed. Personal data should always be stored in a partition without any operating system in it so that it can be shared by all operating systems.

You can read a book on how to install a Linux or just have the 5Gb partition ready and follow the installer instructions carefully.

thanks for the reply...

so, if choose the option in the Ubuntu partition menu to delete the current 40g partition, thereby making it free space, will i then be given the option to divide it as i wish, including designating swap space? and by designating it bootable, does that mean i will be given the choice of Ubuntu (from that drive) or XP (from C drive) upon booting?

[saikee]

I can't remember how Ubruntu did it but nearly all the distros I come across can permit a user to partition the drive any way one wants. Some of them offer cfdisk which is one of the most powerful partition tool. I used cfdisk to divide my hard drive into 43 partitions and 2/3 of them have been filled. Ubruntu should name your master disk as hda and your slave hdb or hdc or hde depending where you attach it to the IDE cable.


In general you don't need to make the partition bootable because the Grub installed in MBR by Ubruntu will boot the system and provide you the choice to boot Linux or XP.

A standard Linux (full size like Ubruntu) will check every partition of your hard disk and include the partition for booting if there is a bootloader inside. Thus Windows is always picked out. It is a 3-line job to include an operating system to boot in a Linux bootloader, be it Grub or Lilo. My Ubruntu 4.2 uses the Grub 0.95 and I expect yours should be the same.

If you have any problem with Grub, read up "Linux in a niutshell" or Grub manual here

[hannaframmis]

ok - got it sorted out...thanks for the help. my mistake was setting aside a partition, rather than leaving free space for the installer to partition. thanks again!