Jump to content

Another Partitioning Question - newbie [solved]


baillie
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi,

 

Yet another linux newbie looking for advice. ( you've probably heard it all by now! )

 

Anyway, I have a 55.8Gb Hard Drive currently one partition, with Win XP installed, 1Gb of RAM, AMD Athlon 64 3200, XP currently uses around 25Gb, but that includes around 10Gb of My Documents stuff. Formatted NTFS. I've had enough of reinstalling XP, so want to see what all the fuss is about!

 

I will be using Mandrake Linux 10.1 Community Edition from a Magazine DVD.

 

The one point which is stopping me taking the plunge straight away is all the formatting stuff, I have Partition Magic 8 installed and ready to go, but am not sure how to go! I would like the XP partition to be around 20Gb, a second partition for my files would be shared between the two OS's (FAT32?) My Documents will be moved here, which would be around 20GbGb again, and the rest can belong to linux - 15Gb.

 

I have read a lot of different websites, and topics in this forum, and although they have helped I am still a bit confused, mainly with this screen: http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/193/6.gif

 

How should I go about partitioning the HD, do I reduce the NTFS partition to 20Gb (I will remove My Docs first), create a new partiton for my files in FAT32, and leave the rest untouched, and choose "Use Free Space" in the above screenshot, will the installer do the rest?

 

How long should this all take, assuming everything goes trouble free?

 

Sorry for asking such a long question, :zzz: but I don't want to mess up my system by doing something stupid!

 

Where is the forum for idiots when you need one!?

 

Anybody who took the time to read through all of that should get a medal, Thanks.

 

:thanks:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, first things first.

 

Linux will see FAT32 and NTFS. However, Linux can only write to the FAT32, it cannot to NTFS without third party utils, and this isn't advisable, as something could go wrong!

 

Now, if you can resize to 20GB with Partition Magic, go for it. I've done this. Then move any files you want to the FAT32 which is your data. I assume you would want to save here with Linux, so FAT32 is the way to go.

 

Then I suggest, do not use the Community Edition, but download the Official Edition, this is much better - lots of probs with the Community one!

 

Go through the install, it will ask about partitioning, choose the option where you control it. You can then click the auto button if you like, and it will do the rest for you.

 

Then continue through the install. Let LILO be the boot loader (looks nice), and make sure it goes to the MBR and nowhere else. Once you see the last screen with all your hardware settings, make sure the Graphics is configured, else you could have lots of probs!

 

Make sure if when configuring graphics it asks about starting XOrg automatically, make sure you say yes! Otherwise you will just get a CLI prompt to login to. However, you could type "startx" at this point, and XOrg would start. Up to you how you prefer manual start or automatic!!!

 

And then sit back and enjoy!! :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then I suggest, do not use the Community Edition, but download the Official Edition, this is much better - lots of probs with the Community one!

The official version is 4 CD's correct?, I'd be here for years if I tried that, what sort of problems are there, and can I get the official version by updating online after I have installed the CE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At www.linuxiso.org, there are downloadable 3 CD's for 10.1 Official.

 

Both releases are different, you wouldn't be able to use update to change it to Official.

 

I don't know if you have broadband or a fast link, but these are the better ones to use. I've seen many a post where people don't recommend the community release for one reason or another.

 

Over 512Kbps broadband it did take the best part of 12 hours for me to get all 3 ISO's to create CD's from.

 

If you have broadband, I'd recommend downloading them, it'll be worth it in the long run, and a lot less problems!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could set all three off at the same time, that is what I did. Then you don't have to worry about the delay in the morning for the others!

 

Have fun :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could set all three off at the same time, that is what I did. Then you don't have to worry about the delay in the morning for the others!

 

My router wouldn't appreciate that!, I can always set my alarm for around 5, set the next ones off, and go back to sleep, by the time I normally get up they should be done!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both releases are different, you wouldn't be able to use update to change it to Official.

sorry, but this is not correct. you can upgrade from e.g. 10.0 CE to 10.0 OE to 10.1 CE to 10.1 OE to LE2005 via the web, using the easyurpmi tool. (see head of page link)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

best layout for your partitioning would be:

 

|| windows xp | fat32 share partition | swap (double ram size) | linux /root partition | linux /home ||

 

the root partition should be somewhere between 2 and 5 gb (depending on the number of apps you want to install later)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi arctic,

 

Thanks for the correction, from what I read previously, I didn't think it was possible. I now stand corrected. :P

 

Would his best route be to install CE and then update to OE, or just go with OE first to save the hassle of the upgrade?

 

This would mean that in the future, should he ever rebuild, he has the OE CD's, and therefore wouldn't have to download all the updates again?

Edited by ianw1974
Link to comment
Share on other sites

well, i only downloaded the 10.0 and 10.1 CE isos when i wanted to upgrade later to the official edition. just do a normal 10.1 CE installation, then go to easyurpmi, set your mirrors for 10.1 OE and follow the instructions and you will have 10.1 OE in less than two hours (including all updates completed)

from the command line, you can simply type as root "urpmi --auto-select" and let the box take over for the rest of the job. and if you want to update to LE2005, set your easyurmpi mirrors for LE2005 and run from a command line as root "urpmi --auto --auto-select" and relax. it is that simple. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

best layout for your partitioning would be:

 

|| windows xp | fat32 share partition | swap (double ram size) | linux /root partition | linux /home ||

 

So i have my Win XP NTFS partition (20Gb), which I make smaller by resizing, I then create another FAT32 partition (20Gb), can I leave the remaining space free (15ish Gb) (ie not formatted), and the installer will create the other partitions for me, or do I need to set up the swap, root and home in PM8.

 

Is a swap area really necessary as I have 1Gb of RAM already?

 

As i will probably switch between Windows and Linux quite a lot can't i just store all/most of my files on the FAT32 partition, and put my /home and /root onto the same partition, is this possible?, I know i would loose my data if something happened to that partition.

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just set your swap as a nominal 500mbs even though you likely don't need it.

 

Hello Arctic, while I agree with you entirely about the ability of doing a urpmi upgrade, like adamW, I too feel that downloading the latest ISOs for Mandriva 2005 LE is the better move.

As a newbie one tends to make numerous mistakes and screw up the OS a heck of a lot.

With a set of discs they can reinstall easily.

By just urpming to upgrade, after a couple of reinstalls you soon realise that you will have spent much more time online than the basic one of just getting the ISOs in the first place.

 

Even when I upgrade using urpmi, I always either download the iso sets or buy a set of discs since they are cheap enough anyway. It has saved a lot of hassle. I should receive the Mandriva 6 cd set tomorrow and its first use is to do a clean install of it on a friends computer.

Another friend is having me build a new machine for her and she wants Mandriva on it too.

So a disc set is an excellent way to go.

 

Cheers. John.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

do I need to set up the swap, root and home in PM8. ... Is a swap area really necessary as I have 1Gb of RAM already?

no. mandriva will take care of this with its own partition manager. and only if you plan on some heavy ram using processes, like advanced graphic design or video editing or compiling packages for operating systems you might need a swap.

As i will probably switch between Windows and Linux quite a lot can't i just store all/most of my files on the FAT32 partition, and put my /home and /root onto the same partition, is this possible?,

yes, you can if you want to. but you could also create a minimal /home partition with only e.g. 500 mb where you store your emails etc. ;)

... while I agree with you entirely about the ability of doing a urpmi upgrade, like adamW, I too feel that downloading the latest ISOs for Mandriva 2005 LE is the better move.

you are probably right, but when upgrading from CE to OE via easyurpmi there should be no problems. but it is always nice to have some isos at hand if you are willing to download the set again. i was just pointing out that a new download is not really necessary but a "luxury-option".

 

:beer:

Edited by arctic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

no. mandriva will take care of this with its own partition manager. and only if you plan on some heavy ram using processes, like advanced graphic design or video editing or compiling packages for operating systems you might need a swap.

 

I will go with a 512Mb swap, will probably not need it, but better to have it than discover I need it later.

 

yes, you can if you want to. but you could also create a minimal /home partition with only e.g. 500 mb where you store your emails etc. ;)

 

Never thought of that thanks.

 

As for the CD issue, I think i will go with my current CE set, it will take me too long to download the 3 CD's, and will use a good chunk of my download quota this month. I can update once I am up and running.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...