how should i set up my linux partitions?

[Walleye]

this is a 40 gig hard drive. i wont be using too much of it in XP pro (probably 20 gigs total) so how should i set it up for Linux?

and what should i use to partition it? this is a single hard drive, and i'm running XP PRO on it currently (i know i'll have to reinstall windows) I'm installing Mandrake as my first dip into the pool of Linux.

i just finished the downloads of all the Linux Distributions i want.

Knoppix
Mandrake 9.1
RedHat 9
Debian (all 7 cds)
FreeBSD
Slackware...


will Knoppix work if my HDD is NTFS formatted?

 

[Walleye]

and how do i get to the Knoppix CD if i dont want to change my primary boot device? use an MSDOS boot disk?

EDIT: Never mind.

 

[slycat]

yes
erm..to your 1st question
and its self bootable so why u need a msdos bootdisk?

 

[Walleye]

wow, Knoppix is awesome. i have no idea how to do anything, but this is cool.


konquerer sucks, though

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: slycat
yes
erm..to your 1st question
and its self bootable so why u need a msdos bootdisk?

i forgot about the f-8 boot menu. sorry about that.

 

[Walleye]

so about my original question...

how should i set up my linux partitions?

 

[notfred]

I usually just do 2x RAM size for swap, and a big giant /

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: notfred
I usually just do 2x RAM size for swap, and a big giant /

looks at you blankly


huh?


i was told somewhere that i need 2 partitions, one for operating system files, and one for regular files.

is that information flawed?

 

[Jugernot]

You want at least the following:

100megs for /boot
1000megs for /home
2000megs for /usr
2000megs for /
512megs for swap

Of course this all depends on the size of your drive. These are the lowest figures you'd want, so you don't run into space issues.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Walleye

Originally posted by: notfred
I usually just do 2x RAM size for swap, and a big giant /

looks at you blankly


huh?


i was told somewhere that i need 2 partitions, one for operating system files, and one for regular files.

is that information flawed?

You need a swap partition, and at least one other partition. You can have more than one other partition if you like. I usuallly jsut do the one, and set it's mount point to "/". IF yo uwant to seperate things, you can make "/usr" a seperate partition, or "/boot" or even make up your own nonstandard things.. you could have a "/mickeymouse" mount point for a partition if you wanted. All you need, though, is a swap partition with no mount point, and a big "/" partition.

If you have no idea, you might jsut want to select "auto".

 

[Walleye]

i have no idea. hell, i just barely built the computer a week ago....

 

[slycat]

for newbies i recommend 3 partitions.

boot - 100+
swap - as mentioned by others, 256 or little more...2x ram is too much
root - everything else.

 

[Walleye]

what utility should i use to format the drive?

the one included on the XP cd? will that work?

or do i need to use a different utility?

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: slycat
for newbies i recommend 3 partitions.

boot - 100+
swap - as mentioned by others, 256 or little more...2x ram is too much
root - everything else.

the ram on this system is only 256.

 

[Walleye]

where's the article "Dual Booting Linux and XP" or something like that? i think that would help me greatly....

 

[Walleye]

where's the article "Dual Booting Linux and XP" or something like that? i think that would help me greatly....

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Walleye
what utility should i use to format the drive?

the one included on the XP cd? will that work?

or do i need to use a different utility?

Just start the linux installer from whatever distro you're using, and when it gets to the partitioning section, select "auto".

Linux does not use NTFS or FAT32 partitons, you can not make ext2 or ext3 partitions in windows. Also, linux does not have drive letters. it has a root "/" and directories inside of that root. You can not build an equivelent filesystem in windows. You have to start the linux installer to set it up.
(ok, you may be able to make ext2 partitions with partition magic, but it's a lot easier to do it in the linux installation app)

 

[Walleye]

damn, i made most these posts in Knoppix on Konquerer....

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Walleye
what utility should i use to format the drive?

the one included on the XP cd? will that work?

or do i need to use a different utility?

Just start the linux installer from whatever distro you're using, and when it gets to the partitioning section, select "auto".

Linux does not use NTFS or FAT32 partitons, you can not make ext2 or ext3 partitions in windows. Also, linux does not have drive letters. it has a root "/" and directories inside of that root. You can not build an equivelent filesystem in windows. You have to start the linux installer to set it up.
(ok, you may be able to make ext2 partitions with partition magic, but it's a lot easier to do it in the linux installation app)

then how do i set aside space for XP?

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: Walleye
where's the article "Dual Booting Linux and XP" or something like that? i think that would help me greatly....

Text

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Walleye

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Walleye
what utility should i use to format the drive?

the one included on the XP cd? will that work?

or do i need to use a different utility?

Just start the linux installer from whatever distro you're using, and when it gets to the partitioning section, select "auto".

Linux does not use NTFS or FAT32 partitons, you can not make ext2 or ext3 partitions in windows. Also, linux does not have drive letters. it has a root "/" and directories inside of that root. You can not build an equivelent filesystem in windows. You have to start the linux installer to set it up.
(ok, you may be able to make ext2 partitions with partition magic, but it's a lot easier to do it in the linux installation app)

then how do i set aside space for XP?

XP should already be installed by the time you start installing linux. Just don't delete it's partition.

 

[Walleye]

oh, and one last thing before i take the nose dive... should i kick myself in the ass and try debian right off, or should i go with Mandrake before i take the plunge?

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Walleye

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Walleye
what utility should i use to format the drive?

the one included on the XP cd? will that work?

or do i need to use a different utility?

Just start the linux installer from whatever distro you're using, and when it gets to the partitioning section, select "auto".

Linux does not use NTFS or FAT32 partitons, you can not make ext2 or ext3 partitions in windows. Also, linux does not have drive letters. it has a root "/" and directories inside of that root. You can not build an equivelent filesystem in windows. You have to start the linux installer to set it up.
(ok, you may be able to make ext2 partitions with partition magic, but it's a lot easier to do it in the linux installation app)

then how do i set aside space for XP?

XP should already be installed by the time you start installing linux. Just don't delete it's partition.

it took the whole drive...

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Walleye
oh, and one last thing before i take the nose dive... should i kick myself in the ass and try debian right off, or should i go with Mandrake before i take the plunge?

Not to be offensive or anything, but since you don't even know how the directory structure works, I say you should dtart with mandrake

 

[slycat]

i created a few quad boots for work QA purposes...

Win98
WinNT
Win2000
Linux

and

Win98
Win2000
WinXP
Linux

...its fun