• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Linux installation, please help!

U

UnitedAnarchy

Junior Member
I was installing Red Hat Linux 9 on my Windows 98 system, leaving windows installed and using the remaining disk space (2.6 GB) for Linux. When partitioning error messages appear saying there is not enough disk space available. I first tried a personal desktop installation and then a custom, neither worked.

I would appreciate any help. thanks.
 
This happened when you were building the linux partition in the installation?

Ok. I am note sure whats going on, but here are a couple things I can think of.

The easiest way to do it would be to make only 2 partitions: swap and root. So first pick 256megs for the swap and then select "the rest" for the root... You may think that you have 2.9 gigs left, but in reality it's set by sectors, so you may realy have 2.874 gigs or something like that.

Also don't forget that in x86 you can only have so many primary partitions(4), if you want more then 4 partitions set you need to make partition 4 the extended partition, so that the the partitions 5 and plus can use the space. Just like in the DOS fdisk.
 
setting up the partitions in disk druid, the windows 98 partition is presenteds as if it were taking up all the disk space. that is the part i dont get. its not possible
 
2.9 - 1.7 - .1 = 1.1
over a gig of swap partition space? you don't need that much. At most half that, in reality about 256 megs of swap space is all you ever would need. That thing were people say you should have double of your ram is old fasion when people need swap space since people were running with less then 32 megs... in fact with kernels 2.4 and newer you realy don't even need it a swap space is optional, but nice to have.

 
also a "choose everything" will populate about 3 gigs of space, so be frugal in what you pick. Redhat is as big as XP with all the service packs installed.
 
im not sure it is a matter of too much installation, i fooled around with the numbers just now, and set boot, swap and root to 1MB each. The same error appears. Druid is showing that all the disk space is occupied by windows 98, yet there is 2.62gb free on the hard drive itself when you look at the disk properties on windows 98.
 
So it's screwing up long before you get to copying the system files, eh?

when does it realy happen, right after you use disk druid and try to write the new partition to the harddrive, or is it geeking out during the partitioning stuff?
 
how many partitions all together are you trying to create? If you got just one windows partition, making a boot, swap, and root partition is going to use up the allowed partitions as dictated by the limitations of x86. However if you have 2 windows partitions you will not have enough partitions to create all that you need... so you need to make partition 4 a extended partition that will use up the entire remaining space, then you divide that up between the rest of the partitions...

Other then that you can try to get into a console. Try using alt+ctl+F2 to get into a console and using the command cfdisk /dev/hda or fdisk /dev/hda. then after you get the partitions set up, just reboot after you write them to the disk, then don't partition it next time around.

were hda = your harddrive. If for instance you have your harddrive the primary slave IDE device, then it would be hdb. It goes in the order of the alphabet, hda hdb hdc hdd, your cdrom will also be one of those hd* devices, too. (plus partitions just add a number, hda1, hdd4, etc, etc.)

Maybe disk druid is just geeking out on you...
 
Originally posted by: UnitedAnarchy
Druid is showing that all the disk space is occupied by windows 98, yet there is 2.62gb free on the hard drive itself when you look at the disk properties on windows 98.
Click to expand...
You're getting errors because there's no free space on the disk at the partition level. It doesn't matter that there's free space in Win 98 - that's within the Windows partition and Linux can't use that. You need to shrink the Windows partition in order to make space for new partitions. Partition Magic can do this in a friendly way if you've got a copy. There's a free utility called "fips" that will do the same things. Also GNU's "parted". However you handle it, you'll want to shrink the Win 98 partition by about 2 GB or so, and then create the Linux partitions within the new free space.

 
Originally posted by: cleverhandle
Originally posted by: UnitedAnarchy
Druid is showing that all the disk space is occupied by windows 98, yet there is 2.62gb free on the hard drive itself when you look at the disk properties on windows 98.
Click to expand...
You're getting errors because there's no free space on the disk at the partition level. It doesn't matter that there's free space in Win 98 - that's within the Windows partition and Linux can't use that. You need to shrink the Windows partition in order to make space for new partitions. Partition Magic can do this in a friendly way if you've got a copy. There's a free utility called "fips" that will do the same things. Also GNU's "parted". However you handle it, you'll want to shrink the Win 98 partition by about 2 GB or so, and then create the Linux partitions within the new free space.
Click to expand...


wow, your smart

I completely missed that.
 
Also, Redhat 9's personal desktop installation takes about 1700 megs of space. Not sure where you got the 1.2 gb from. You'll definetly want to have some free space, go for at least a 2 gig /
 
I am deffinetly going to try those programs, Cleverhandle. And windows seems only to have 1 partition leaving 3 slots for boot, swap and root for Linux. I just got a response from the red hat technician and it seems that the FAT 32 format that my disk is running has something to do with the discombobulation of the partition and free space, being that Red Hat can't recognize it. I will try those programs first though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top