Installing into a pre-defined partitions [SOLVED]

[Alan_uk]

Hi
I'm trying to install LL onto a new clean PC with EFI but with my own partitioning scheme. I first set the EFI to remove Secure Boot. Then booted with the Live CD and then ran GParted to format the HD as per:



I then ran the installation and selected Something Else. Now I'm stuck as I expected (hoped!) that I could select the appropriate partitions, in particular the root to install, the swap, and efi for the boot loader (if I understand that correctly)



Any help appreciated as I'm trying to get off XP

[Valtam]

We don't support EFI, you'll have to use legacy bios if you want to install LL

[Alan_uk]

Many thanks Valtam for a very quick reply.

We don't support EFI, you'll have to use legacy bios if you want to install LL.

SecureBoot is off and CSM is enabled and the Boot Device Control is set to UEFI and Legacy OpROM. The Boot from Storage Device is set to Legacy OpROM first.

Seems to me the PC is good to go for legacy and the efi partition can just sit there unused.

How do get LL to install into the partitions I've set up?

[Valtam]

You just need to give the ext4 partitions a mount point eg. root will be mounted to / work will be /work and so on. The windows partitions - give them a mount point, but don't format them. Click on the partition, then click the Change box, you'll see the mount and format options there during the install.

[gold_finger]

I then ran the installation and selected Something Else. Now I'm stuck as I expected (hoped!) that I could select the appropriate partitions, in particular the root to install, the swap, and efi for the boot loader (if I understand that correctly)

I'm guessing by that you meant that you couldn't see all the partitions, so couldn't select the ones you wanted.  Look to the far right of that box with partitions listed.  There is a scroll bar, meaning you can scroll down to see the ones you were looking for.  Once found, click to highlight the one you want, then follow Valtam's instructions for designating mount points, etc.

IMPORTANT:

Since it looks like you are planning to duel-boot with Windows, there are two things you need to confirm first.

1.  Which versions of Windows will be able to install to a GPT partitioned disk?  (I think only Win 7 and 8 -- so if planning to use anything earlier than those, confirm if it will first.)

2.  I believe (but am not 100% sure) that Windows will only install to a GPT disk in UEFI-mode (not Legacy)!  If that's the case, you'll need to wipe out your drive and re-partition using MBR partitioning.  (Don't forget to create a new "ms-dos" partition table first -- which GParted can do.)  Why?  Because Windows and Linux need to be installed in the same mode for booting to work properly.

If I'm wrong on point #2 and you can install Windows in Legacy-mode, then you will need to create two more partitions:

1.  If you are going to install in Legacy mode to a GPT partitioned disk, you need to add one more small Linux partition -- a "Bios Boot Partition".  (Not the same thing as the ESP -- EFI System Partition -- /dev/sda1 in your picture.)  See here for further explanation:  http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-gpt/.

2.  You will also need a "Microsoft Reserved" partition[/b] when using GPT partitions.  (Got that information from the manpage on gdisk.)

P.s.  Generally speaking, it's recommended that you install Windows first, Linux second.  Why?  From what I've read, sometimes people run into problem of it taking over whole drive and wiping out what was there.  (Probably caused by user error, but has happened frequently enough to merit warning.)  Also, you will lose the ability to boot Linux after the Windows install.  Not that big of a deal for experienced users, but can be quite frustrating for people unfamiliar with recovering from that.  If you need instructions for doing that, just post back.

[N4RPS]

Hello!

Gold_finger, you are dead on about Windows wanting to control EVERYTHING. It doesn't even CONSIDER that anything else might be there - which, like you said, is why Windows goes on first, and then tell you it to 'play nice' when it comes to Linux.

Linux, on the other hand, can comprehend that Windows is there, also...

73 DE N4RPS
Rob

[Alan_uk]

Thanks guys

Valtam: your suggestion to give the ext4 partitions a mount point was spot on. A note in the installation guide would help future newbies as well

Having set that the install failed at about 95% of copying files. Turned out the downloaded ISO was corrupted. Should have done a MD5. New ISO and it installed but wouldn't boot off the hard disk. Had to do the following:

1. define a small FAT16 partition at the front of the hard disk and set the flag to bios_grub - GParted set a minimum of 16MB.
    I did have sda4 for this in the original partition plan but thought maybe it ought to be a the start of the HD.
2. set the root partition flag to boot
3. set the "Device for boot loader installation" to /dev/sda
then reinstalled OK.

gold_finger: Thank you for your comprehensive advice. Windows is a final fall back, so I'm setting aside HD space just in case. I have some key data that I still want to use with some 16/32bit applications (e.g. accounts, emails). Option 1 is to try Wine; option 2: Virtual Box and XP (provided I can get it to run on a new h/w); option 3 is dual boot with Windows 7.

I had read about the need for a bios boot partition but not about a "Microsoft Reserved" partition - so thanks for that. Hopefully wont come to the need to install Win7.

Here's the final partitioning:



PS for some reason GParted keeps turning the label for sda3 into upper case - not important as I've hidden it.