[CLOSED] Clean Install - Setting Up Partitions

[Wirezfree]

Hello All,

I'm pretty new to Linux, approx 3 months, tried about 8/9 distros, mostly in Virtualbox. I do like the simplicity of Linux Lite.
I now want to install Linux Lite on my PC. I have tried more and more options & configurations with each distro I've tried.
One thing I want to do is set a partition structure that makes it easy for me do various backups without to much selection.

I plan to use the "other" option during install to set my partitions, but have some questions, I have "2" disks in the PC
The disks are completely clean now, no partitions.

The first thing is "Create Partition Table", do you do this for each disk, or is 1 selection/setting that covers both disks..??
Then create the partitions, all ext4, except swap is swap. Also remembering to make sda the boot device.

My plan is:
Disk1(sda)
/ root  @15/20GB
(leave remainder free space at present, but have a plan)

Disk2(sdb)
/ swap @ not sure on size yet, because I have not decided if I need hibernate, Linux Lite boots pretty quickly in VBox, not sure how it will be on real install)
/ home @ 5GB .??
/ data  @ 25GB (curently have @ 9.7GB of data to restore back)
/ media  @ 250GB (currently have @ 175GB of media to restore back)
(leave remainder free space at present, but have a plan)

If I create this structure during install, will the / data & / media partitions be recognised, and the mounts be created to / data & / media  .??

I want to move the "Home Folders" documents to data,  music, pictures, videos to media, I have seen Ubuntu Tweak,
I think this allows changing the location, or is there more to it...??, do I still have do edits to fstab.?
(( I just want to do it this way so I can just select more easily what and when to backup and to where I back things up ))

If this all works, I will just do do basic settings, network setup, add printer.

Then, my plan is to do another standard install into some of the free space,
I will use this install to test and do anything I'm unsure of, before doing it to the main install, hope this makes sense.?

Any comments, inputs, observations really welcome.

Thanks... Dave

[Install Partitioning & Completed - Will open NEW Topic]

[N4RPS]

Hello!

Although I personally don't create a bunch of separate partitions - just / and swap, this sounds like a VERY good plan. I create one large partition, and if I need to, I can always subdivide it later.

Who knows? If I had two drives at my disposal, I just might do it that way. You will have to implement a separate partition scheme for each drive. The partition editor allows you to switch back and forth between different drives. If you like, you can set up your partition structure before your begin your installation, using the Live CD.

On the first drive, you can divide it up any way you desire. Later, you can use the partition editor to 'grow' it to be larger. In each case, this will have to be done from within the Live CD.

On the second drive, just remember that you have a limit of four primary partitions. Any more than that, and you'll have to create the fourth partition as an 'extended' partition, and have the other new ones exist as logical drives in the extended partition.

As for the /home partition, I could be wrong, but I don't believe 5 GB will be enough space. Of course, that depends on what extra software you install.

Additionally, as pointed out by gold_finger, once the swap partition is created, if you need to make any changes, you'll have to switch the 'swap' partition 'off', as the Live CD tries to utilize this area if a swap partition has been previously configured.

I believe I've covered most all of the bases, but as always, if I've left anything out, then please, someone else 'chime in'...

73 DE N4RPS
Rob

[gold_finger]

The first thing is "Create Partition Table", do you do this for each disk, or is 1 selection/setting that covers both disks..??

Do it for both separately.  As N4RPS pointed out, you could use the GParted program from the live LL disk (Menu -> System -> Partition Drives) to create your partitions before the installation.  (Personally, I think that is easier than doing it from the installer.)  Here is a good tutorial for using that program:  GParted partitioning software - Full tutorial.  (You don't set mount points in GParted -- that gets done during installation.  To make identifying the partitions easier, give them labels with GParted.  You can label them with same names you are going to mount with if you want -- eg. DATA, MEDIA.)

You would still pick "Something else" option when installing.  Set the mount points and file system types.  Since you made them to desired sizes already, don't change the size.  Don't bother checking the box to format partitions -- you will have done that in GParted.  After doing that for each partition, set "Device for bootloader installation" to /dev/sda (no partition number after sda).  Double-check your entries, then click "Install now".

Then create the partitions, all ext4, except swap is swap.

Yes, unless you plan on sharing anything on the Data and Media partitions with a Windows computer.  If you do, you should format those as NTFS.  Windows can't use Linux formatted file systems.

Also remembering to make sda the boot device.

Yes.

If I create this structure during install, will the / data & / media partitions be recognised, and the mounts be created to / data & / media  .??

I've always added the mount points after the install.  Have never tried it during install, so don't really know the answer to that -- but I think you can.  If you do though, change the mount points from what you are planning -- especially the /media one.  /media already exists and that is where USB's and other removeable media get mounted when you plug them into the computer; so you can't use that.  Based on what you're planning to do, I would recommend mounting them to /mnt/DATA and mnt/MEDIA instead.  (I like using all caps for the names so they stand out when looking through file system, but you can name them differently if you want.)

Since I've never done mount points during an installation, I don't know if your username will own the mount points or if root will.  You may need to change ownership of them after you first bootup, before you can start creating files and linking (or binding) them to your /home/username directory.

I want to move the "Home Folders" documents to data,  music, pictures, videos to media

You'll need to create those directories/(folders) in their respective partitions first.  Then:
* If "symlinking" them to home, you would delete the existing ones in /home/username before symlinking the new ones.
* If "binding" the directories to home, you would keep the existing directories.

I have seen Ubuntu Tweak, I think this allows changing the location, or is there more to it...??, do I still have do edits to fstab.?

Sorry, not familiar with Ubuntu Tweak.  If you can set the mount points during the installation, then you probably won't need to change anything in /etc/fstab -- but I'm not sure of that.

Then, my plan is to do another standard install into some of the free space, I will use this install to test and do anything I'm unsure of, before doing it to the main install, hope this makes sense.?

That's fine.  Or you could install it to VirtualBox for testing things.


Bottom Line:

You did your homework well -- the plan looks good!  If you decide to go with a separate /home, 5GB should be fine for it and 15GB should be fine for / (root).  If you do away with /home partition, then make / = 20GB to be safe.  (Chances are good you won't come close to filling it at 20GB.)  Everything else looks good the way you have it.

Your plan is essentially the same as what I do.  (You're just putting different things in different places than me.)  My main desktop has 2 hard drives.  First one (/dev/sda) has one operating system with a root partition, room for two more distros' root partitions, and a main DATA partition.  The second drive (/dev/sdb) has a swap partition, one partition for ISO files, one for VirtualBox drives, one for data backups, one for /home directory backups (which I never bother doing), and 70GB of free space if I need it down the line for something else.  Here is what it looks like:

Code:

sda      8:0    0 298.1G  0 disk
├─sda1   8:1    0    25G  0 part /
├─sda2   8:2    0     1K  0 part
└─sda3   8:3    0 223.1G  0 part /mnt/DATA
sdb      8:16   0 596.2G  0 disk
├─sdb1   8:17   0     9G  0 part [SWAP]
├─sdb2   8:18   0   230G  0 part /media/bill/DataBackup
├─sdb3   8:19   0     1K  0 part
├─sdb5   8:21   0    40G  0 part /mnt/ISOs
├─sdb6   8:22   0    40G  0 part /media/bill/HomeBackups
└─sdb7   8:23   0   200G  0 part /mnt/VBoxHDs

(If you're wondering, sda2 and sdb3 are "extended" partitions.)

The DATA, ISOs and VBoxHDs partitions are automounted on boot and directories in them are bound to directories in the /home/bill directory for any distro installed to sda.  Home is part of the root partition because nothing but configuration files is actually located there.  (I used to use a separate partition for home as well, but found it to be a waste of space and effort.)  The DataBackup and HomeBackups partitions are not mounted on boot -- I only mount them when doing a backup.

If you plan on sticking with one Linux distro using the same desktop environment (Xfce in Linux Lite) for a long time, then having a separate /home partition makes sense.  Under that scenario, you are not likely to run into major problems with old config files conflicting with newer program versions that may come with an upgrade.  However, if you switch distros or desktop environments, they may pose problems if you try to re-use that /home partition without re-formatting it.

In my case, I don't do it because:
* I would only save 5-10 minutes over just re-installing and using my backups.
* All important data is kept elsewhere and ready to go in the 10 minutes it takes to set the mount points again.
* I keep backups of the select few program configs that I care about.
* I'm inclined to change things often enough and differently enough that I probably wouldn't be able to re-use the /home partition even if I did have it.

[Wirezfree]

Hi N4RPS & gold_finger,

Many Thanks to you both,

N4RPS,
all points noted.

gold_finger,
special thanks for all that detail, I guess being new, I have some some ideas
but you never know if that "great idea" today, creates an issue down the road.

I just need to give a little more thought to partitions & mounting,
Just to clarify,
To "auto mount" a partition requires entries in fstab config,
or once booted, you can select a partition and manually mount/un-mount.?

Noted on Virtualbox, I plan to use that,
I have a couple of things that I have yet to find a real replacement for,
Visio Pro, DIA looks promising, but still not quite sure yet.
MS Outlook, I'm unable to connect to my hosted Exchange account.
Evolution MAPI does not appear to work with https:/RPC connections
and my provider does not have "Auto Discover" option.

Again many Thanks...
Dave
and a 73 to N4RPS de G8LIY