If you are not very geek, and want to simply add Linux to your existing desktop/ laptop computer (alongside Windows, probably) then you may not want to even bother with this step. Simply boot with Ubuntu LiveCD, select the option to install, and when prompted for how to use your disk space, select the option to use a percentage of free space.
However, if you are setting up a brand new computer (or don’t mind wiping an existing one) then read on:
First, I’ll cut to the chase (let me tell you what I am going to do, and then I’ll explain it):
Partitions, in order on the hard disk:
optional: from the beginning: 20 GB, no type (for Windows, if you must)
from the end: 16 GB swap (for swap – your size should be physical memory * 2)
optional: from the end: 2 GB Fat16 (for DOS access, if you like)
from the end: 10 GB ext3 mount: /media/testpart (for testing other Linux installations in the future, etc)
remaining space: ext3 mount: / (this is where you will be installing Linux)
continuing..
I found after I had played with Linux for a few weeks, that I wish I had partitioned my hard drive beyond the defaults that the Ubuntu installer offered (partitions on a hard drive are basically breaking it into separate sections, so you can safely work with multiple different operating systems (XP, Vista, Linux, different versions) without too much of a headache).
So a quick reformat and a fresh start was what I needed… but the Ubuntu partitioning system was just a bit lacking (it always wanted to re-use the whole drive, and manual mode was not doing what I wanted it to on certain sytems). So I went in search of alternatives:
There is a Linux LiveCD out there specifically for repairing broken computers. It’s worth adding to your toolkit, so get it, “System Rescue CD”. Our purpose is to use it for partitioning our new PC.
Boot it up, and select the partitioning application. I went with the configuration listed above, but you can do it however you like – this is what worked best for me.
***** Setup the Hard Drive:
Run System Rescue CD
Create Partitions for: XP, Linux, Swap, Fat16
They are physically in the order NTFS(for XP), Ext3 (Linux), Swap, FAT16
However, with the GPart tool I used, It was easiest to create first the NTFS (at the front), then create the FAT16
at the end, followed by the SWAP at the end (before, and next to the FAT16), that way ALL remaining space was for the EXT3 for Linux.
I created (with 100GB drive)
- 15GB NTFS Partition for XP
- 2GB FAT16 at the end
- 4GB Swap at the end (but before the newly created FAT16)
- 74GB EXT3, Ubuntu will go here
Why the FAT16? Why Not?… I am not sure, I just don’t want to go through all this again, and it is only 2GB. It may never be used. I can read/ write NTFS from Ubuntu (my Linux distro), and I can read EXT3 from XP.
Once I had it partitioned, I rebooted and installed (shhhh) Windows XP into that 20GB partition. And then rebooted with my Ubuntu CD, and haven’t booted into Windows XP since.
Before you give me a hard time, the truth of the world as it is today is that Windows is king. I have a license for it, so I might as well install it. I may eventually run into something, some app, some driver, that requires Windows. It is MUCH easier to have it there already, then trying to figure out how to load it, breaking Grub (the Ubuntu bootloader), and trying to then fix it back later.
I know, I can run XP in a virtual – in fact, I DO run it in a virtual for testing and what not. Sometimes, you need to boot into it in a non-virtual, so there it is.
Moving on…
