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    #1

    allow more partitions

    Keep in mind im completely new to linux

    but when installing i noticed that you can only have 4 partions, 1 of which was my windows partition i had to leave alone. other than that I have 3 other partitions for /, swap, and /boot

    in a linux book i have it recommends having seperate partitions for /, /boot, swap, /var, /home, and /usr; 6 total, and then you would have another for your windows partition

    also there doesn't seem to be drivers for my samsung 19 inch syncmaster 930b monitor, which may be why i can't use the fglrx drivers for my 9600XT video card (P.S, if anyone has any solutions for that send me a message, thanks )
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    #2
    Re: allow more partitions

    Originally posted by BriGy86
    but when installing i noticed that you can only have 4 partions, 1 of which was my windows partition i had to leave alone. other than that I have 3 other partitions for /, swap, and /boot

    in a linux book i have it recommends having seperate partitions for /, /boot, swap, /var, /home, and /usr; 6 total, and then you would have another for your windows partition
    You can only have four primary partitions on one hard drive, but you can create extended partitions (they count as primary partitions) that can hold several logical partitions, similar to this:

    1. Primary Partition 1
    2. Extended (Primary) Partition 2
         2a. Logical Partition 1
         2b. Logical Partition 2
    3. Primary Partition 3
    etc...

    That said, in normal desktop use creating an advanced partition scheme can cause more problems than benefits, especially if you are not sure why you need them or how much space you'll need for different partitions. (On a server a more advanced scheme may be a good idea, but generally I recommend a simpler scheme for desktops...depending on your needs of course :P)

    It's usually a good idea to have a separate /home partition, which makes it easy to preserve personal files and configurations during possible reinstallations...of course you can back it up as well, which can be a pain if you have a lot of files
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      #3
      Re: allow more partitions

      I did make it some what like that, I had a primary for my windows OS and a primary for /. I made an extended partition for all other things like boot, var, home, swap, and usr. But after hitting next it still only gave me 4 options for partitions

      the book I have mainly talks about redhat and says this about the following partitions

      -It recommends at least 3 partitions (root, swap, and /boot)
      -5GB or more for the / partition
      -"consider creating a /boot partition that is about 100MB in size"
      -5GB or more for the /usr partition
      -make the /var partition over 3 GB
      -doesn't specify the size or range to make the home partition

      but then again, Most of these are the recommendations for redhat. I just figured since I was some what new to this that I should try to follow what the book says
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        #4
        Re: allow more partitions

        Originally posted by BriGy86
        I did make it some what like that, I had a primary for my windows OS and a primary for /.  I made an extended partition for all other things like boot, var, home, swap, and usr.  But after hitting next it still only gave me 4 options for partitions
        You mean it's a limitation of the installer?...In that case you might be better off with the (text-based) Alternate Install CD, it does give you more control of the installation procedure (including partitioning I assume)

        Is your Redhat book fairly recent (or a bit dated)?
        Some more advanced partitioning schemes are often recommended for historical reasons and are often just guidelines.

        For example, setting up a separate /boot partition at the end of disk was a necessity when there were restrictions on bios to boot beyond a certain part of the disk. Also it is sometimes useful if you have many different linux installations on the same machine. It may cause problems if you have several kernels installed and run out of space when updating kernels, for example.

        Also, having a separate /var is often useful for systems that function as servers (www or email servers for example)...but won't do much good if you're running a normal desktop system with one or a few users.

        The main problem with advanced partitions is that:
        1. You underestimate the space needed for a partition and run out of space
        2. You overestimate the need and just waste space

        As a guideline for kubuntu, I'd recommend something like:

        5-15 GB /
        0.5-1.0 GB swap
        the rest for /home

        Of course that depends greatly on how big your disk/freespace is...and also how much space you need in your /home for your personal data (photos, videos, music)
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          #5
          Re: allow more partitions

          the copyright is of 2005, so in the computer world I suppose it is somewhat out dated

          the book didn't really say whether it was focusing on servers or desktops for these partition set ups, and for just a simple desktop I would say your scheme makes more sense
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