SOLVED - What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

[Oceanwatcher]

I am about to change the harddrive in my laptop and I want to set up a dual boot with Kubuntu and WinXP. I am researching a bit regarding partitioning and what version of Kubuntu to install.

First of all - I will not run anything very critical on the Kubuntu part. BUT - It can not crash and render my harddrive unbootable or destroy all data. I want to have one partition for XP, one for Kubuntu and one for data. So the /home folder will be on a separate partition shared with XP.

So.. If I install 8.10 now, how easy will it be to upgrade to 9.04 later?

If I install 9.04 now, is it easy to keep it updated as new versions come out?

My laptop is a Dell XPS M1210 with a core2 duo proc. , nVidia GeForce Go 7400 grapchics board and 2GB RAM. The new harddrive will be a 320GB drive.

Regarding partitioning:

How would you partition your drive?

I need the following partitions:

WinXP - 50GB?
MediaDirect - 3-5GB
Kubuntu - 50GB?
Swap -
Data - the rest

I am not sure about the requirements for the MediaDirect partition. Maybe I should do that install first? What can be primary partitions here? As far as I know, there are limits to how many primary partitions you can have. Any suggestions for this setup? I want to make sure I get as little problems as possible in the future and I will try to install Windows XP in such a way that the whole Documents and Settings folder get installed on the Data partition.

The new harddrive is currently blank. I have considered doing an image of the current harddrive, but leaning more towards a totally new installation as this will also clean up everything nicely.

[DeathKitten]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

You probably don't need that much space for the Kubuntu partition. I've got my current desktop set up with a 30GB drive for Kubuntu, and my other 200GB drive set up for my /home, and I'm probably only using a third of the 30GB drive for Kubuntu.

It's been a long time since I've done a windows dual boot, like way back in the days of Red Hat 7, so I'm going to have to let you wait for someone a little more knowledgeable to weigh in on that... but I do remember hearing that Windows throws a huge temper tantrum if it is not the primary partition on a hard drive. Also, since you're looking to set up the Window's Documents and Settings folders onto your shared data partition, I *know* that's something that has to be specified during the Windows install process, it's a serious pain, involving editing the registry, to move it after the fact.

As for the partitioning, I know that there is something built into the Kubuntu install discs that usually keep me happy, but given that you're going to have multiple installs to go through, you probably want a stand alone partitioning program. The one I hear most people swear by would be partition magic. Since that MediaDirect part is Dell proprietary, you might consider leaving that partition alone, and just deleting the other partitions in the name of dividing the space needed for your dual boot.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you though: Make sure you create any backup and recovery discs that Dell/XP prompts you to make the first time you boot up the laptop, or you can find options for in the system, before you start mucking around with reinstalls and repartitions. That way when you screw something up, you can start over easy enough. I only say "when you screw up" because I know even a Linux veteran makes mistakes when doing installs, and the thing that differentiates the newbies from the veterans in cases like that is the veterans know what to do to find the answer they need, where to go to start over fresh, or aren't afraid to just play around until they get it right.

Good luck!

[dibl]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Hey DK!


@Oceanwatcher, there are several FAQs in the "Top 20 FAQs" link in my signature that cover your questions pretty well. Check them out, and then let us know if there are still problems.

[ukchucktown]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Another possibility worth considering is VirtualBox. I was going to build a dual boot system and decided on VirtualBox with Kubuntu as host and a Vista guest. VirtualBox supports flexible disk and network setups and no complaints with performance. I gave Vista 1 gig of 3 gig on a Lenovo T61. I've been streaming HD video from ncaa.com on the Vista guest all day and no lag.

Grant

[muzicman0]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

definitely do the media direct partition first. Hopefully it will work, I know MD is picky on how the partitions are set up. I have 2 160GB drives, and my Kubuntu OS partition is 10 GB, which seems to be plenty. I have 100 GB for vista, which is overkill, and 40 GB for my home, with the rest being swap. Then the other disk is formatted in NTFS, and I use simlinks from my home directory to my vista 'documents', 'music', 'pictures', and 'downloads' folders. This way I keep them separate from Linux, but are perfectly usable.

I really never boot into windows, so I don't know why I keep it around. I used to keep it for video and audio editing, but I haven't done any for a while...oh well...

mm0

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Thank you for the answers so far. VirtualBox would not do it for me. I am going to use the XP part for video editing and can not afford to loose any speed at all. I don't even think it would work at all with VB.

So XP will definitely have a primary partition. BTW - I think I mentioned it, but this install will be done on a totally new harddrive. The old one will be kept until the new install is finished and working well. After that I will keep it as a backup. So there is no reinstall and no repartitioning. I am thinking about using Gparted live CD to do the partitioning.

Also, when I bought the laptop from Dell, I requested physical media with Windows XP and drivers so that I would not get into any trouble when I needed to do a new install :-) So that part is covered.

And yes, I know that I have to decide where to put Documents and Settings during install. I found the description on the MS site. This is one of the reasons why I am going to do a fresh install instead of imaging the old one.

What about the choice of Kubuntu 8.10 or 9.04? If I install 9.04 now, do I have to reinstall it for every new alpha/beta/rc, or is it as easy as just letting the automatic updater run to stay updated?

I am beginning to organize partitions now. This is what I am thinking:

1. MediaDirect - unsure if it needs a primary partition - NTFS - 3-5GB
2. Windows XP - Primary - NTFS - 50GB
3. Kubuntu - Primary - Ext3 - 30GB
4. Swap - Extended - swap - How big?
5. Data - Extended - NTFS - the rest of the space

Will this work?

[ukchucktown]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

I would definitely go 9.04 on a brand new install. It has a few issues but I find updating pretty simple and the final release is only a few weeks out. I'm new to Kubuntu, came from Gentoo, and I like 9.04. It's the best KDE 4.2 distro I have tried. For the most part it worked out of the box.

I've always liked debian distros. I do updating from the command line with apt-get but it's pretty easy with the GUI tools too.

You don't need a lot of space for Kubuntu, 10 gig is probably plenty if you don't plan on installing a bunch of additional packages. How you partition the rest is up to you. XP doesn't need more than 10 or 20 gig if you plan to keep the data on a separate partition, 50 gig is overkill if you ask me unless you get rid of the data partition.

I would devote most of it to your data partition(s). You could also create a separate partition for /home in linux. I would personally create 2 data partitions, one for linux and one for windows along with partitions for the os and files. The other choice is ditch the data partitions and make the os partitions bigger. That's an easier setup.

Grant

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Great! So I will go for Kubuntu 9.04. Have to start downloading. Takes some time on the slow line here in the mountains.

Also read some disturbing stuff about the MediaDirect button. Some people report that pressing it rewrites the MBR and if it do not find it's own partition, it do not return to normal state again... Also, the reinstall CD for MD is needed to partiton the harddrive first, then install Windows and then install MD! So that has to be done before I can start installing Kubuntu. Wow...

I actually wish there was a way to figure out how to get that button to boot a very small Linux distro that focused on playing DVD's. That would be a cool little thing and I think a lot of people would appreciate it!

I will try to chase Dell on this one to see if they will tell me what to do about it. I do not like the possibility of having this button that can possibly wreck my whole installation.... :-(

[Fintan]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

My partitioning goes as such:
Kubuntu 8.10 (/): 14gig
Kubuntu 9.04 (/) : 14gig
Data (Fat32): 200gig
Swap: 2gig
/home : 50gig (Having a separate /home has a lot of advantages )

Using gparted live is a safe choice and my Kubuntu 9.04 since alpha 4 updated to alpha 6 is stable and fast.

Just my 2 cents

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Appreciate the input a lot.

So it makes sense having a /home partition..

Getting up to a few partitions now :-) Will definitely go for 9.04 as it seems to be ok. Looking forward to try it! Will try it as a live CD first.

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Have downloaded 9.04 Aplha 6 now and tested it by running from the CD. Boots just fine and looks very nice!! I am impressed so far!

Have been looking at some threads in the Notebookreview forums, and there seem top be ways to get the MediaDirect button to boot Ubuntu/other OS'es. Some has also said that after a chat with Dell support they were told that if you just deleted the whole partition, the MediaDirect button would not do anything at all. So I think I will gamble on one thing.

On my current harddrive, the MediaDirect partition is the third partition. I will place Kubuntu on that partition. In the said forum, it is mentioned that GRUB should be on the same partition. Is this easy to do during install? Can it result in any problems?

One thing I am wondering about is a very small FAT16 partition at the beginning of my current harddrive. It is 86.26MB and only a small part of it (7.94MB) is used. Can this be some sort of rescue partition? I will investigate further. This partition never comes up when I boot normally. How can I check what is on it?

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

As far as I can find out, it seems to be some sort of rescue partition. In my situation, I can not see any benefit of keeping it (unless someone have some good arguments for it!).

Is it ok to put the /home partition and swap on an extended partition? If it is, I am thinking about this partition now:

1. Primary NTFS Windows XP - 30GB
2. Primary NTFS Data - 210GB
3. Primary EXT2 Kubuntu 9.04 - 30GB
4. Extended
Logical EXT2 /home - 20GB
Logical Linux-swap Swap - 4GB

After some investigation, It seems you can actually put both /Program Files and /Documents and Settings on a separate partition by using a specially prepared installation CD. That takes down the size of the Windows XP partition considerably. Could maybe go down to 20GB and increase the Data partition instead.

I am going to skip the MediaDirect software altogether and hope that it will either boot Kubuntu if I press it when the laptop is off, or that it will do nothing at all. It is worth a try.

Really looking forward to get 9.04 installed. It looks great!

[Fintan]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

After some investigation, It seems you can actually put both /Program Files and /Documents and Settings on a separate partition by using a specially prepared installation CD. That takes down the size of the Windows XP partition considerably. Could maybe go down to 20GB and increase the Data partition instead.

A very long time ago I put my data (my files or something) on to a separate partition for security reason, and pointed "my files" to that partition. I don't have windows anymore except as a guest on vmware player but my data partition still exists.

As far as I can find out, it seems to be some sort of rescue partition. In my situation, I can not see any benefit of keeping it (unless someone have some good arguments for it!).

Only if you crash and want to recover your dell-xp OS.

Is it ok to put the /home partition and swap on an extended partition? If it is, I am thinking about this partition now:

In short: yes

You won't need 30gB for kubuntu. 15GB is ample. You might want increase the size of /home though.

[NJ_Dude]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Why don't you give Wubi a shot before you go crazy partitioning your drive?, easy to install and uninstall.

Just a suggestion.

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: What version of Kubuntu to install and suggestions for partitioning

Why don't you give Wubi a shot before you go crazy partitioning your drive?, easy to install and uninstall.

Thank you for the suggestion. I don't have any problems partitioning my harddrive :-) And as this is a new harddrive, I am thinking it will be better getting things right from the beginning. The reason why I am trying to find out as much as possible now, is to make things easier for myself in the future if I have to re-install or want to change the Linux distro/version.

I will not add any rescue partition. No need to use any Dell method for rescuing. With the system I am setting up now, it will be better to do a re-install. I might even do an image of the system drive when I am fininshed. Just to have it in case anything happens.

I am working on the installation CD for XP. The Kubuntu 9.04 CD is ready and the only thing I am playing with now are the sizes of the partitions.

When you install programs in Kubuntu, do they all end up in /home, or do some of them end up on the system partition? If everything ends up in /home, I guess I could make the Kubuntu partition smaller. Also, as I will point all datafolders from Kubuntu to the common Data pertition, do I really need a bigger /home partition than 20GB?

I can always go in later an resize partitions, but I would rather get it right from the beginning :-)

Sorry for asking a lot of questions here. After this is done, I will write a blogpost about it and post a link here so others can find this info if they need.