2nd copy of Kubuntu

[jollyjack]

Hi, I'd appreciate some guidance on this.

At the moment, my (64bit) laptop is dual bootable - W7 in partition sda1 and Kubuntu 13.04 in sda2. Then /home, then a data partition.

It all works well, but the Kubuntu has grown by upgrade from 11.10, and I'm toying with the idea of creating a brand-new version from scratch.

Question 1: Can I shuffle things around to create a 3rd empty partition (sda3) for a new copy of Kubuntu, and move /home and data to sda4 and sda5? I seem to remember there's a limit of four partitions? Or would I be better creating the empty partition as sda5?

Question 2: If I can solve the Q1 problem, will the second copy of Kubuntu in sda3 be as bootable as the existing copy? IE when I power up the laptop, will I be offered a choice of Kubuntu1, Kubuntu2, Windows7 and the other (test?) options?

Thanks

[claydoh]

1 - yes. You can have more than 4, some of them would just be "logical" partitions, just not more than the 4 primary, physical ones. The partitioning tools and /or the installer will handle that for you.

2 - yes, the bootloader install will detect all the OS's you have, just like it did when you only had 2

[oshunluvr]

Assuming your drive is MBR not GPT and SATA, not IDE;

You may have up to 4 Primary partitions. 1 of which may substituted for an Extended partition. Within the Extended partition, you may have 11 Logical partitions.

Normally, one would have sda1, sda2, and sda3 as Primary partitions, sda4 as the Extended partition. Logical partitions will always begin at sda5 and go up in number. If you were to create your Extended partition as sda3, your first Logical partition would still be labeled sda5 as 1 thru 4 are reserved.

Also note, that unlike Windows products, Linux does not care which partition you install your OS to or where it resides on the disk - or anything else for that matter.

[jollyjack]

Thanks, claydoh and oshunluvr, I understand a lot more, now.

Another, possibly stupid, question. I don't want the new copy (call it "Kubuntu2") to use existing /home - I'd like the new version to be as clean and original as possible. So, if I create it in, say, logical partition sda5, without a separate /home partition, will it create its own /home (let's call it "/home2") in the same partition? And use only that, when I boot it up?

Which means I could then remove "Kubuntu1" and "/home1" completely?

Finally, if I did that, could I then move "/home2" to its own partition later?

Thanks

[claydoh]

Yes, if you do not specify a /home during the install , it will be placed in "/". However, having a separate /home partition is always a good idea, so you might consider either using a different user name, and tell the installer to use your existing /home , or create a new /home partition. The first is easier , and using eithermethod if you need to reinstall the OS later , all your user settings will remain in place .

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[jollyjack]

Thanks, claydoh, that's really helpful.

I think I'll move the data, temporarily, from sda4 onto an external HDD. Then I can use sda4 for the new OS (Kubuntu2), and the existing /home (sda3) for my new user. Then tidy things up later, when it's all been tested. MUCH simpler.

One final question. Is it worthwhile, as I was always taught, to put the OS as near the start of the HDD as possible? Faster seek/read times, I think?

Thanks

[claydoh]

Oh, probably it is. I usually do just for tidiness sake, and easy of resizing/creating partitions if the need arises.
Heck if you can easily select which drive to boot from as your bios loads, you could even install Kubuntu to the external drive, making sure to install grub to that drive's root during the install. So many options

[elludium_q-36]

GPT versus MBR...

From what I understand GPT offers far more flexibility...

The short answers state that MBR is best for compatibility with legacy Operating Systems.
Anyone still using Windows 3.x?

Is there any real reason to use MBR in a new install?

[oshunluvr]

Actually, you need not use a different /home partition or even username. Simply specifiy a different /home directory during install. The default is always /home/<USERNAME> but that's not required. Easy enough to add a 1 and 2 to each install's directory. So you'd have /home/tiddles1 and /home/tiddles2 both owned by tiddles. Or you need not use your username at all /home/kubu1 and /home/kubu2 would work just as well. You would also be able to access data in either directory from either install because your USERID - a numeric value - would be 1000 for both installs.

Depending on your intent for having two installs, you might consider another setup - one that some of us use when booting to several different installs. This is to not use a separate /home and instead create a data partition. Then you link or mount the data partition to your personal data folders - Documents, Downloads, etc. This has the effect of keeping each install's settings within the install partition, prevent's the accidental deleting or editing of the wrong config file, and allows transparent access to docs, music, whatever for any install you boot to. This takes a bit more initial setup and I would call it slightly advanced (we can help you - not to worry), but once set up it's pretty seemless.

One final question. Is it worthwhile, as I was always taught, to put the OS as near the start of the HDD as possible? Faster seek/read times, I think?

Modern hard drives don't actually follow your instructions anymore. Basically, the drive's built in controller "spoofs" the OS into believing it's doing what you tell it to - like putting a particular partition in a particular place - but it actually does whatever it is programmed to do by it's maker - not Kubuntu. Point being - no, there is no difference (anymore) where you put what. These days I follow my own logical layout rather the the olden days way of important data up front.

[oshunluvr]

From what I understand GPT offers far more flexibility...

The short answers state that MBR is best for compatibility with legacy Operating Systems.
Anyone still using Windows 3.x?

Is there any real reason to use MBR in a new install?

Yes, not all computers support GPT.

[elludium_q-36]

Hmmm... BIOS, now UEFI...

Thanks oshunluvr.

I wonder if we should go back to the days of when it was the "gang of nine"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extend...ang_of_Nine.22
and (E)ISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture),
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extend...d_Architecture
versus IBM, and their proprietary MCA (Micro Channel Architecture),
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_...re#Marketshare

Anyone for siding with Open Source and progressive, versus Closed Source, proprietary, and introspective into your wallet?

[jollyjack]

(Tiddles and Jollyack are the same person - I had problems with access...)

Thanks, Oshunluvr (and all others who replied with advice). I'm sorry for the delay in responding, I didn't realise there were other responses.

I'm going to use a separate directory as you advice - seems much simpler than another partition. The idea of a separate /data is interesting, but I think it's above my level, so I'll keep it simple.

Thanks, again, for the help. It's appreciated.

Cheers

[jollyjack]

Well, guys, it worked. I now have a basic version of 13.04 to play with, alongside my original copy. Thanks for the help.

Curiously, though, the new copy has taken the top line in GRUB, calling itself "Kubuntu 13.04". The original version now appears at the bottom, and is called Ubuntu (or something similar). Not a big problem, now I know, but how easy is it to edit GRUB? Ideally, is there a GUI tool I could use? I just want to alter the wording of the entries, and their positions in the list.

Cheers

[jollyjack]

Many thanks, Teunis. Just what I wanted.

Cheers

[jollyjack]

It's all working well now - thanks for all your help, it was appreciated.

I have one more (probably the last) question. I want to replace Kubuntu1 (in sda2) with Kubuntu2 (currently in sda5). I'm thinking of using Clonezilla to copy sda5 into sda2, replacing the current contents. Will that work? Will Grub2 recognise the change?

Or is there a better way?

Thanks