Formatting and partitioning a hard drive and switching to Linux

[Zelenius]

So what I would do if I were you, is just create a / and a /home.

Give / 10G and give /home (the rest of the usable space). It shouldn't be hard in Linux Mint install to do this, I think it's pretty user-friendly.

Good luck, let me know if you have any questions.

-Kevin

Also, you will need to allocate a partition for swap, and you should select "swap" as the filesystem type. You shouldn't need more than 1G of space for this.

So that is 3 partitions that I have to create, / with 10G, /home and the "swap"(1G)?

Does this step by step accurately show how to do it? - http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2010/05/2...ning-guide-for-linux-mint-9-and-ubuntu-10-04/

It seems they add an extra "boot" partition, which I don't think I'll do. Is that a pretty good guide?

I'm almost there. I just need the back-up drive to arrive by mail hopefully by tomorrow so I can back-up my files and get rolling. You've been a lot of help. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

If you plan on using hibernation then swap has to be larger than 1GB. There is some compression that happens, but about as much swap-space as you have RAM is a good rule of thumb. If you don't use hibernation, then 1GB is plenty.

 

[Soapy Sam]

It's not about Linux. If you want to bring it to the mass-market it's got to have the applications.

And if anyone has to lead, it has to be the OEMs, the system builders. Apple took a UNIX core and sold it, with the apps to the masses.Dell, HP, IBM et al, all had UNIX variants for the enterprise, but when it came to domestic markets, their Linux offerings didn't exactly set the world on fire. Had they had the same vision, maybe we wouldn't be living in such a Windows-centric world.

Very true.

I'd like to see Linux have a far bigger share than it has of personal machines. (If there was no other reason, because it might force M$ to up their game. )

 

[kevinquinnyo]

So that is 3 partitions that I have to create, / with 10G, /home and the "swap"(1G)?

Does this step by step accurately show how to do it? - http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2010/05/2...ning-guide-for-linux-mint-9-and-ubuntu-10-04/

It seems they add an extra "boot" partition, which I don't think I'll do. Is that a pretty good guide?

I'm almost there. I just need the back-up drive to arrive by mail hopefully by tomorrow so I can back-up my files and get rolling. You've been a lot of help. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks.

You got it. You don't need /boot.

You also don't *need* to set the root partition ( / ) as 10G, but if you have enough space on the disk, I think it's a good idea. You don't want the root partition filling up if you're accidentally in that directory and you do something stupid like run tcpdump and output it to a file there and forget about it. You're more likely to realize it's filling up before it does if you have extra space there.

And as far as swap goes, as others have pointed out, you could go a bit higher actually, I feel like if you dig into swap more than 1G, then you've already failed. (you're using too much memory, or need more RAM). But as Lord Emsworth pointed out, hibernation writes the entire memory to swap before it falls asleep, so if you have 1.5G or 2G of ram, then make swap the same size.

Good luck!

EDIT: I meant to add, yes, that link looks accurate. You should use 'ext3' as the filesystem type for / and /home and use 'swap' for swap. There are many advantages and disadvantages to various linux filesystem types, but ext3 is the stable, tried and true.

 

[kevinquinnyo]

For which reason, I wish Linux distros were as informative about uninstalling Linux as they usually are about installing.

Allow me to provide a snarky response as well:

rm -rf /

 

[Zelenius]

You got it. You don't need /boot.

You also don't *need* to set the root partition ( / ) as 10G, but if you have enough space on the disk, I think it's a good idea. You don't want the root partition filling up if you're accidentally in that directory and you do something stupid like run tcpdump and output it to a file there and forget about it. You're more likely to realize it's filling up before it does if you have extra space there.

And as far as swap goes, as others have pointed out, you could go a bit higher actually, I feel like if you dig into swap more than 1G, then you've already failed. (you're using too much memory, or need more RAM). But as Lord Emsworth pointed out, hibernation writes the entire memory to swap before it falls asleep, so if you have 1.5G or 2G of ram, then make swap the same size.

Good luck!

EDIT: I meant to add, yes, that link looks accurate. You should use 'ext3' as the filesystem type for / and /home and use 'swap' for swap. There are many advantages and disadvantages to various linux filesystem types, but ext3 is the stable, tried and true.

Thank you and everyone else for your tips, I successfully made the switch to Linux with my desktop and no longer have any Windows PCs and partitioning was a breeze. I am currently using the Linux Mint computer to write this. So far I like it and can't think of any reason to go back to Windows. I like it even more than Ubuntu, which I've been using on and off for years(and is currently the OS of my laptop).

Thanks again.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Yay!

On an off topic topic, has anyone messed with Chrome OS?
I see an item in the winter 2600 about it. (2600 on Kindle. What next, eh?)

 

[Zelenius]

Excellent, thank you! She's so far nervous about learning a new operating system but since she's just using it for a media player and internet in the kitchen, she can do any schoolwork or whatever she needs on a Win7 box in another part of the house, where it's more familiar and comfortable.

The challenging thing is for me to get the Win7 box and Mint box to actually talk to each other and I've been busily scouring the 'net looking for why they won't. *mad* Apparently one of the awesome new changes Microsoft made to Win7 is to be quite unfriendly towards other machines talking to it (sharing files and folders) even to the point that XP and Vista have problems.

I'm actually quite chagrined because I'm a networking guy by schooling, so I feel I should know this stuff!

I'm happy to hear its working for her, so far. Is she still nervous or has she finally gotten used to it?

Good luck getting the Linux Mint PC and Windows PC to talk to each other. I tried doing that with my old Ubuntu PC and Windows PC, and failed. I thought I was stupid, but it seems even experts have trouble. I think it involves the Samba program if I am not mistaken, but couldn't get it to work right.

Now that the desktop is running smoothly with Linux Mint(Ubuntu-based), I'm thinking of trying out another Linux OS on my laptop(currently running Ubuntu), especially since I can't stand the unity interface and the computer acts funny at times.

I'm thinking of switching to either "pure" Debian(which is what Ubuntu is based on) or Linux Mint Debian edition. I keep hearing that the original Debian distro is becoming increasingly irrelevant, and that Ubuntu and Linux Mint are the future. It seems that Debian is harder for newbies to use since it won't work out of the box like Ubuntu and especially Mint. It requires too much configuration to get even some basics to work right, according to various message boards and Linux users I know. I find it interesting that Mint Debian and Mint Ubuntu aren't compatible according to the above link, even though they are both based on Debian and ultimately Linux.

I like a good challenge, so I may try out Debian soon when I have the time.

 

[The Norseman]

Heh. She hasn't gotten used to it because I was sadly forced to go to Win 7. Well, sad for me because I'm a HUGE Linux proponent, but good for her because the learning curve is a bit much. It bothers her because she had been in a coma close to two decades ago and has suffered some slight brain damage which makes learning new things rather more of an effort. She is capable of learning it, but there are more pressing things she needs to focus on instead of a new OS.





I had never heard of Linux Mint up until about a year ago (or less -- can't remember) but was ecstatic when I found out that they had a Debian version. Since I was running vanilla Debian for a while beforehand, I was comfortable with it.

I ended up installing Linux Mint (ubuntu base) on my laptop and Mint Debian on my main box and was extremely happy at how polished it was and it just worked out of the box. For both machines, I might add.

I have pages of notes I had to write for myself in order to get a fresh install vanilla Debian up and running and I could essentially throw those all away when I ran into Mint Debian.

I've heard of (and used) OpenSUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, bodhi, sabayon, Knoppix, and Backtrack (for work and school); heard about but never really messed with DSL, PuppyLinux, Slackware, Gentoo, Arch, Archbang, Zenwalk, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, and probably others. It surprised me to find out that Mint is like the fourth most popular OS. I think I read Windows, Mac, Ubuntu, and Mint.

Anyway, I think I'll continue to play around with bodhi and maybe archbang. See what those are like.



------------------
ETA:

Oops. Forgot to wish you well on your Debian efforts! Go with Linux Mint (Debian) and you will be happy you did!

 

[Zelenius]

Heh. She hasn't gotten used to it because I was sadly forced to go to Win 7. Well, sad for me because I'm a HUGE Linux proponent, but good for her because the learning curve is a bit much. It bothers her because she had been in a coma close to two decades ago and has suffered some slight brain damage which makes learning new things rather more of an effort. She is capable of learning it, but there are more pressing things she needs to focus on instead of a new OS.

I had never heard of Linux Mint up until about a year ago (or less -- can't remember) but was ecstatic when I found out that they had a Debian version. Since I was running vanilla Debian for a while beforehand, I was comfortable with it.

Oops. Forgot to wish you well on your Debian efforts! Go with Linux Mint (Debian) and you will be happy you did!

It's sad to hear you had to go back to Windows and about your girlfriend's slight brain damage. Maybe she can learn to use Linux some other time.

So far I am really liking Linux, especially Mint, and see no reason to go back to Windows. I have the Ubuntu-based Mint on both my desktop and laptop now; I had the original Debian(not Mint) on my laptop for a couple of days and it was very difficult to use. I couldn't even pick up a wifi signal, and everything on my monitor was stretched too wide, among other things I couldn't adjust.

I tried to install the Linux Mint Debian Edition you recommended, but for some reason my laptop couldn't recognize the LMD installation DVD I burned(I burned several of them). This is why I eventually settled on the regular Linux Mint, which my laptop had no problem installing. I'm not sure why LMD didn't work; was there an error on the LMD disk, something wrong with the site? It's hard to tell. I may give it another shot soon.

Also, what can I do with Linux Mint Debian that I can't do with regular Linux Mint? What makes it "better" in your opinion? Is it really more stable?

So far I only have experience with Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and a tiny bit of Debian. I haven't tried nearly as many distros as you.

A recent visit to the local computer store revealed just how popular Ubuntu is. Although they don't sell any Ubuntu or Linux computers, the book section has so many books about Ubuntu(most include installation CDs or DVDs). I was surprised that they didn't have a single book about Debian(it is amusing how most Ubuntu books barely mention Debian), although there were some Fedora, Red Hat Linux and Mepis books. I can't remember exactly, but I'm guessing there were around 8 different Ubuntu books, 4 to 5 Fedora books, 3 or so different Red Hats, and 2 or 3 Mepis and a couple of obscure Linux distros(Mandriva?) I can't remember. There were also several books about Linux in general, usually focusing on the kernel. I think the reason there were no Linux Mint books is because it's just Ubuntu with some minor differences.

Of course, there were dozens of Windows, and Apple books, far outnumbering the Linux books.

I'll see if I can try some more Linux distros. Good luck with your Mints and anything else you try.

 

[The Norseman]

It's sad to hear you had to go back to Windows and about your girlfriend's slight brain damage. Maybe she can learn to use Linux some other time.

I appreciate your regards and it seems so slight to me that I constantly forget she has any issues at all. She, of course, views it slightly differently.

So far I am really liking Linux, especially Mint, and see no reason to go back to Windows. I have the Ubuntu-based Mint on both my desktop and laptop now; I had the original Debian(not Mint) on my laptop for a couple of days and it was very difficult to use. I couldn't even pick up a wifi signal, and everything on my monitor was stretched too wide, among other things I couldn't adjust.

Yeah, that was my major problem with vanilla Debian. I'd install and boot to an X-window and a little box would march around my screen saying something to the effect that my monitor was pushing too high res for my video card drivers and so I had to have downloaded the NVidia drivers for my card first, then drop out of X, install the drivers via command line, then (if it worked) reboot into X.

Mint just worked and even had a little button that asked if I wanted to use the open source drivers or install proprietary drivers. I selected 'proprietary' and they automatically downloaded an installed and it worked perfectly.

I tried to install the Linux Mint Debian Edition you recommended, but for some reason my laptop couldn't recognize the LMD installation DVD I burned(I burned several of them). This is why I eventually settled on the regular Linux Mint, which my laptop had no problem installing. I'm not sure why LMD didn't work; was there an error on the LMD disk, something wrong with the site? It's hard to tell. I may give it another shot soon.

Also, what can I do with Linux Mint Debian that I can't do with regular Linux Mint? What makes it "better" in your opinion? Is it really more stable?

Well, I'm just biased for Debian in general. It's known for being pretty stable and the repos are comprehensive and it's one of the most-found type of prepackaged binary downloads on the 'net (.deb, versus .rpm for example). I simply got used to running apt-get (or aptitude) and never really bothered with other distros' methods of software packaging. As I was surfing around trying different distros, I just decided to give it a try and found I really enjoyed learning Linux with it, even with the frustrations like the video drivers.

So far I only have experience with Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and a tiny bit of Debian. I haven't tried nearly as many distros as you.

Heh. Yeah, I'm always looking for something new and/or different.

A recent visit to the local computer store revealed just how popular Ubuntu is. Although they don't sell any Ubuntu or Linux computers, the book section has so many books about Ubuntu(most include installation CDs or DVDs). I was surprised that they didn't have a single book about Debian(it is amusing how most Ubuntu books barely mention Debian), although there were some Fedora, Red Hat Linux and Mepis books. I can't remember exactly, but I'm guessing there were around 8 different Ubuntu books, 4 to 5 Fedora books, 3 or so different Red Hats, and 2 or 3 Mepis and a couple of obscure Linux distros(Mandriva?) I can't remember. There were also several books about Linux in general, usually focusing on the kernel. I think the reason there were no Linux Mint books is because it's just Ubuntu with some minor differences.

Of course, there were dozens of Windows, and Apple books, far outnumbering the Linux books.

I'll see if I can try some more Linux distros. Good luck with your Mints and anything else you try.

Yes, I also tend to experiment with DE's as well such as Gnome, KDE, XFCE, and a few others -- Enlightenment, Fluxbox... etc.

I have really preferred KDE for now due to the combination of maneuvering around the virtual desktops with the mouse and keyboard and the extensive ability to modify everything (as opposed to Gnome).

 

[Alan]

Also, what can I do with Linux Mint Debian that I can't do with regular Linux Mint? What makes it "better" in your opinion? Is it really more stable?

Linux Mint Debian Edition is a rolling distro, which means that you get lots of updates for everything instead upgrading to a new release every six months (or whatever it is with Linux Mint) to have the latest things. Although you do get updates with the regular Linux Mint, it's not as much.

As Linux Mint Debian Edition has newer things, I might call it less stable in some ways but more stable in other ways.

 

[Zelenius]

Alright, now I am starting to experience some difficulties. The most serious one is I keep getting asked to enter my "key ring password" to use certain applications, and this is apparently different from my main password. I have no idea what my key ring password even is, and would like to disable this feature or at least make it equivalent to the regular password I use to login.

Among the minor problems, the time and weather on the bottom panel of my desktop often have errors, forcing me to delete them and reinstall them.

 

[The Norseman]

Your keyring password is separate from your login and root passwords; it's a small program that will enter in your other password information for you; for my wireless, for example, when I first log in, it'll ask for my keyring password. I enter it and the wireless will then connect and do all that password stuff for me. If you ever get disconnected, it'll rejoin the network and not prompt for another password.

It's like the windows KeePass or similar.

When you first create a keyring, you're prompted then for a password. You can manage the keyrings from the control panel and delete them or modify them or whatever.

As to the time/weather applet issues... you should be able to right click on the applet and make permanent changes to them, again like Win7. Open the applet and it should ask for root password for the privilege escalation; make the changes and save. You shouldn't have to remove and reinstall the applet each time.

If it turns out that it is the case, there are other time/weather applets that you can use, just like Win7 widgets.