gotta wipe, got a few ? about my reinstalls

[phantommaggot]

Hi
first off.. im fairly new to linux
ive been using ubuntu dapper for a few months and im a big fan

since ive been learning linux i want to keep with it

a problem in windows is forcing me to wipe the drive and i have some questions about reinstalling linux to the drive

First off
i will be reinstalling windows. my copy is xp pro.
and i also plan to install more than one different distro of linux, tho i plan to use ubuntu the most
should i go with dapper LTs or edgy?
either way i plan to use 64bit versions. i hate having a 64bit chip and not being able to use it...

other distros i plan to use are as follows
kubuntu
xubuntu
openSUSE (gnome and KDE)
Slackware
DSL (probably wont install it.. but its a BIG possibility)
and others that pop up as time goes by.
i know ill try free bsd eventually

anyways
swap partitions, i read around places saying they can only be made so big, and that making more of them is better. also that they should be bigger than the physical memory by double.

is this fact?

and the swap partition will work for every distro i use, so i dont have to make more for every different distro i use.

is that also fact?

and last question has to do with bootloaders..
will other distros try to load a different bootloader and make them fight, or try to install the same one over again and kill off the listing for other versions on the pc?

dont be too mean, i really dont have time to search around right now and im a super 3 or more OS newB

any advice would be amazing..
feel free to just link posts you know of if you dont feel like typing
thanks a whole bunch
-j

[Vergil83]

1) Edgy would have newer software, so if you you want to use the latest and greatest. Your choice really.
2) It was always the rule that your swap was twice your ram. However, now in the days tons of ram, swap isn't really that important. Don't make your swap bigger than 512, and if you have like 1 gb of ram, I would not waste space on swap.
3) Same swap works for everything.
4) I would use ubuntu to install the grub bootload. When you install the other os, tell them not to install a bootloader. Load up ubuntu and you can run grub again. It will find and set itself up for the new installs.

Good to see you are enjoy your experience

[phantommaggot]

ya, ill probably use edgy.
i wish i could get my wireless to work on the live cd tho... (amd 64)


thanks for the swap info.
what exatly does the swap part. do?

yep, im lovin linux for the most part..
tho i cant really get used to the package manager.
and i need to get wine to work.. but ill worry about that with the new install

on a somewhat related note
i have a 500 gb hdd coming my way soon
wont be wiping till it gets here..

how should i format it so both linux and windows can read and write whthout a 4gb limit on folders..

i was thinking of formattng it the same as ubuntu and using that little download that lets windows read/write .. but that seemd kinda buggy .. so i dont know..


thanks again
one of the most helpful replies ive ever recieved

[Vergil83]

Swap (on windows called virtual memory) basically allows your hard drive to act as extra ram. However, since your hard drive is much slower than your ram, you only use it when you have to. Hence if you have like 1 GB or ram, chances are you won't be running so many programs you need to use swap.

Formating wise, if you want windows and linux to both be able to read and write a partition, you have two options. Ext2 works by default in linux and you can make it work for windows (http://ext2fsd.sourceforge.net/). Or you can just just fat32 which both can read and write by default.

I am not sure about the 4 GB limit on folders?

[phantommaggot]

Swap (on windows called virtual memory) basically allows your hard drive to act as extra ram. However, since your hard drive is much slower than your ram, you only use it when you have to. Hence if you have like 1 GB or ram, chances are you won't be running so many programs you need to use swap.

Formating wise, if you want windows and linux to both be able to read and write a partition, you have two options. Ext2 works by default in linux and you can make it work for windows (http://ext2fsd.sourceforge.net/). Or you can just just fat32 which both can read and write by default.

I am not sure about the 4 GB limit on folders?

O
i should have realized it was virtual memory..
i guess the fact that i had to make seperate partitions is what had me confused..

i had ext2 working for windows.. so i could pick up torrents from linux and windows.. and so on.. bit of a hassle.. but it was cool..
fat32, i dont know weather or not it actually is limited to 4GB folder size. i just remember reading as such..
i dont see much fat 32 any more.. last time i used windows 98 was in hardware/ a+ class about 3-4 years ago

but ya.. im gonna look into it..
personally i think ill go ext 2. since if i wipe the only thing ill use windows for is gaming.. untill i get wine all configured.

but thanks again
ill probably be on wiping the small drive today since almost everything is backed up somewhere, somehow..
ill let you guys know how it goes.. as ill probably have new questions.
like, anyone using linuxmint??

[Thrillhouse]

Ext2 works by default in linux and you can make it work for windows (http://ext2fsd.sourceforge.net/). Or you can just just fat32 which both can read and write by default.

Won't ext3 work by default in all Linux distributions now? I thought it did but if not, I would like to hear from somebody who knew otherwise. The only other thing I have to contribute is that: if you're using the same hard drive, whatever distribution you're installing will try to install its bootloader either on the MBR or on the first partition so you should always be weary of that. It seems like you're looking to test out a lot of distributions. My suggestion would be to try and make those into virtual machines but if you can't, feel free install them on separate partitions (keeping in mind the fact that you'll probably have to create a logical volume to get them all on the same drive).

[phantommaggot]

i installed linux mint for now.
its the only os i have working
i also have ubuntu installed and im gonnahave to get it set up today

im gonna have to wipe it all again, since my system restore disk didnt work.
so when the guys from falcon get back to me on that ill have to do it all again...
this gives me some time to play around..

what is the difference between ext2 and ext3
well the differenc that you guys see in usage and so on..

also, when i pulled up on wiki i saw something about ext4?

linux mint has ntfs read/write support
and will have ntfs read/write out of the box with the next release.
so ill probably be trying that once i get my internet problems worked out..

thanks again !
-j

[Vergil83]

Won't ext3 work by default in all Linux distributions now?

Yes but the support in windows isn't as good (if I recall correctly)