Sharing swap partition between 2 or more distros

Hello everyone. I'm writing since I've read 3 threads about this and I could not solve the situation.

I currently have Ubuntu (Linux 3.5.0-25-generic #39~precise1-Ubuntu SMP Tue Feb 26 00:11:13 UTC 2013 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux) and Debian Wheezy installed. First OS installed was Ubuntu, swap defined and everything. Then I installed Debian and chose the existing swap to be used (as instructed here). I've done that without knowing the existence of such thread. I've also read this thread and this one, but they are were not very helpful to me IMHO.

My current box is a 2GiB RAM netbook, so not having swap on any of the distros is almost 100% unacceptable, hehe.

Any help would be highly appreciated. =)

It's perfectly acceptable to use one /swap among 2 or more distros. I've done it in the past and it worked flawlessly.

Careful.
Swap is also used for suspend/resume.
If you use suspend on one OS and boot another, resume of the first will be broken.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irithori

Careful.
Swap is also used for suspend/resume.
If you use suspend on one OS and boot another, resume of the first will be broken.

Good point. I've never used suspend or resume.

Thank you Mike and lrithori for the replies. I assumed such thing would happen.

Now, is there anyway to add (I'm assuming in fstab or somewhere alike) the full path of the swap partition on each OS installed? If so, could you instruct me how to do it? I would really appreciate it. :)

A typical swap entry in /etc/fstab looks like this

Code:

<device|uuid> none swap sw 0 0

Replace the first column with the uuid or device of the swap partition on your system.

Great. Thank you Irithori. I have downloaded fstab and related manuals to read a bit. Just one more thing. How do I see UUID?

Code:

sudo df -h

Will that work?
Thanks in advanced.

Use: blkid

Don't think you need to be root but it it fails do: sudo blkid

Thank you yancek. I'll edit this post with the outcome of the commands entered. :)

OK. So somehow it won't allow me to edit previous post. Hence, I'll write the results on this one. I've "successfully edited" /etc/fstab with correct UUIDs as listed on blkid. However it suspends as before but error persists (it does not show me the screen when coming back, so I just blindly enter the password, open a terminal and restart the box with no monitor output).

Here's what today's suspension log shows (pm-suspend.log):

Code:

Mon May 27 07:38:59 ART 2013: Running hooks for suspend. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging suspend suspend: Linux ivan-ubu 3.5.0-25-generic #39~precise1-Ubuntu SMP Tue Feb 26 00:11:13 UTC 2013 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux Module Size Used by dm_crypt 22572 1 joydev 17394 0 coretemp 13362 0 arc4 12474 2 parport_pc 32115 0 rfcomm 38104 0 ppdev 12850 0 bnep 17791 2 samsung_laptop 18196 0 binfmt_misc 17293 1 snd_hda_codec_hdmi 31778 1 snd_hda_codec_realtek 64959 1 snd_hda_intel 33029 3 microcode 18396 0 snd_hda_codec 116477 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel snd_hwdep 13277 1 snd_hda_codec snd_pcm 81124 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec snd_seq_midi 13133 0 snd_rawmidi 25426 1 snd_seq_midi uvcvideo 72249 0 videobuf2_core 32212 1 uvcvideo videodev 100265 2 uvcvideo,videobuf2_core videobuf2_vmalloc 12757 1 uvcvideo snd_seq_midi_event 14476 1 snd_seq_midi videobuf2_memops 13213 1 videobuf2_vmalloc psmouse 91022 0 snd_seq 51594 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event serio_raw 13032 0 snd_timer 28932 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq snd_seq_device 14138 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq lpc_ich 16993 0 btusb 17952 0 bluetooth 189585 11 rfcomm,bnep,btusb iwlwifi 364622 0 snd 62675 16 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device mac80211 475546 1 iwlwifi cfg80211 181041 2 iwlwifi,mac80211 soundcore 14636 1 snd snd_page_alloc 14109 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm mac_hid 13078 0 lp 17456 0 parport 40931 3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp gma500_gfx 198234 2 drm_kms_helper 47459 1 gma500_gfx drm 240232 3 gma500_gfx,drm_kms_helper r8169 56853 0 i2c_algo_bit 13317 1 gma500_gfx video 19117 2 samsung_laptop,gma500_gfx total used free shared buffers cached Mem: 2053436 1177860 875576 0 60140 466652 -/+ buffers/cache: 651068 1402368 Swap: 4082680 0 4082680 /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio suspend suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common suspend suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common suspend suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate suspend suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager suspend suspend: Having NetworkManager put all interaces to sleep...Failed. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant suspend suspend: Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler suspend suspend: Using last known working set of quirks. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video suspend suspend: kernel.acpi_video_flags = 0 Allocated buffer at 0x2010 (base is 0x0) ES: 0x0201 EBX: 0x0000 /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video suspend suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend suspend suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend suspend suspend: success. Mon May 27 07:39:01 ART 2013: performing suspend Mon May 27 07:44:29 ART 2013: Awake. Mon May 27 07:44:29 ART 2013: Running hooks for resume Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend resume suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video resume suspend: Function not supported Function not supported /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led resume suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm resume suspend: /dev/sda: setting Advanced Power Management level to 0xfe (254) APM_level = 254 /dev/sda: setting Advanced Power Management level to 0xfe (254) APM_level = 254 /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock resume suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules resume suspend: Reloaded unloaded modules. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant resume suspend: Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager resume suspend: Having NetworkManager wake interfaces back up...Failed. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager resume suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate resume suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate resume suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common resume suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio resume suspend: Returned exit code 1. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change resume suspend: success. Initial commandline parameters: Mon May 27 23:30:02 ART 2013: Running hooks for suspend. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging suspend suspend: Linux ivan-ubu 3.5.0-25-generic #39~precise1-Ubuntu SMP Tue Feb 26 00:11:13 UTC 2013 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux Module Size Used by dm_crypt 22572 1 joydev 17394 0 coretemp 13362 0 arc4 12474 2 parport_pc 32115 0 rfcomm 38104 0 ppdev 12850 0 bnep 17791 2 binfmt_misc 17293 1 samsung_laptop 18196 0 microcode 18396 0 snd_hda_codec_hdmi 31778 1 snd_hda_codec_realtek 64959 1 uvcvideo 72249 0 videobuf2_core 32212 1 uvcvideo videodev 100265 2 uvcvideo,videobuf2_core psmouse 91022 0 videobuf2_vmalloc 12757 1 uvcvideo videobuf2_memops 13213 1 videobuf2_vmalloc snd_hda_intel 33029 2 snd_hda_codec 116477 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel btusb 17952 0 snd_hwdep 13277 1 snd_hda_codec bluetooth 189585 11 rfcomm,bnep,btusb serio_raw 13032 0 snd_pcm 81124 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec lpc_ich 16993 0 snd_seq_midi 13133 0 snd_rawmidi 25426 1 snd_seq_midi snd_seq_midi_event 14476 1 snd_seq_midi snd_seq 51594 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event iwlwifi 364622 0 snd_timer 28932 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq snd_seq_device 14138 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq mac80211 475546 1 iwlwifi snd 62675 14 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device cfg80211 181041 2 iwlwifi,mac80211 mac_hid 13078 0 soundcore 14636 1 snd snd_page_alloc 14109 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm lp 17456 0 parport 40931 3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp gma500_gfx 198234 2 drm_kms_helper 47459 1 gma500_gfx drm 240232 3 gma500_gfx,drm_kms_helper r8169 56853 0 i2c_algo_bit 13317 1 gma500_gfx video 19117 2 samsung_laptop,gma500_gfx total used free shared buffers cached Mem: 2053436 1755044 298392 0 69480 810276 -/+ buffers/cache: 875288 1178148 Swap: 4082680 0 4082680 /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio suspend suspend: Sessions still open, not unmounting Sessions still open, not unmounting Sessions still open, not unmounting Welcome to PulseAudio! Use "help" for usage information. >>> >>> Sessions still open, not unmounting Sessions still open, not unmounting Welcome to PulseAudio! Use "help" for usage information. >>> >>> Sessions still open, not unmounting /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio suspend suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common suspend suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common suspend suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate suspend suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager suspend suspend: Having NetworkManager put all interaces to sleep...Failed. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant suspend suspend: Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron suspend suspend: stop: Unknown instance: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led suspend suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led suspend suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler suspend suspend: Using last known working set of quirks. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler suspend suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video suspend suspend: kernel.acpi_video_flags = 0 Allocated buffer at 0x2010 (base is 0x0) ES: 0x0201 EBX: 0x0000 /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video suspend suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend suspend suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend suspend suspend: success. Mon May 27 23:30:06 ART 2013: performing suspend Mon May 27 23:30:31 ART 2013: Awake. Mon May 27 23:30:31 ART 2013: Running hooks for resume Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend resume suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/novatel_3g_suspend resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video resume suspend: Function not supported Function not supported /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99video resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/98video-quirk-db-handler resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95led resume suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm resume suspend: /dev/sda: setting Advanced Power Management level to 0xfe (254) APM_level = 254 /dev/sda: setting Advanced Power Management level to 0xfe (254) APM_level = 254 /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95hdparm-apm resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/95anacron resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/94cpufreq resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/90clock resume suspend: not applicable. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules resume suspend: Reloaded unloaded modules. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/75modules resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant resume suspend: Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/60_wpa_supplicant resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager resume suspend: Having NetworkManager wake interfaces back up...Failed. /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/55NetworkManager resume suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate resume suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_unattended-upgrades-hibernate resume suspend: success. Running hook /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common resume suspend: /etc/pm/sleep.d/10_grub-common resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio resume suspend: Sessions still open, not unmounting Welcome to PulseAudio! Use "help" for usage information. >>> >>> Sessions still open, not unmounting Sessions still open, not unmounting Welcome to PulseAudio! Use "help" for usage information. >>> >>> Sessions still open, not unmounting /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/01PulseAudio resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00powersave resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/00logging resume suspend: success. Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change resume suspend: /usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/000kernel-change resume suspend: success. Mon May 27 23:30:34 ART 2013: Finished.

Here's my blkid output:

Code:

/dev/sda1: LABEL="Debian" UUID="aa3739d1-67e4-4297-9133-20bcf1d869aa" TYPE="ext4" /dev/sda3: LABEL="CentOS" UUID="87a46f38-92ed-43d4-ad63-18cccac2d3d7" TYPE="ext4" /dev/sda4: UUID="506C1EA132F525C2" TYPE="ntfs" /dev/sda5: UUID="05304e9c-56a8-48ca-9e4d-5a1661cb892d" TYPE="swap" /dev/sda6: UUID="ebf942d5-4a49-4376-86cd-edd834d0b8e7" TYPE="ext4" /dev/mapper/cryptswap1: UUID="b98cfa43-3e2d-441b-b1d8-0c85c57b6828" TYPE="swap"

This is the backup of my fstab file:

Code:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0 # / was on /dev/sda6 during installation UUID=ebf942d5-4a49-4376-86cd-edd834d0b8e7 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1 # swap was on /dev/sda7 during installation UUID=134312c5-542e-4f73-a79c-41fc7c94eb9f none swap sw 0 0 # swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation UUID=05304e9c-56a8-48ca-9e4d-5a1661cb892d none swap sw 0 0 /dev/mapper/cryptswap1 none swap sw 0 0

And this is the current one:

Code:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0 # / was on /dev/sda6 during installation UUID=ebf942d5-4a49-4376-86cd-edd834d0b8e7 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1 # swap was on /dev/sda7 during installation #UUID=134312c5-542e-4f73-a79c-41fc7c94eb9f none swap #sw 0 0 # swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation UUID=05304e9c-56a8-48ca-9e4d-5a1661cb892d none swap sw 0 0 #swap? /dev/mapper/cryptswap1 none swap sw 0 0