Partitioning Question

[Moneer81]

Hello,

I have a stupid question about partitioning, I think I know the answer but I wanted to double check so I don't mess things up. I was installing Ubuntu on my laptop today and I got to the part where I had to partition my hard drive. My acer laptop came with a 140GB hard disk dividen into two 70GB partitions (C: and D: ) both NTFS. So when I got to the partitioning screen I saw the two partitions and a third smaller one (about 900MB). 1.What is that third one?
I would like to have linux on my D: partition (that is completely empty). Ubuntu asked me to creat a partition and also a swap partition? 2.What is exactly a swap partition? 3.Both have to be ext3, right? and 4.Can I just re-size my D partition and create the linux partition on there?

If anyone can walk me through this a little better I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot!

[oz]

Hello,

I have a stupid question about partitioning, I think I know the answer but I wanted to double check so I don't mess things up. I was installing Ubuntu on my laptop today and I got to the part where I had to partition my hard drive. My acer laptop came with a 140GB hard disk dividen into two 70GB partitions (C: and D: ) both NTFS. So when I got to the partitioning screen I saw the two partitions and a third smaller one (about 900MB). 1.What is that third one?
I would like to have linux on my D: partition (that is completely empty). Ubuntu asked me to creat a partition and also a swap partition? 2.What is exactly a swap partition? 3.Both have to be ext3, right? and 4.Can I just re-size my D partition and create the linux partition on there?

If anyone can walk me through this a little better I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot!

I'd recommend checking out the Parted Magic LiveCD for doing your partitioning work:

Parted Magic

It runs entirely from the liveCD and is very easy to use.

1) Not sure what it is. Maybe a partition for restoring your Windows installation from?

2) SWAP space is used when your Linux box is hungry for more memory, but your RAM is all used up. You might not need a swap partition, depending on how much RAM you have.

3) They don't have to be ext3, but it is a good choice and that's what I use.

4) The parted magic livecd can shrink/expand your partitions. You should defrag your Windows partition before making any changes to it.

I usually use a very simple partitioning scheme such as this:

/ (about 8 to 12 GB, ext3)
SWAP (about 512 MB)
/home (about 8 to 12 GB, ext3)

Hope this helps...

oz

[devils casper]

I wont recommend LVM to new users because its a bit tricky to handle LVMs. Most of Partition Manager do not support LVM and it will difficult resize Volumes later on.

[Moneer81]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to use the Ubuntu partitioner instead?

[oz]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to use the Ubuntu partitioner instead?

Easier for one person sometimes turns out to be harder for another. I personally find Parted Magic the easiest to use, but you should use whichever is easier for you.

[devils casper]

Yes. Ubuntu CD has GParted and you can create/resize partition with it. No need to use any other Partitioning Tool.

[Moneer81]

Thanks for all of your help.

So here is the deal, on windows I have a C: and D: partitions. 70 GB each. My D: is empty so can I install ubuntu on the D: partition? So here is what I am gonna do: when the ubuntu partitioner pops up during installation and asks for a swap partition and main partition for linux, I will click on that empty 70GB partition, resize to create a smaller swap partition and use the rest for the main partition, make them both Ext3 partitions, and that's it, right? Excuse the misuse of some of the technical terms...

[oz]

make them both Ext3 partitions, and that's it, right?

No, ext3 is great for the / partition but you don't want to use that file system for the SWAP partition. Format it for SWAP, instead.

[Moneer81]

No, ext3 is great for the / partition but you don't want to use that file system for the SWAP partition. Format it for SWAP, instead.

Is the rest of what I am doing correct then?

[devils casper]

Create two partitions before starting installation. It will be a lot easier for you.
Boot up from Ubuntu CD, open GParted and delete Last partition. Create three new partitions.
1. 40 GB -- NTFS for data sharing
2. 512MB -- for SWAP format in SWAP filesystem
3. Rest of free space -- format in ext3 filesystem.

Start installation and select Manual Partitioning. Installer will detect SWAP partition itself. Select ext3 partition and assign it / mount point. Continue Installation.