primary and extended partitions

[kamranhameed]

folks.. i have been reading on this partitions subject. But still i have some confusions regarding them

1. Can we create just one extended partition (and then create logical partitions in it) because this extended is infact a primary (1 of the 4 primary partitions that are allowed)

2. Does it matter for windows that they must have a primary partition since they will not boot from extended one?

3. Does it matter for linux that they must have a primary partition since they will not boot from extended one?

4. Can we have more than 1 swap partitions and why?

Regards!

[devils casper]

1. Can we create just one extended partition (and then create logical partitions in it) because this extended is infact a primary (1 of the 4 primary partitions that are allowed)

Yes. You can create 3 Primary + 1 Extended + 8 Logical Partitions inside Extended Partition.

2. Does it matter for windows that they must have a primary partition since they will not boot from extended one?

Windows OS needs Primary Partition only. You can install other Windows OS ( dual boot windows/windows in Logical Partition but first Windows OS must be install in Primary Partition only.

3. Does it matter for linux that they must have a primary partition since they will not boot from extended one?

Linux doesn't care about Partition type. You can install Linux in Logical partitions. I have Windows XP ( Primary ) + 6 Linux distros ( all in Logical Partitions ) in my test machine.

4. Can we have more than 1 swap partitions and why?

Yes. You can create as many SWAP partitions as you like but that will be a wastage of disk space. All Linux distros can share single SWAP Partition.

[gogalthorp]

You may also consider just one home partition so that your personal data and configurations can be shared between distros. You only really need a root for each distro. Note you can not specify a partition to mount as home then home will be in the root partition.