partitioning for ubuntu on XP machine

[fin1]

Hi guys,

I need to install ubuntu for school purposes and im just about to do it but i have a couple of questions i haven't found answers for so i would appreciate any help.
First - what type of partitions does ubuntu need? can both the system and the swap partitions be logical or do i need them to be primary? If so can they be on the same extended partition together with WIN logical drives? what limitions, if any, do i have regarding partitions' size, type and location?

Im attaching a screenshot of my HDDs status, if anyone can recommend where and how to create the partitions it would be great.

btw, is there a way to create the ubuntu partitions in advance through win xp with something like partition magic and then just direct the installation there?

Thanks very much!

[yancek]

what type of partitions does ubuntu need?

A root partition. You can optionally create separate partitions for /boot, /home or if you are using a server /var. There is no NEED to create more than one. A swap partition is only useful if you have very limited memory on your computer.

System and swap can both be on a logical partition and they can be on separate logical partitions on an extended partition. Not sure what you mean by limitation on partitions/drives, might depend on your motherboard and BIOS.

[Jonathan183]

Welcome to the forums fin1

First - what type of partitions does ubuntu need? can both the system and the swap partitions be logical or do i need them to be primary? If so can they be on the same extended partition together with WIN logical drives? what limitions, if any, do i have regarding partitions' size, type and location?

Ubuntu will need a Linux formatted partition - ext3 or similar, it can be on a primary or logical partition. For some systems BIOS does not support boot on a partition which occupies a cylinder greater than 1024.
Partition layout depends on system use and your preference - there are no right answers ... but I would suggest root 15 to 20GB, swap 2xRAM upto 1GB maximum swap partition size, home partition remaining spare space on the disk.
I suggest you have Windows on one disk, and Linux on the other disk. Disconnect the Windows hard drive while you install Linux, make sure it boots properly then reconnect the Windows hard drive and setup dual boot after that.

btw, is there a way to create the ubuntu partitions in advance through win xp with something like partition magic and then just direct the installation there?

I recommend you either use Gparted from the Ubuntu live CD or from the PartedMagic live CD. Partition Magic has let me down badly in the past.

Backup user data before changing partitions because something like a power failure during the resize will trash data on the partition being resized.

Make sure you select custom partition during the install ... last time I installed Ubuntu the default was to use the whole hard drive (wiping Windows and any existing data off the drive).

Hope that helps ... good luck with the install.

[D-cat]

The answer to that depends on how you want to launch the boot manager (grub).
- If you intend to install the loader in the MBR (default, overwrites Windows' loader), then you can put all of Ubuntu's partitions in an extended partition.
- If you wish to use the Windows bootloader or the mbr bootable flag and install grub to the partition, then at least that partition (usually the root (/)) needs to be primary. All others can still be logical. Warning: this is often a more complicated multi-step process to make work right.

Option 1 has the advantage of being simpler and usually works right away. Option 2 has the advantage of not nuking your bootloader if you ever need to reinstall Windows.

If you are planning on manually partitioning, I'd suggest you make a 10G ext3 partition for the root (/), a swap partition of 2X RAM but not exceeding 2GB and total RAM (physical + swap) not less than 512MB. In many cases, if you have 2+GB physical RAM, you do not need a swap partition. The rest of the allocated space should go to an ext3 partition to be mounted as /home. This will save a potential headache when upgrading or changing your distro.

It is okay for Linux partitions to reside on the same drive or in the same extended partition as Windows partitions. The size limit is well beyond any drive in a home computer for probably a few years to come (8TB @ 4KB block size), so that's a non issue. I suggest a 10GB min root partition because this is where your software will reside and it gives enough space for most typical home use installs.

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Edit: I got beat to the punch!

[Outcast_Aussie]

If your just playing around for research purposes then use Wubi