Problems with disk partitions and mounting.

[Smithy963@hotmail.com]

Hi guys,

I recently decided to give Linux a blast - and Ubuntu was my choice,

The problem:

During the manual disk partition on installing i set these partitions:

Partition size - File system - Mounting point

6gb - swap area

30gb - Ext2 - /
40gb - Ext2 - /usr
20gb - Ext2 - /boot

Now the trouble is when the installation is all done and dusted,
I have 1 file system (30gb) - whats more is, the other directories that I stated should be on other partitions, are on my 30gb partition.

Is there any infomation I can be pointed towards that address's this issue.

Thanks in advance,

Smithy.

Ps. The reason I would like a solution to this problem is because I read some material that says I need separate partitions for /root and /usr.

[Elfy]

Can you run these 2 and post the outputs please


sudo fdisk -l
df -h
First will need your password - it will be invisible, that is normal.

If you actually have those partitions then I would say that they are vastly oversized - I have 5 or 6 different setups on my pc and the /boots for all of them come to less than 200Mb :)
There is a lot of info on the net about linux and seperate partitions but most advice here would be the opposite. I've never needed to use seperate partitions other than /home but I believe that it can be useful if you're running a server installation.

You might be better of reinstalling and redoing the partitions - if you do and have updated you can backup the updates so you don't need to download again.

[Smithy963@hotmail.com]

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb673b673

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 1019 8185086 27 Unknown
/dev/sda2 * 1020 5903 39223489 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 5904 16967 88871580 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 5904 6632 5855661 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 6633 9064 19535008+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 9065 13927 39062016 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 13928 15143 9767488+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda9 15144 16967 14651248+ 83 Linux
shaun@shaun-laptop:~$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda8 9.2G 458M 8.3G 6% /
tmpfs 1.5G 0 1.5G 0% /lib/init/rw
varrun 1.5G 104K 1.5G 1% /var/run
varlock 1.5G 0 1.5G 0% /var/lock
udev 1.5G 2.8M 1.5G 1% /dev
tmpfs 1.5G 104K 1.5G 1% /dev/shm
lrm 1.5G 2.0M 1.5G 1% /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/volatile
/dev/sda6 19G 49M 18G 1% /home
/dev/sda7 37G 1.7G 34G 5% /usr
/dev/sda9 14G 164M 13G 2% /usr/local



Haha, I guess I've been discovered - I'm a noob from windows.

I assumed mounting the directories to different partitions would create multiple file systems within Computer.

The previous post was just an example - i didnt really give /boot 10gb lol.

If i right click File System in Computer though - it says I only have 8.3gb free?

[Smithy963@hotmail.com]

Ah, if i enter filesystem, right click - properties on usr folder - it says i have 17gb free.

Ok would you be so kind as to help me set up a new partitioning scheme...

3 gb RAM - ive heard x2 and x1.5 - I'm going with the x2

6gb swap area

10gb - /
the rest of my space - /home

?

will that ensure i can upgrade without losing any important data - but still allow me to install an unlimited amount of GBs worth of applications?

[Linteg]

[SIZE="1"]
If i right click File System in Computer though - it says I only have 8.3gb free?
Well it's because / only has 8.3 gb free. your setup is not like you wrote in the first post, you have:
/ 9.2Gb
/home 18Gb
/usr 37Gb
/usr/local /14Gb <- a complete waste of space


You could also have used use the "File Systems" tab of the system monitor (System->Administration->System Monitor).

I do second forestpixie on reinstalling. The following would probably be ok in your case:
/ 10-20Gb
swap 1gb (as little as you want to but more than nothing)
/home the rest
if you feel like it you could have a small /boot partition with 200-250Mb

The 2xRAM in swap is an OLD rule of thumb which should be ignored nowadays.

[Smithy963@hotmail.com]

I'm sorry for the confusion on what dirs i gave to what partitions - i couldnt remember properly, and just gave examples. - i don't care much for putting /boot on a separate partition.

My main aim is the ability to upgrade and still keep my /home.

Also do you happen to know where all my applications/games/etc. are installed to ? is it /home ? or should i manually install everything to /home from now on ?

I'm planing on having greater than 10-20gbs worth of application installs.

[Elfy]

Ok - if you're going to reinstall and want loads of room for apps then maybe go for 20Gb as / but I doubt if you'll use it.

Remainder as home once you've dealt with some swap space - Linteg is right - up to a point - if you want to hibernate then SWAP must at least equal RAM so if that's the case then SWAP of 3.2Gb will be more thna enough - if you don't hibernate then maximum of 1Gb should do it - if you find it's not you can add swap files later.

[Smithy963@hotmail.com]

Ok. I think I got it - going for round no.5 or something like that.

Thank you very much for your help.

[Bartender]

Something else that might be helpful - take a screenshot of your partitions.
With the Ubuntu LiveCD up and running, plug in a USB thumb drive. Wait for it to appear on the desktop. Take note of its description - if confused, go into Places>Computer and you'll see something like /dev/usb
Now go to the partitioner. When the partition map is up, mouse over to Applications>Accessories>Screenshot and take a screenshot. Save to the thumb drive. Get back out of the LiveCD, boot into Windows, attach the screenie to a post.
Some of these guys who live and breathe Linux can read fdisk -l easily. Pictures are easier for me!