Creating Linux Partition

Dev Shed Forums Sponsor:

June 17th, 2009, 01:19 PM

techman10

Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2007

Posts: 9

Time spent in forums: 4 h 59 m 30 sec
Reputation Power: 0

Creating Linux Partition

Hi, I am currently running 64bit Windows XP, but I would like to add Ubuntu to have a dual boot system. I started off by using Partition Magic to try to create a partition with the ext3 filesystem. On physical disk 1, I currently have the C: drive which contains the Windows OS as well as program files. I also have another partition on this same physical disk that is for data storage. Using Partition Magic, I want to take 40 gigs from the C: partition and create a new linux partition with ext3. The problem is that PM goes through all of the steps and then asks me to restart. I have followed all of the instructions and the system restarts without the linux partition being created. Can anyone help me to understand why this partition isn't being created?

After searching a little bit, I think this is also related to the "xmnt 2002 program not found. skipping autocheck.exe" message that I get when booting up Windows.

Thanks in advance for your help.

June 17th, 2009, 07:08 PM

tj_nt

Contributing User

Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,098

Time spent in forums: 1 Month 3 Weeks 11 h 25 m 57 sec
Reputation Power: 1762

I am not 100% positive about this...but...I think if you boot to a Ubuntu Live CD and start the install process the installer will do everything for you without disturbing your Windows installation...

Generally Linus requires 3 partitions...the (Ubuntu) installer will allow you to choose how big your partitions will be...

good luck

June 17th, 2009, 07:21 PM

holodoc

Contributing User

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Kostolac, Serbia

Posts: 663

Time spent in forums: 2 Weeks 1 Day 15 h 59 m 52 sec
Reputation Power: 980

Send a message via Google Talk to holodoc

If you just want to create a dual boot that will enable you to use Ubuntu and WindowsXP on the same machine you should only follow the instructions you get after you initiate the installation process. If I am correct (I use RHEL derivates like Fedora and CentOS) you have to live boot Ubuntu and initiate the installation process by double clicking the installation icon called something like "install" or similar on your Ubuntu Desktop. After that you will come to a partition layout part which will enable you to create the layout you want. Here you would have to choose custom layout and create at least two partitions for Linux. One of them will hold Ubuntu itself and the second one will be the so called swap partition. As for your Ubuntu partition if you want to experiment you would have to make it at least 10GB big since you will want to install a lot of programs from its repositories. As for the swap partition I would say that 512MB to 1GB is absolutely all you need although you will most likely find different opinions on this.

Be extra careful with playing with partitioning tools since you can destroy all of your date if you do it incorrectly.

On the the other hand if you don't trust Ubuntu to do it for you then just use gParted. In my opinion its one of the best partitioning programs out there

__________________

PHP Code:


		
			
<?php 

abstract class Ignorance extends Stupidity implements Unavoidable { 

     public static $humiliation; 



     final function findCover(); 

} 

?>

Last edited by holodoc : June 17th, 2009 at 07:26 PM.

June 17th, 2009, 07:24 PM

Doug G

Grumpier Old Moderator

Dev Shed God 15th Plane (12000 - 12499 posts)

Join Date: Jun 2003

Posts: 12,280

Time spent in forums: 1 Month 1 Week 3 Days 12 h 45 m 59 sec
Reputation Power: 2009

I'd set up a virtual machine for Ubuntu and skip the whole repartitioning/dual booting thing.

__________________
======
Doug G
======
I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. --Mark Twain

June 17th, 2009, 07:35 PM

holodoc

Contributing User

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Kostolac, Serbia

Posts: 663

Time spent in forums: 2 Weeks 1 Day 15 h 59 m 52 sec
Reputation Power: 980

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug G

I'd set up a virtual machine for Ubuntu and skip the whole repartitioning/dual booting thing.

Unfortunately there are some things that can't be emulated good enough (if at all) to provide a good functionality overview of any Linux distribution that is running inside a virtual machine

One of those functionalities is the inability to provide support for direct rendering which will make the client application run as slow as possible inside it. That's one of the main reasons I often choose to install any additional operating system on a separate partition. In case there is a need to install more that two or three of them (you might never know why) I use a GRUB partition to make it all nice and tidy on one place.

Last edited by holodoc : June 17th, 2009 at 07:37 PM.

June 17th, 2009, 08:54 PM

ishnid

kill 9, $$;

Dev Shed God 1st Plane (5500 - 5999 posts)

Join Date: Sep 2001

Location: Dublin, Eire

Posts: 5,992

Time spent in forums: 3 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days 1 h 21 m 31 sec
Reputation Power: 2212

Quote:

Originally Posted by tj_nt

Indeed, though it's always a good idea to run a disk defrag within Windows first, if your Windows installation has been around for any length of time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tj_nt

Generally Linus requires 3 partitions...the (Ubuntu) installer will allow you to choose how big your partitions will be...

I don't think Linus himself has much say over my installations

To install a Linux distro, you'll need two partitions at least: / and swap.

Comments on this post

tj_nt agrees: excuse the typo...sorry no pts available

__________________
~ishnid;

Have you tried:
[ search.cpan.org | perldoc | Java API | mysql.com | google ]

Apostrophes are NOT used for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals, including acronyms.

Last edited by ishnid : June 17th, 2009 at 09:03 PM.

June 17th, 2009, 09:51 PM

tj_nt

Contributing User

Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,098

Time spent in forums: 1 Month 3 Weeks 11 h 25 m 57 sec
Reputation Power: 1762

Quote:

To install a Linux distro, you'll need two partitions at least: / and swap.

If you opt for a third partition /home you can often upgrade or change distributions without losing data

June 20th, 2009, 06:24 PM

techman10

Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2007

Posts: 9

Time spent in forums: 4 h 59 m 30 sec
Reputation Power: 0

Thanks for the responses. I decided to go the gParted route, and I burned the iso to create a live cd. Using the graphical interface, I shrunk the C: partition by 40 gigs and used that to create a new linux partition. However, even here I'm having the same problem. When I click apply changes, gParted tells me that the operations couldn't be carried out. So basically, I haven't been able to create the linux partition using gparted or Partition Magic. Do you think that there is some type of conflict since this is the windows partition and where windows boots from?

Thanks again

June 20th, 2009, 07:48 PM

tj_nt

Contributing User

Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,098

Time spent in forums: 1 Month 3 Weeks 11 h 25 m 57 sec
Reputation Power: 1762

[suggestion]
Why not let the Ubuntu installer create default partitions...if you're not happy with the default installation sizes of the partitions you can then try to use gParted to resize...

BTW...have you considered using a second stand alone hard drive for the Linux O/S ?

Viewing: Dev Shed Forums > Operating Systems > Linux Help > Creating Linux Partition

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts vB code is On Smilies are On [IMG] code is On HTML code is Off

View Your Warnings | New Posts | Latest News | Latest Threads | Shoutbox

Forum Jump

Free IT White Papers!

How to Present Effectively Online
This white paper offers practical and actionable advice on the key steps that any presenter should consider as they plan and execute a Webinar or online meeting.

Open Source Security Myths
Open Source Software (OSS) is computer software whose source code is available to the general public with relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions (or arrangement such as the public domain), and is usually developed with the input of many contributors.

Power and Cooling Capacity Management for Data Centers
This paper describes the principles for achieving power and cooling capacity management.

Scalable, Fault-Tolerant NAS for Oracle - The Next Generation
For several years NAS has been evolving as a storage alternative for Oracle databases, and for good reason: NAS is quite often the simplest, most cost-effective storage approach for Oracle. Learn about the benefits that HP's approach to scalable NAS brings to Oracle environments in this comprehensive white paper.

Understanding Web Application Security Challenges
This white paper discusses many common threats and preventive measures for Web application security, and explains what you can do to help protect your organization.

More Free IT White Papers!