Fresh install Kubuntu 13.10: how best to partition the HD

[Felix Miata]

On 2013-11-06 23:45 (GMT+1100) Basil Chupin composed:

> * As I already stated I do not run Kubuntu (but openSUSE 13.10) and

There is no openSUSE 13.10 now, next week, or most likely ever: 
https://en.opensuse.org/Roadmap :-p

> May I with the outmost of respects suggest that you do NOT do this but
> install Win #7 on its own and then "dual boot" rather than have it
> embedded in Linux under Virtualbox?

Or install W7 on its own *and* run it as an application under VBox, so no 
need to give up Linux data access whilst running W7 apps...

> I am also advised by a friend who tried this that there are some Windows
> programs which will not run unless they are run in a purely Windows 7
> installed system.

...and actually boot W7 if and when this is an issue.

> Linux can read/write to Windows filesystems (FAT32, NTFS eg) but Windows
> is brainddead and cannot see anything-Linux.

Actually EXT2 access is available after installing an appropriate driver, 
according to reports I've read. It may be this has been extended to EXT3 and 
possibly EXT4 as well, but I don't use Windows enough to bother taking the risk.

> Reason why you use this GParted is that the partitioner in Kubuntu may
> not be able to properly format the NTFS partition you will need for W7
> (at least if you follow my recommendation re where W7 should go).

Formatting is not a traditional partitioner's job. Partitioners are for 
partitioning. Unless you wish to install to a partition you wish formatted in 
a different configuration from what the installation application makes 
available, the right tool to use for formatting is the one doing the 
installing of the particular operating system.

> (Like mc [Midnight Commander] SystemRescueCD is a tool which must exist
> in everyone's collection of useful tools.)

There exist better OFMs for particular purposes, but MC is the overall best 
while running Linux. For Windows there seems to be more OFMs available. The 
one I use when running OS/2 or Windows comes from 
http://silk.apana.org.au/fc.html and for particular activities I use it also 
in Linux, most often editing and copying from text files to other applications.

> I suggest the following, and bearing in mind that I strongly recommend
> installing W7 on its own:

> drive...size...format...label name...mount point
> sda1   1GB     ext4    btldr      (do not mount)

Gross overkill.

> sda2   30GB   NTFS   windows   windows
> sda3   30GB   ext4    linux1       /  <==first Linux system

Most likely gross overkill.

> sda4 EXTENDED PARTITION

A misnomer, as it never gets *a* filesystem. It's only a partition table 
entry whose main job is to identify the location of the first "logical" 
partition in the logical partition chain.

> sda5  4GB     swap
> sda6  30GB    ext4  linux2      (do not mount)

Most likely gross overkill.

> sda7  30GB    ext4  linux3      (do not mount)

Most likely gross overkill.

> sda8  30GB   ext4  linux4       (do not mount)

Most likely gross overkill.

> sda9  [95GB] ext4  data         /data

Most likely gross undersize.

For maximum performance, at least in theory, swap should be as close to the 
front of the HD as practical, as that's the location of fastest access on 
most HDs.

To that end, Windows "C:" should be as small as required by its installer. 
For the same reason, the most used operating system(s) should be as close to 
the front as practical. http://fm.no-ip.com/Share/disk1500G-multiboot.txt 
provides an example partitioning scheme to such end, one actually used for 
the HTPC with 512kib sector HD at my main TV. A relatively modest variation 
of this layout should suffice for the OP.

Note the much smaller than normally seen recommended system partitions. 
System partitions larger than needed steal space from data partitions, at 
least potentially running one out of data space prematurely, while leaving 
vast amounts of space on system partitions unused by most people 
(non-developers). Most of my systems have system (/) partitions for Linux of 
only 4800GB.

Note that the "C:" partition is only 400MB. There's no good reason to give 
Windows the fastest HD space if it isn't your preferred OS. Same as Linux, it 
only needs a modest amount of space for boot files on a primary (/boot) 
partition, and everything else can go somewhere else (usually D: according to 
Windows). C: (and /boot) can actually be put at the tail end of the device if 
there's no need for legacy OS access. It gets accessed only at boot time.

Note that both Windows and Linux have primary partitions for booting. This 
allows use of standard MBR code, and using either a Linux or a Windows 
bootloader as the primary bootloader simply by flipping two bits in the 
master partition table (making the selected partition 
active/startable/bootable). This means Windows could be reinstalled daily 
without ever making Linux unreachable for more than one post-installation 
boot cycle per installation.

Linux does not need Grub (or any other non-standard) code in the MBR to get 
booted. Linux writing Grub to the MBR at installation is no less rude than 
Windows rewriting standard MBR code at reinstallation time. Grub only needs 
to be on the MBR when it both cannot be installed to a primary partition on 
the first HD, and *needs* to be the primary bootloader.

To see an example of how to setup Windows (XP) to boot Linux, see: 
http://fm.no-ip.com/PC/install-doz-after.html. For W7, the bootloader is 
different, but the concept the same.

> Just on this point.

> I have 16GB of RAM and I have yet to see more than 2.5GB being used. But
> this obviously depends on what apps are running.

On the 24/7 system I'm writing this on, swap (4G) is disabled, and only 4G 
RAM is installed. I keep over 160 tabs open among 6 web browsers, plus two 
chat and several other apps open constantly. ATM, only 52% of RAM is used by 
the system and apps, the rest for disk cache. There's little reason for most 
users to have swap unless the system is ever hibernated. Other than for 
hibernation, swap is for most installations an anachronism.

> (NOTE: this, BTW, is why I am suggesting that you make the partition for
> W7 30GB big because W7 creates a pagefile.sys file equivalent to your
> RAM amount as well as a hiberfil.sys which is 75% of your RAM size.)

Windows' paging file should be limited by the user to a sane amount in system 
settings. A paging file on a system with more than 2-4G of installed RAM is 
usually a 100% waste of disk space. If one is multibooting, in most cases of 
non-expert users, Windows should not be hibernating, and so the hibernate 
function (and its significant space requirement) should disabled.

>> Question: how can I PREVENT that partition from being mounted during the
>> installation process of Kubuntu 13.10.?

Not mounting at startup has been an installation setup option per non-/ 
partition on every *buntu and openSUSE installation I've done. Some system 
installers don't provide such an option except by not including the partition 
among the desired mounts.
-- 
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

  Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/