New User

Matthew Flaschen matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu
Wed Apr 25 06:24:18 UTC 2007


Michael J Zarecor wrote:
> I am downloading Ubuntu while doing this, and have not delved into the 
> documentation completely yet, but I want to ask a quick question before I go 
> much further. When I download files or programs to use in Linux, will they 
> co-exist on my windows hard drive, or do I need to make a separate partition 
> for Linux?

You need to make a separate partition (or use a separate drive).  I
think the Ubuntu installer can do the partitioning now, but I recommend
doing it beforehand with a separate utility like GParted
(http://gparted.sourceforge.net/) which is included on the Ubuntu
LiveCD.  Do be sure to backup first.

> If so, how big should it be, and how do I format it?

You can get by with less than 5 GB for the main partition, but obviously
more is better :); this main partition should be formatted ext2 or ext3,
but the Ubuntu installer can do this for you.  Just select manual
partition, and you'll be able to assign each partition, and choose
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/partitioningwhether to format (you
obviously have to format the main partition)

  Also, I recommend you create a separate, larger partition for your
data.  Since you're dual-booting, format this FAT32 (Linux still doesn't
have perfect support for NTFS, the default Windows filesystem).

You may want to read http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/partitioning ,
which seems to cover these issues pretty thoroughly.

Anyway, welcome, and ask away!

Matt Flaschen




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