minimum "/" partition size

[James Gray]

On 22/06/2007, at 10:20 AM, Default User wrote:

> I installed Ubuntu 7.04 on an older computer (AMD k6-2 400 mhz
> processor , 512mb ram, 40gb ide hd).  The ASUS P5A main system  
> board has
> a bios from 1999. I works okay with Debian Sarge, but Ubuntu 7.04  
> would
> not boot, gave grub error 18.  So I reinstalled, manually partitioned,
> making the / partition a "logical" partition.

Having root (/) on a logical partition isn't necessarily a problem,  
but I wouldn't recommend it.  PATA/SATA drives can have a maximum of  
4 primary partitions and I can't remember what the limit is on  
logical partitions.  Keep in mind all logical partitions must reside  
under (inside) a primary partition.

> But what size to make the / partition? Too small and it won't hold
> everything it needs to hold over time after kernel upgrades, etc.  Too
> big and it wastes disk space. Also, with a separate "primary" /
> partition, how should the rest of the disk be partitioned?

I think you may be hitting a 1024th cylinder problem that used to  
plague us poor saps before BIOSes in the PC world gained a clue -  
although it was more of a problem for "lilo" users.  Even though  
you're using grub, try giving the poor machine a chance :)  Here's my  
recommendation:

Device   Partition   FileSystem   Mounted at  Size
=================================================================
hda1     primary     ext2         /boot       100-200MB
hda2     primary     SWAP         N/A         512-1024MB
hda3     primary     ext3/reiser  /           Remainder of drive

This way, when grub goes to start, it will find the whole kernel in  
the /boot partition above the 1024th cylinder and once the kernel is  
loaded the BIOS limitations on drive size becomes a moot point  
(mostly).  Having a giant root (/) isn't necessarily the purists  
ideal partitioning scheme, but it is the simplest and means you wont  
have to play "partition shuffle" if you accidentally under-estimate  
your space requirements.

> PS - I am not going to try to upgrade the bios. One mistake or  
> hardware
> error during the process, and the computer is just a big expensive
> paperweight. It's just too risky. And I'm too poor to set it on the
> curb.

Not necessarily.  There are a number of companies who can recover  
your BIOS or send you a working one :)  All is not lost if you  
"brick" it.  You will be in for some down time though.

Have fun and don't let people bag your kit; as long as you don't  
stress it with a bloated window manager (KDE...I'm looking at you!)  
you have a quite capable desktop machine.  I'd seriously reconsider  
the BIOS upgrade - many of your problems *may* "disappear" with a  
newer firmware.

Cheers,

James




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