Can I get system update (synaptic) to use non-root filesystem?

[Derek Broughton]

Chris G wrote:

> On Fri, Oct 02, 2009 at 10:15:49AM -0300, Derek Broughton wrote:
>> Chris G wrote:
>> 
>> > I have eeebuntu installed on an Eee PC, it doesn't have much
>> > memory/disk so update manager can't do updates at the moment.
>> > 
>> > I can plug in an SD card to give it some working space but I can't
>> > see any way to tell Update Manager to use the SD card rather than /.
>> 
>> Of course not.  What do you think it would put there?
>> 
> Working files?!  After the update there's not going to be much
> difference in the amount of space used, it's only *during* the update
> that it needs teh extra space.

Really there isn't a huge amount of temporary space needed, either.  The big 
thing is /var/cache/apt/archives
> 
>> Generally, the config files (/etc) and system executables (/bin, /sbin)
>> MUST
>> go on the root filesystem.  You can move practically anything else to
>> other filesystems, but you still need to keep the names the same -
>> Debian/Ubuntu use a standard naming system - that means you have to use
>> "mount" to put
>> your new filesystems in the right place.  Methinks that's probably too
>> advanced for you.
>> 
> Er, not really, I've been using/programming/administering Unix and
> Linux systems since some time in the 1980s.

OK, well it seemed like an awfully naive question.
> 
>> It might be very useful for you to put /tmp on the SD card, but I doubt
>> it would be a very good idea to use it for anything else.
> 
> If System Update uses /tmp as working space it might well solve my
> problem, if it doesn't but *really* uses space in / as working space
> then I'm a bit stuck.

It shouldn't - can't really.  It could use /var/tmp.

-- 
derek