)I installed Linux Mint, setting up the partitions with Gparted from the live USB:
I have (2) IDE HDDs installed, both set to CS. (Hardware in my Signature)
(1) 80GB with Mint Nadia/32 - Mate installed in Primary position
Partitions:
150MB Free
575MB Primary EXT3 /boot
74GB Extended Primary containing:
1.5GB linux-swap
12GB EXT4 /root
10.4GB Unallocated
15GB EXT4 /home
35GB NTFS Win Backup (Logicals)
(1) 80GB with Win XP Pro installed in Secondary position
Partitions:
37.3GB Primary NTFS (Win XP Pro)
37.3GB Extended Primary containing:
35.5GB Unallocated (to be for Linux backup)
1.5GB linux-swap (Logicals)
I assume the linux backup should be EXT4 file sys?
I set it up this way figuring with dual drives having opposite OS's & backups on them should one fail I'll have both an OS to boot from and a backup of the other. (I also like that when putting the Linux drive in the lead position the Win MBR doesn't get raped by Grub, and you can still boot from the second drive with XP when you need.)
Everything seems to be working, although I do seem to have some quirks I'll address in another post in the newbies section. My concerns here are that I got a bit confused when I set the /boot to EXT3 fs, is that alright? (I saw threads on here suggesting the fs be EXT3 on /root & /home as well, and I think somewhere even EXT2???)
I put in the /boot in order to be able to maybe try Cinnamon or possibly other distros of Linux. (Not that I think for a second there's anything I'll like as much as Mint - I think it was very aptly named!
) But in the How to install with manual partitioning thread viewtopic.php?f=42&t=122276#p671453 it mentions problems possibly arising with a partition setup like this from even upgrading your version of Mint, never mind a different distro. (desktop?) Can I make new partitions and move the necessary files to check out other Linux options, or would I need to create and do a fresh install? (And lose whatever I've set up thus far in Mint. 
)Also the sizes recommended on the above thread seem to be much larger than I read elsewhere on the board. (Which is another reason why I left the 10.4GB following the /root, figuring I can always enlarge this should the sys I settle on require more - the thread I saw mentioned something to the effect that 10-12GB is all anyone but a programmer will ever need here. And that smaller partitions will make for a faster system overall, which makes sense.
Thoughts.......?
