Finally ditching windows.

[khsbenny]

Im finally ditching windows now I've worked out how to use Wine and emulators

So here's my question.

My HDD is a 160gb hard drive. Its currently split into 3 main partitions; 100gb for windows 7 (The one I want to get rid of), 40gb for mint and a random 7 gb which is empty and used to have the recovery partition for windows.

What's the best way of starting fresh and have mint as the whole 160gb?

Im also thinking about going to KDE so Im assuming that just a fresh install is needed?

Many thanks,

Ben.

[Aging Technogeek]

If you install Mint KDE (or any Mint flavor) and choose the option to use the entire hard drive, all previous OS will be deleted during the install.

Or, you could choose to partition manually, click "New Partition Table" in the partition editor (this will delete all existing OS), and set the partitions for the fresh install as you desire.

[pluraldave]

I would DEFINITELY manually partition that hard drive if I were you to separate the OS from your data. That way when you upgrade in the future (or switch distro) your data will remain intact.

See the thread Considerations before you install which is sticked at the top of Newbie Questions before you make up your mind on your partition scheme.

[beli0135]

I am using linux for a long time now. My favorite is openSUSE, but for some other reasons I am using Mint now (KDE4), and I like it.

Linux, needs minimum 2 partitions, one for all linux things and one for swap. However, this is not happiest solution. Makes upgrades a nightmare as there is good chance of data loss, if you upgrade or change distro.

Expirience has thought me of 2 nice layouts.

(Layout for speed)
1. ~300 MB, Ext2, mount point: /boot
2. ~2 GB, SWAP
3. 30-60 GB, Ext4, mount point: /
4. rest of the disk, ext4, mount point: /home

(Layout for simplicity)
same as above, but without 1st, /boot partition


It is of UTMOST importance to have separate partition for /home . All user data is there, so this makes backups, upgrades, distro-changes safe and easy

[catilley]

khsbenny, I hear you! I've ditched Windows, too. At least on this laptop I have. I'm impressed with what I see in Mint. I'm currently dual booting with Xubuntu. But so far, I like the graphics and looks of Mint better. Some of the options work exactly the same. And the best thing, no licensing or validation crap. I've been an XP Pro user since it was a release candidate years ago. In fact, XP has kept Microsoft alive for many years now. If Windows 7 is no better than Vista, they are in dire straits. But to the point, Linux is the most user friendly platform that I've ever dealt with. The forums are great and people are usually willing to help (I wouldn't have come this far without them). As soon as I have a little more experience under my belly, I'll ditch them from my main laptop as well. Best wishes!

[khsbenny]

Nice to hear some support!

Im now thinking to just stick with what I know (gnome) and need to know would I be safe just formatting the windows partition then just using that as a partition for media?

Thanks all!

Ben.

[pluraldave]

Yes but you might as well start over. 40GB for Linux is 3 times more than you need if your data is going to be kept elsewhere.

[Lantesh]

Here is my recommendation if you totally start over from scratch.

1. I don't know how much ram you have, but I'd say make a 1 or 2 gig swap file. Put the swap file at the outer edge of the hard drive, as that's the fastest part of the disk. In gparted that will be on the left.

2. Next make your / partition, format it as ext4, and make it 10 gigs. That should be more than enough unless you install a ton of games.

3. Next make a /home partition. Format it as ext4, but only make it about 5 gigs. The reason for this is because you are only going to use it to store settings, not your data.

4. Finally format the remaining 143 gigs as ext3, and use it for your data. After you are done installing Mint delete the generic data folders out of your /home partition. Recreate the generic data folders on your data partition, and create symbolic links in /home that point to the folders on the data partition.

[pluraldave]

Only use ext4 if you're happy doing a kernel upgrade as the one that you will be installing is buggy with ext4.

[hipporhinostricow]

Good for you!
The partition editor (gparted) should let you resize, delete, and create new partitions if they're not mounted.
By deleting the Windows partition, it leaves a lot of space that the linux partition can be grown into.
As far as I know, KDE is more impressive and flexible graphically, but GNOME is supposed to be more stable. It also uses slightly less RAM, so if using an old PC (like me) it helps the system run faster.
Good luck!

[khsbenny]

Right I've made a decision. Im getting rid of Windows 7 however I really cannot be bothered with installing all my programs again so I dont want to reformat the whole hard drive.

I just need to know am I safe to format the Windows parition?

Thanks all for your support!

[catilley]

Yes, you can delete the partition. Or you can shrink it just in case you need a Windows program. Just be sure that's what you want to do, as there's no turning back afterwards. By the way, I'm 100% Linux Mint on this laptop with no problems as far as the OS is concerned. I just need to get my printer configured to work with Linux. Good Luck!

[catilley]

With GParted, you should be able to do whatever you want as far as keeping your Mint installation intact. I shrunk my Mint partition to install Ubuntu 9.04. Had no problems afterward. Keep in mind that I'm not telling you what to do with your computer, but you may need Windows for certain sites, so if you want, shrink it to the smallest size to your comfort (about 15 to 20GB will be plenty). On the other hand, if you feel comfortable doing so, ditch Windows and expand Mint to your entire drive, using the tools in GParted or your favorite partitioning tool. Best of luck to you!

[khsbenny]

Well, Windows is removed. I feel so much better

Im still using office on linux though. I cant get to grips with OpenOffice.

Haha I felt like crying today in school when XP lost my coursework.

I really do love Linux and hope to learn lots and lots more about it!

[catilley]

kshbenny, I wish the best for you. By completely ditching Windows, you have made a 100% commitment to Linux, and from what I gather from you, you're unhappy with Windows (so am I). You made the right decision and I commend you for it. This also is the best way to learn. Keep us informed on how you're coming along. Best wishes to you.

[vrkalak]

Good for you! . . . That's what I did!!

I first discovered Ubuntu 9.04 after about 2 weeks installed LinuxMint-7
The next day deleted all Windows OS from all my computers.

It may not be the recommended method . . . "sink or swim" . . . but it works for me.

I am learning a lot about Linux and how it all works . . . it's fun.