Hi Im a noob and I dont know "ANYTHING"

[ds2992]

So.... whats a
/swap partition?
/home partition?
/boot partition?
what are all these different file systems i can chose from in the installations partition thingy.
Why is my installation stuck on "configuring bootloader"?
After using microsoft for 15 years why do i know nothing about this stuff?

[vrkalak]

Start here > http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/smart-questions.html

Then here > http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... +the+trade
and here > http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... +the+trade

Then this > http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php

Read, listen and learn.

[grey1960envoy]

Ok first you must forget Windows, this kind of thinking is going to get you very ticked off. The partitions are set up this way to help in the way Linux operates , /boot directs the Bios to the linux kernel, / root is the operating system /home is where your files are kept and the swap partition is basically to aid in running your programs. these partitions also aid in the reason Linux is virus free to an extent. The reason you don't know these is Windows /M$ won't let you know about such things ( you may learn something )

[Roken]

In Windows speak:

/home = documents
/swap = pagefile

[Aging Technogeek]

Unlike Windows which automatically formats the drive to ntfs (the file system developed for the Windows NT series of OS), in Linux you can choose the file system you want to use. The default system is ext4, but you can use ext3, jfs, rieserfs, or any of the others offered. A little googling and reading will let you make a more informed choice.

Partitions are a mystery to most new Linux users since the only thing they know is the monolithic Windows approach of taking the entire drive and not telling you what it is doing in there. The absolute minimum needed for a Linux installation is a swap partition ( some people say you no longer need swap - more on this later) and a /(root) partition. If you choose the automatic installation either to the entire disk or side by side with another OS, this is what you get.

With manual partitioning you have much more control of things . You specify the partitions you want along with order, file system, and size of each partition. Here is a very good discussion of partitioning and installing Linux:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 872#p72906

As to why your installation stalled, there may be many reasons. Your best bet is to open a new topic in "Installation and Boot" and give as much information as you can.

This is not Microsoft Support. WE have no backdoors in Mint that allow us to see what is going on in your system, you must tell us and the more you can tell us the easier our job is.

Microsoft does not want you to know too much so you do not realize how deep and pervasive their control of your computer is when you use Windows.

[ds2992]

WOOHOO I did it. I installed linux mint debien on my laptop. I am now oober lite. you may all bow before me.