Question on / root size

[adamthezeek]

Hello,

I got a 128gb SSD, I plan on using full linux LMDE w/o windows during college as an IT degree.

I need to have space for VMware for dos, winXP,7,NT,2000,OSX..., Maya, Tons of apps, games of course, steam maybe down the road (This is a 4 year plan)

Honestly, in your opinions how BIG do you think I need / root?

I am thinking of taking the entire SSD for / root and perhaps a small partition for /home for customization files.

Opinions? Ideas? Anyone? Thanks.

edit: I wanted to add that I will be using a 500gb usb drive for photos/music/docs only

[gn2]

Given that you should be backing up everything you need to keep to external media, I can't see that there's any point in having separate partitions.
I just go with one partition for / and a swap.
Someone will be along in a minute to tell you the opposite, fact is only you can decide what partitioning strategy best suits your needs.

[xenopeek]

I agree with gn2, just use the entire disk for /. But if you want separate partitions I'd go with 20 GiB for / and the rest for /home (and swap only if you need it). Virtual hard disks for VMware will be stored in your /home, only software is installed to / (/usr actually). Default installation takes about 6 GiB; having 20 GiB should be enough. You can always resize later from the installation disc.

[adamthezeek]

Think I will end up with one partition. Thanks for your opinions. I will be doing weekly backups to an external drive, just seems a lot easier this way.

[GregE]

Adam,

Make sure you set up the SSD correctly. Linux does not activate trim by default.

I used this post as my start point. Be careful moving /tmp files to RAM as it will use a lot of RAM and moving log files can cause other issues (in my case TOR would not function).

http://apcmag.com/how-to-maximise-ssd-p ... -linux.htm

Once you are done then run this command to ensure you have trim functional

sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda | awk '/.*TRIM supported.*/{ if ($1 == "*") print "Yes, TRIM is enabled"; else print "No, TRIM is not enabled.";}'

And you should get “Yes, TRIM is enabled”. Adjust sda to sdb or whatever matches your system setup.

My SSD in a desktop absolutely flies.

[xenopeek]

GregE has some good points. I have a short step-by-step guide on how I set up my SSD, may also be useful (including the same bits and pieces I think): viewtopic.php?f=90&t=79503#p461796.

[GregE]

GregE has some good points. I have a short step-by-step guide on how I set up my SSD, may also be useful (including the same bits and pieces I think): viewtopic.php?f=90&t=79503#p461796.

Vincent, thank you for the post. The more information the better. I wrote a Mini HowTo for Debian on mixing an SSD and an HDD in a desktop system http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=76921

I notice some different syntax in fstab, but both approaches seem to work. The hardest part in setting up mine was finding good information, which lead me to do the same as you - write it up in a forum so others can find it (and so I have a reference if I need to re-install).

[adamthezeek]

Thanks GregE, that will come in handy when I get my optics drive bay caddy for my HDD.

I am loving mint so far, hit a few snags but google and this forum is very helpful, loving the community and I see it being a great choice moving forward.