LMDE2 Disk Partition

[jonesypeter]

Hi,

I'm trying LDME2, after being a Mint 17 user for a number of years. From reviews I had read I thought LMDE suggested partitions for you, rather like Mint, but I must be mistaken.

I'm using quite an old machine which does not have UEFI or similar. Is there any sort of automated partition tool, or just GPARTED.

If I'm starting with a blank Hard Disk (around 300GB), what layout would you recommend?

Thanks

[Reorx]

Do you want to use the whole disk for the installation or do you want to save some unallocated space for use later (testing another distro, etc.)?

If you want to do a whole disk installation, I believe that the installer has an option for that and you don't have to do anything with partitioning yourself, the installer will do it all. I believe default partitioning will be swap and /.

[jonesypeter]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm happy to use the whole drive. This is a machine I nuke at regular intervals when I'm testing new distros.

I can't see any option to create default partitions. Does anyone know where this is? If you try and click forward without doing anything an error comes up saying you must have partitions.

Thanks

[Reorx]

Isn't there a screen before that one that gives you the option of "whole disk" installation???

If not,
For a desktop with up to 1 GB of RAM - swap size = 1GB.
If RAM > 8GB then swap = 2GB
If laptop and you don't want to hibernate, use above. If you want to be able to hibernate (desktop or laptop), swap = above + RAM size.
/ is the rest of the disk (file system = ext4)

Create the partitions using Gparted before you hit install. Then in the installer, select (double click) the ext4 partition and select / as the mount point and check the "format" box - then click next (or continue or whatever is says)...

On an experimental machine, a / partition of 50 GB is usually plenty big enough. If you don't use the rest of the disk for / (and only use some of it), you will leave unused, unallocated space that you can use later to test other distros without wiping what you will be installing today - just a thought...

[jonesypeter]

Thanks for the reply. I will give that a go, as well as the idea of smaller partitions.

Are there not any active LMDE users out there who have recent experience of the installer who can answer for certain about the disk partition options?

Thanks

[Reorx]

The last time in installed LMDE2 was shortly after it came out and I (foolishly) didn't get screenshots of all the installation screens. LMDE2 in on my experimental machine so I don't use it every day...

If you have a Live LMDE2 USB or DVD, you can check for yourself! Just boot it up and click install. You are not going to do an actual installation, you are just going to go thru the first 3 or 4 screens of the installer to see what's what and then cancel the installation. IIRC, the 3rd (or so) screen will look something like this (this screenshot is from LM17) >>>

install3.png

If you want to do a whole disk installation, you will select the first option. If you have created your partitioning already (before entering the install routine), you would select "Something else" (the bottom option on this screen).

If you choose "Something else" or if perhaps LMDE2 installer doesn't give you a screen like the one above, you will see a screen that looks something like this >>>

install4b.jpg

You can use this screen to do all the partitioning but I don't like it. If I am doing the installation, I use Gparted to create my partitions before entering the installation routine. Then when I get to this point, I just select the partition (double click it) and then assign a mount point and tell the installer to format the partition. In your case, you only need 1 ext4 partition of ~50 GB and a swap partition. The swap will be used automatically so you don't need to do anything with it in this screen. All you have to do is select the 50GB ext4 partition (that you created earlier) and assign the mountpoint / to it. That screen will look something like this >>>

install4a.png

In this example, I was setting up the selected partition as /home. You would use the pull down arrow to the right to change that to /. And then you are off to the races...

P.S.: If you are not comfortable using Gparted, this is a great opportunity to become familiar with it. Since this in an experimentation machine for you (no better platform for experimenting and learning stuff!) and has nothing of any serious value on it, you can't break anything! Gparted is easy to use once you get the hang of it and the learning curve is not very steep and there is no shortage of on-line documentation for it (including YouTube vids). Once you get accustomed to it, you will come to love it. It is a very powerful tool...

[jonesypeter]

Hi,

Thanks for that. I have been through the install again, and I don't get that screen. I get the screens shown here:

http://www.tecmint.com/linux-mint-debia ... ization/2/

You get the partition screens in normal Mint, but I'm not getting it in LMDE>

[Reorx]

My memory of my installation looked somewhat different that what is depicted at that link. You do get to the partition selection and assignment screen - similar to my 2nd and 3rd images in my post above - although the "look" is a little different but I believe the functionality is the same...

I can boot up my LMDE2 Live USB when I get home later and see if I can get actual screenshots from it... or you could just throw yourself into the abyss and try it yourself!!! It's an experimentation machine - you won't break it - you understand the "theory", go play with it and have some fun

I presume the disk has no partitions... create a 2 GB swap partition and a 50 GB ext4 partition using Gparted, Then click "Install" and... Enjoy the LMDE2!

[jonesypeter]

Thanks, if you could try when you are home that would be great. I'm happy to try the partition tool, I just want someone else to confirm that LMDE does not include it.

I have posted to the 'Suggestions' forum, as Debian 8 includes this.

Thanks

[snowdust]

@ jonesypeter
Hi,
I am an everyday LMDE2 user and like it a lot. Hope the following will help you.
1. Enter the BIOS of your laptop/computer
2. Place the DVD in the DVD reader and change the boot sequence to boot from the DVD
3. Save the change and press Enter.
4. LMDE will boot and take you to the desktop.
5. On the left side of the screen, double-click the Install Linux Mint icon and the LMDE 2 Betsy Installer window will display.
6. Select a language and click Forward
7. Select your timezone and click Forward
8. Select your keyboard layout and click Forward
9. Then the User Info window will prompt you for some info. Once done click Forward
10. Now the interesting part: the Partitioning Window. First select the available Free Space and click the Edit partitions button.
11. A /dev/sda-Gparted window will now display and unallocated space will be highlighted.
12. On the Menu Bar, click Partition and select New. The Create new partition window displays. The first item is Free space preceding and the number 1 is highlighted: leave it as is.
Create as: Primary Partition
New size: type in the size of your Swap partition: 8585MiB = 8G.
File system: click and select linux-swap
Label: just type Swap
Now click the Add button. The /dev/sda-Gparted window is again displayed. Congrats you've just created your swap partition. We will now create the root (/) and /home partitions.
13. Unallocated being selected: on the Menu bar, click Partition and select New.
In the Create new Partition window: type in the size for the root partition:
New size=31848(Mib)=30G
Create as: Primary Partition
File system: ext4
Label: root
Now click the Add button. The root partition has been created and the /dev/sda-Gparted window is again displayed and unallocated is selected. Time to create the /home partition (for documents, pictures, any personal files etc)
14. Unallocated being selected: on the Menu bar, click Partition and select New.
In the Create new Partition window: type in the size for the /home partition:
New size=45397(Mib)=45G
Create as: Primary Partition
File system: you have a choice: ext4 or xfs (my choice: xfs)
Label: home
Now click the Add button. The home partition has been created and the /dev/sda-Gparted window is again displayed.
On the toolbar, below the Menu bar, there is a button with an arrow pointing left; clicking this button will apply all operations to the disk. Click Apply. 5 seconds later the disk is partitioned and formatted.
15. Now Close the 'Applying pending operations' window. Close the /dev/sda-Gparted window.
16. In the LMDE 2 Betsy Installer window, click the REFRESH button.
17. Now RIGHT-click on your root partition which is /dev/sda2 and select ASSIGN TO /
18. Now RIGHT-click on your home partition which is /dev/sda3 and select ASSIGN TO /home
19. Click FORWARD
20. Advanced options: install GRUB on /dev/sda : leave as is and click FORWARD
21. The summary window: click the Apply button.
22. You're done. Enjoy.

[Reorx]

OK, so I booted the LMDE2 Live USB on my experimentation machine (just in case anything unexpected happened - but it didn't! )

It turns out that the link you posted is the LMDE2 installer but it does not show all the screens. There are 7 screens

Screen 1 - pick a language
Screen 2 - pick a time zone
Screen 3 - pick a keyboard
Screen 4 - 1st user name & pw and hostname
Screen 5 - partitioning and partition assignments
Screen 6 - GRUB installation location
Screen 7 - Installation summary - Localization, User settings, System settings (host name), Filesystem operations (partitions, mount options, GRUB location)

Of interest is that there is no screen to select an automated partitioning routine. The user must select, at a minimum, the root partition (/). If there is a swap partition on the HD, it will be used automatically and if there is a /boot/efi partition, it will also be used automatically as well - neither has to be selected and assigned manually. If you want to use a separate /boot or /home partition, those will have to be selected and configured manually. As I said above, I don't create the partitions in the installer - I do that using Gparted before starting the installer so that all you have to do in the installer is select a partition, a mount point, and a file system for the partitions you want and have previously created.

To manually configure a partition, point to it and double click. A pop up dialogue box will appear that will allow you to select a mount point and a file system (the partition will be formatted). At a minimum, you must designate a / partition. Other partitions and/or mount points are optional.

Install-5c.png

After you have completed all of the installation screens, you will get to the last screen (#7) which shows a summary of what you have configured the installer to do. When you decide that everything is as you wish, click the "Apply" button in the right lower corner... and you'll be off to the races!

Install-7.png

NOTE: It you are unsure of anything, you can "Quit" the installer at any point before clicking the Apply button on the last screen.

[AntonyMan]

I followed your advises but... there is problem.

My old pc specs are [ cpu 2.4GHz, ram 1.5GB, 32-bit, HD 80GB(sda) HD 120GB(sdb) ]
and have installed on it: WinXp at the sda and Win7 at the sdb.

So, I'm trying to make a "triple boot". (Three different OSes into one PC)

I tried to install LMDE2 32bit from DVD.
1. At the first screen "Welcome to LMDE2 Cinnamon 32-bit" I choose "Start Linux Mint (compatibility mode)"
2. When the Mint desktop opened I took the message:
"Cinnamon just crashed. You are currently running in fallback mode. Do you want to restart Cinnamon?"
I had choose NO.
3. I had done double click "Install Linux Mint" icon from the desktop.
4. I had set the options for: Language->Timezone->Keyboard layout->User info->
5. Partitioning-> I had use the empty unallocated space /dev/sdb2 (in the same HD where the Win7 located).
6. So I had made 3 disk partitions: (by following your posts)
/dev/sdb5 linux-swap, 3.11GiB
/dev/sdb6 ext4, 31.10GiB
/dev/sdb7 xfs, 36,20GiB
-> Advanced options->Summary-> Aply

It gave me the splash window: "Installing Linux Mint..."

Finaly the procedure had stopped on its own at: "Copying usr/src/linux-headers-3.16.0-4-common/include/net/sock.h"
and it gave me this message: "[Errno 5] Input/output error".
I pressed "OK" button and then "Power off" button from desktop screen.

The next time I had booted into LMDE2 I had take (& I keep taking this message when I boot to LMDE2) the following black screen:
GRUB4DOS 0.4.5c (...bla-bla-bla...)
Grub>_
I don't know what to do (or if must and how to edit grub) from this point.

I'm doing something wrong or there is something like bug here?
Any help please?

(Sorry for my English)

[Reorx]

1) Why compatibility mode instead of just a "regular" boot of the Live medium?
2) Do you have a GPU that you plan to get drivers for to run Cinnamon? If not, you might consider trying the MATE version. You don't want to run in fallback mode or software rendering mode on a regular basis. Also, your choice of a 32 bit OS suggests a low resource machine - MATE is a better choice than Cinnamon.
3) Check the integrity of the installation medium before booting it to re-install over your previous installation.
4) Please post the output of this terminal command >>>

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz