[SOLVED] Need help deleting partitions to create space

[SMG]

I guess I got that right, but it doesn't help me with my empty disk drives.

Yes, you did. Hopefully, the next install attempt will go great and you will never have to use that again.

I'm going to go back through the thread, list out the steps in my next post, and then you can let us know if you have any questions before giving it another try.

[AndyMH]

Rewind, you posted this screenshot earlier:

This shows what I would expect to see with a standard 'erase and install' with legacy boot. Is that what you did, an 'erase and install'? I assume the screenshot was taken with gparted booting from your install stick - sda5 is shown locked = mounted, but where it is mounted is hidden behind the flags window.

To confirm you are booting in legacy mode, boot your mint install stick, open a terminal and run efibootmgr.

Code: Select all

andy@T432 ~ $ efibootmgr
EFI variables are not supported on this system.

If you get this you are booting in legacy mode, anything else is UEFI boot. That will at least clear one thing up.

To make one aspect of your life slightly easier, you don't need to upload images to a remote site (unless they are greater than 200kB). You can upload images direct to the site. See the attachments tab below the reply window, on that is an 'add files' button and when you have uploaded your screenshot there is a 'place inline' button to insert the image into the text of your reply. You can check the outcome with the preview button.

[bachcole]

Thank you very much.

[bachcole]

AndyMH,

[SMG]

From earlier in the topic, bachcole posted the inxi output from the live session. This was before the old Mint versions were erased. The setup is definitely Legacy BIOS, but I wonder if the swap partition on each drive being mounted might be causing a problem? Swap partitions do mount in a live session and sda5 is one of the original swap partitions.

Machine:
Type: Desktop System: Gigabyte product: H81M-S2H v: N/A serial: <filter>
Chassis: type: 3 serial: <filter>
Mobo: Gigabyte model: H81M-S2H v: x.x serial: <filter>
BIOS: American Megatrends v: F1 date: 08/19/2014
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 771.35 GiB used: 172.96 GiB (22.4%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST500DM002-1BD142 size: 465.76 GiB
speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm serial: <filter> rev: KC48 temp: 32 C scheme: MBR
ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Seagate model: ST3320613AS size: 298.09 GiB
speed: 3.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm serial: <filter> rev: CC2J temp: 34 C scheme: MBR
ID-3: /dev/sdc type: USB vendor: Generic model: Flash Disk size: 7.50 GiB
serial: <filter> rev: 8.07
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 1.65 GiB used: 363.3 MiB (21.5%) fs: overlay source: ERR-102
ID-2: swap-1 size: 3.45 GiB used: 361.0 MiB (10.2%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5
ID-3: swap-2 size: 1.75 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb6

[AndyMH]

but I wonder if the swap partition on each drive being mounted might be causing a problem? Swap partitions do mount in a live session and sda5 is one of the original swap partitions.

Yes it might, systemd is indiscriminate, it will use any swap partition it finds even if you have explicitly defined one in fstab. Found out the hard way trying to write a new partition table to a drive that had a swap partition on it and wondered why it threw up errors. But, I would expect the mint devs to be fully aware of this and a mint iso to have swap disabled. If not I would expect ubiquity (the installer) to turn swap off. Could be wrong...

[RIH]

I wonder if the best approach that the OP can take is to use the live session to clean up both disks into single empty partitions with GParted.
A fresh attempt to install should then be a simple as can be..

[SMG]

I wonder if the best approach that the OP can take is to use the live session to clean up both disks into single empty partitions with GParted.
A fresh attempt to install should then be a simple as can be..

That's what I'm starting to think might be best.

[AndyMH]

And it would be an opportunity to install with 'something else' to avoid the mess that the installer creates with 'erase and install' on a legacy system - creating a useless EFI partition and then putting all other partitions inside an extended partition.

EDIT - efibootmgr not found on the mint iso, odd, I'll check.

[bachcole]

Yes, reformat and partition everything. I have nothing to lose.

[SMG]

If not I would expect ubiquity (the installer) to turn swap off.

Looking at the screenshots in this post, it does look like that happened.

However, you are correct about Mint being installed to the first extended partition. To clean that up would require doing a something else install after clearing and formatting the disk.

I'm still going through the thread to make sure I'm not missing any clues as to what might be happening.

[SMG]

We'll start by cleaning up both drives.

Reformat sda.

• Open GParted and select sda (the ~500GB disk) if it is not already showing in the upper right corner.
• Click on each partition (one at a time) and right-click and select "delete".
• Delete all the partitions on the sda drive. You should now have one drive with no partitions.
• Right-click in the empty area to create a new partition with EXT4 format.
• Click Add.
• Click the green check mark above the partitions to start the process of creating one partition of EXT4.

If you get any messages about partitions being mounted (I do not think you will), then right-click on the partition and select "unmount".

Do the same general steps for sdb (the smaller drive) to end up with one big partition on sdb.

[motoryzen]

My advice would be to carry on with the install on sda when you get to this screen by clicking on the Install Now Button.
Allow the installer to run its' course. Eventually it will finish & ask you if you want to restart the computer now.

RIH made solid points here. However, I always select "continue testing"...because...( and I don't remember if it's a deal with uefi versus legacy boot , etc involved) I often encounter an odd problem with LM Cinnamon regardless of the version when installing it.

So If i select " restart now". AND..I don't see that black background screen prompt that soon after comes up saying "remove installation media, then press enter to restart pc"....It's a real guessing game sometimes as to when the system has powered down....(enough) to the point to where it's barely auto-in the middle of the power back on phase running P.O.S.T..

The problem in this situation is:

1. If you unplug the installation thumb drive TOO soon,...you end up booting to a black screen that acts like it has no boot media or grub or something else in which the properly OS reading process can't do it's thing because it acts like something is missing.

2. If you you don't remove it at the right time aka fast enough..you'll end up booting right back into the installation thumb drive aka Live environment.

If you select " continue testing". then you can properly fully shut down that machine either via gui selecting the cinnamon menu gui button at button left corner and then the obvious light switch button, etc, OR terminal command of shutdown now .... THEN you'll be able to easily tell if the machine has completely powered off, then unplug that thumb drive, then power it back on and you should auto boot to the drive that you just installed LM into . Worst case you'll have to change the boot order in bios/uefi again. then you're good to go.

[SMG]

After you complete setting up the one partition on each drive, we want you to do a "something else" install (instead of the erase and install).

If at any point you get a message about unmounting sdc (which is your install media), select no.

Install Mint on your sda (bigger disk).

• Click the Instal Linux Mint icon.
• Select your language and keyboard.
• Install the multi-media files.
• On the Installation type screen, select "Something else" instead of "Erase disk and install".
• Select sda.
• Click the New Partition Table button and then click Continue.
• Create the root partition.
  • Click the free space and then click the + on the lower left side.
  • For the size make it the entire disk
  • Type is Primary.
  • Location is "Beginning of this space"
  • Use as: Ext4 journaling file system
  • Mount point: /
  • Click OK.
• If I recall correctly (my memory is a bit fuzzy on this), I think it then asks you where you want home and swap and boot. The installer will not let you advance until you tell it this. This will be confusing because you want them all at the same place as root because there is no other place for them. However, you have to tell the installer that because this is the "something else" install method. They each have the same mount point of /.
• Click OK and then click on Install Now.
• Click Continue if all looks good to you.
• Choose timezone.
• Select host and username.
• Click Continue.
• Hopefully the install completes this time.
• Select Continue testing.
• Shut down the live session.
• Remove the usb stick.
• Restart the computer and press the Del key if you need to get into BIOS to change the boot order so it boots from the hard drive.

[bachcole]

Pardon me for not understanding a word of that:

[RIH]

Sorry motoryzen, that was the point I was trying to make - obviously badly
I forgot that the wording was 'Continue Testing' though..

Yes, don't accept the offer of restarting offered immediately the install finishes, but return to the install material by 'Continue Testing'..
Then close down & then remove your USB drive..

[SMG]

Pardon me for not understanding a word of that:

I've already included those steps in the post I just made about installing Mint.

I am off to bed now. As always, stop and ask questions if you have concerns or run into any issues.

[bachcole]

As per SMG's instructions:

No problems whatsoever.

[RIH]

Note that you have not yet actually done anything...Item 1, 6 items pending.
You need to click on the tick icon - Number 2 - to get Gparted to actually take the actions...

[bachcole]

This is better.