SOLVED - Which tutorial should I use to reinstall Linux

[KIMW]

I am having some issues with Linux Mint (specially this one) so I am about to reinstall it.
I've read many tutorial but I wonder which one is suitable in my situation.
I have LM 18.1 KDE along with Windows 10 (which I don't use but would like to keep for the time I'll resell my laptop). My hard drive is partitioned in so many parts that on the graphic I can't see all what I have. See picture.
Which tutorial should I use to reinstall Linux?

[Pierre]

if you can stay online, for a while:

- boot the LinuxMint that you wish to re-install,
- post a screen_shot of Gparted, from that Live Environment.
& we will guide you through it.
( if you have the KDE version, the partitioner will have different name )

- - to save searching for a Online Tutorial:
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=163126
that's written for win-8x but does apply to win-10 as well.

[KIMW]

Hi Pierre,
Sorry I had to go just after I posted my message.
Tell me when when/if you are available again.
Thanks.

[gold_finger]

@ KIMW,
It may end up being difficult to try coordinating time online with any one of us, so it might be best to just go ahead and post your screenshot from KDE equivalent of GParted. (I don't know what it's called, maybe KParted, or KDEParted, etc.) If Pierre happens to be online and see it, great. If not, others may jump in to help (myself included).

P.s.
If you need directions, here is a post describing best way to include a screenshot.

[KIMW]

Thanks for your help gold_finger.
I was wondering what was the Gparted thing... I found it when I typed "partition".
Here is the screenshot.

[gold_finger]

Looked at pic -- one partition (/dev/sda6) has me wondering whether your current install of Mint is in Bios mode, while Windows is in UEFI mode. Can you post the output of this terminal command please:

Code: Select all

lsblk -af

Do you have to do anything special when you change booting from Windows to Mint, or from Mint to Windows; or do you see a grub boot menu that gives you the choice to boot either one and it works on either one?

[KIMW]

Here you are:

NAME FSTYPE LABEL UUID MOUNTPOINT
sda
├─sda1 vfat ESP DC24-2677
├─sda2
├─sda3 ntfs OS 27498754892664D1
├─sda4 ntfs WINRETOOLS B0E0A545E0A42895
├─sda5 ntfs Image EEA6A5E1A6A5AB56
├─sda6
├─sda7 ext4 e6d813a2-db52-4df9-bef2-f379e1f44b12
└─sda8 swap 7b68b094-ad83-4e28-9376-44e233679e5e5 [SWAP]
sdb
├─sdb1 vfat MULTIBOOT 0CED-2F4B /isodevice
└─sdb4
loop0 iso966 Linux Mint 18.1 KDE 64-bit
2017-01-25-16-53-48-00 /cdrom
loop1 squash /rofs
loop2
loop3
loop4
loop5
loop6
loop7

It boots directly to Mint. I have a boot menu only if I press F12.

[gold_finger]

Sorry, I should have specified for you to first boot into your installed Mint and run the command from there (not from live DVD/USB). Could you do that please just to confirm my suspicion. From what you said about it only booting to Mint unless you use F12 key for Windows it does sound like you have both booting in different modes, but I want to be sure.

[KIMW]

Here you are:

NAME FSTYPE LABEL UUID MOUNTPOINT
sda
├─sda1 vfat ESP DC24-2677
├─sda2
├─sda3 ntfs OS 27498754892664D1
├─sda4 ntfs WINRETOOLS B0E0A545E0A42895
├─sda5 ntfs Image EEA6A5E1A6A5AB56
├─sda6
├─sda7 ext4 e6d813a2-db52-4df9-bef2-f379e1f44b12 /
└─sda8 swap 7b68b094-ad83-4e28-9376-44e233679e5e5 [SWAP]
sdb
├─sdb1 vfat MULTIBOOT 0CED-2F4B
└─sdb4
loop0
loop1
loop2
loop3
loop4
loop5
loop6
loop7

[gold_finger]

Sorry, one more command output please:

Code: Select all

sudo parted --list

[KIMW]

No problem.
---
Model: ATA SanDisk X400 M.2 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 512GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 525MB 524MB fat32 EFI system partition boot, esp
2 525MB 660MB 134MB Microsoft reserved partition msftres
3 660MB 30.4GB 29.7GB ntfs Basic data partition msftdata
6 30.4GB 30.4GB 1049kB bios_grub
7 30.4GB 484GB 454GB ext4
8 484GB 501GB 16.8GB linux-swap(v1)
4 501GB 502GB 499MB ntfs hidden, diag
5 502GB 512GB 10.4GB ntfs hidden, diag


Model: Corsair VoyagerGT (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 8288MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 32.3kB 8288MB 8288MB primary fat32 boot, lba

[gold_finger]

Okay, parted --list output confirmed my suspicion -- Mint is now installed in Bios mode, Windows in UEFI mode and that is why you don't see a grub menu offering to boot either one. The ideal way to install Mint is in same mode as Windows. Then you'll be able to boot either OS from grub menu rather than having to hit F12.

Now, boot computer back up with the live Mint DVD/USB and report back with output from this command:

Code: Select all

ls /sys/firmware

Also, do you use the F12 key to boot from Mint DVD/USB? Or does computer automatically boot from it if it is loaded in tray on boot?

[KIMW]

I see. But then would it be possible to boot directly to Mint? Because I don't want to use Windows anymore. I just want to keep Windows on my laptop for the time I'll resell it. I don't mind having to hit F12 to start Windows actually (yes I also use the F12 key to boot from Mint USB).

I am going to boot with the live Mint USB now. Just a moment.

[KIMW]

I got:

acpi dmi memmap

[gold_finger]

Good. Output shows that USB booted in Bios mode and since you are used to that now we'll keep it that way on new install. Afterwards you'll still have computer boot straight to Mint and use the F12 key for Windows booting like you are doing now.

I noticed that your Mint root partition on hard drive has almost 178GB of files on it. If you need to make backups of any files in your home directory, I suggest you do that before the new install because they will be lost. If you have an external drive or USB stick big enough you can copy them there. Otherwise you could shrink the current root partition by 200GB or so and make a new ext4 formatted partition after it that you can then copy the files to.

When ready, start the installer and pick the "Something Else" install option. That option lets you pick where to install and will bring you to a page showing list of all your partitions.

Double-click on /dev/sda7 (that is your current install's root partition).

In the pop-up box:

• Leave partition size as it is.
• File system = Ext4
• Mount point = / (root)
• Check the box to Format the partition

No need to do anything with any other partitions. Installer will automatically use the Swap and bios_boot partitions from before.

Near bottom of page, "Device for boot loader installation" should be /dev/sda.

That's it. Finish install and shutdown/reboot without Mint USB stick when it completes.


I'll be logging off now -- it's 1:00am where I am and have to get some sleep. Good luck. If you run into problems or have further questions, post them here and either someone else will answer or I'll see them tomorrow and answer.

[KIMW]

Ok thanks. Good night then!

When you'll be back or somebody else I have another question.
I read on your tutorial this: Swap partition = 1-2 times amount of RAM. What does it mean exactly? Is it one or two times the amount of RAM or half the amount of RAM? For example on my laptop I have 16GB of RAM, so should it be 16GB, 24GB or 8GB?

If Windows 10 is installed on /dev/sda3 then why do I have /dev/sda1, /dev/sda4 and /dev/sda5? Do I need to keep them?
What about /dev/sda2, /dev/sda6, do I need them?
Also can I shrink Windows 10 on /dev/sda3 to take less space?

[gold_finger]

Quick note before I answer the questions:
That tutorial is specifically for installing Mint in UEFI mode, so don't use those directions for this install unless you decided that you would like to try that instead of what you did on original Mint install -- a Legacy/Bios mode install. Instructions I wrote above are for another Legacy mode install of Mint.

Swap partition = 1-2 times amount of RAM. What does it mean exactly?

Means make swap partition = 1 to 2 times the amount of RAM in computer (16 to 32GB in your case with 16GB of RAM). HOWEVER, that is just a very general guideline and really is most applicable to machines with substantially less RAM than you have. In your case, with 16GB of RAM, swap may rarely (or never) get used so you could just make swap 2GB and be perfectly fine. An exception to that is if you plan to use the hibernate feature occationally. Then you would need to have swap of at least 16GB. In that case, I would make it 17 or 18GB if it were me.

If Windows 10 is installed on /dev/sda3 then why do I have /dev/sda1, /dev/sda4 and /dev/sda5? Do I need to keep them?

Yes, you need to keep them.

• /dev/sda1 is the EFI System Partition (ESP). That is where Windows and other operating systems on computer installed in UEFI mode keep boot files.
• /dev/sda4 -- I'm not 100% sure, but looks like it might be a partition containing a copy of device drivers needed if you were to tell computer to re-install Windows using the install/recovery image on computer hard drive.
• /dev/sda5 looks to be the install/recovery image of Windows 10 to be used for re-installing/repairing the system. These days manufacturers don't usually provide installation DVDs -- instead they load an image to a partition on hard drive to be used for re-install and/or recovery.

What about /dev/sda2, /dev/sda6, do I need them?

/dev/sda2 is the Microsoft "System Reserved" partition. I can't remember exactly what that partition is for, but it is needed -- so "yes" you need to keep that.

/dev/sda6 is used by your current Mint installation. It is a special partition (flagged as "bios_boot") needed by the system when you install Linux to a GPT partitioned drive in Legacy/Bios mode. If you re-install Mint in Legacy mode as per my instructions above that partition is needed and will automatically be recognized and used by the installer. If you decide to install Mint in UEFI mode, you can still leave that partition there. It's only 1MB in size and will not hurt or affect anything by being there.


If, for some reason, you decide to install Mint this time in UEFI mode here is a list of things I'd recommend you do:

• Make a recovery USB for Windows just in case things go terribly wrong and you end up in a situation where it's hard or impossible to invoke the Windows install/recovery partition on the hard drive.
• Go into UEFI firmware settings menu and make sure boot mode for computer is set to UEFI. Right now I suspect it is set to CSM/Legacy/Bios mode. (CSM = Compatibility Support Module, which is just wording that means computer gives ability to boot in the old Legacy/Bios mode.)
• To install Mint in UEFI mode, the USB must be booted in that mode. When you use the <F12> key, one of the choices shown for booting the USB should reference UEFI. Choose that one instead of the choice you picked before.
• After booting Mint USB, confirm that it got booted in UEFI mode by entering ls /sys/firmware in a terminal. If you see "efi" listed in the output, you are correctly booted in UEFI mode.
• Start installer and choose "Something Else" type of installation.
• On partition selection page, double-click /dev/sda1 to open pop-up for it and look to make sure it is similar to what is shown in tutorial. It should already be filled-in correctly as shown in tutorial picture and you should not have to do anything with it. If it doesn't look right, do not change anything about it. Take a screenshot of what you see, cancel the install process and post the screenshot back here for us to see. If it looks correct, just close the pop-up box and continue to next step.
• Now double-click /dev/sda7 and set the mount point to "/", file system = Ext4, leave size of partition as it is, check box to format the partition.
• Near bottom of page, "Device for boot loader installation" should be changed to /dev/sda1, the EFI System Partition. (Boot loaders for both Windows and Mint will end up residing in that partition.)
• Click finish installation once that is done.
• If computer does not boot correctly, or doesn't offer choice to boot Mint and boots straight to Windows after the installation, do not panic. That happens sometimes and can usually be fixed fairly easily. Just post back here with detailed description of what computer does when you try booting and we'll guide you through fix.

[KIMW]

Ok, thank you.
When I double-click on /dev/sda7 nothing happen and I cannot format it, same thing when I clicked on "Change". So I choose "Delete" and I followed your procedure and when I click on "install now" I got this.

[gold_finger]

I just did a test install of KDE to see what installer looks like. It's a little different than on other versions of Mint, but not hard to follow and you seem to have figured it out. My test install was in VirtualBox and virtual drive did not have any prior partitions, so I couldn't duplicate problem you had trying to change current partitions. From looks of what you posted though it looks like what you did was correct. I'm guessing you deleted the old root and swap partitions, then created them again, then told installer to finish -- which is when you got that pop-up warning message. It's primarily giving you one last chance to double-check your work before proceeding. The message can sound ominous, but it's just confirming the deletions and that you want to format the new partitions as specified (ext4 for root and linux-swap for swap). It looks fine to me, so if you cancelled out of install to make sure with us first, you're good to go following that procedure.


A few little side notes about differences I noticed between KDE installer and other Mint versions:

• Thought KDE installer was a little easier for newcomers to follow; wording of steps was more straight forward in my opinion.
• Installer told you which installation types were "guided" and which was to be done manually by the user. Rather than calling the manual install option "Something Else", it called it "Manual". Makes perfect sense to me!
• On manual partition selection page, single clicking on a partition or the free space opened pop-up box for it instead of double-clicking. (I actually prefer having to double-click, but figured I'd just make a note of the difference.)
• The "Device for boot loader installation" setting was easier to see and less likely to be missed by users during install.

[acerimusdux]

I'd suggest you also create a seperate partition for /home when you do your install. It just makes things much easier for future installs or updates when all of your files and data are separate from the OS.