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Archer

You need 2-3 partitions for Ubuntu. But Ubuntu will create it automatically for you(if you choose that option). All you need is unpartioned space of 4 GB (including all partitions). Even better if you have 8-10 GB (for installing more software and all later). I used 25 GB space to install Ubuntu.

hexwiz

There is no set number of partitions you should have with a Linux installation. But you should really have a swap, boot and root partition at least. I'd recommend you keep the swap to about the same size as your RAM, the /boot partition to between 100-200MB - this is where the kernel images are stored and a big / (root) partition for everything else. Though not the best of partitioning methods, this should suffice if this is the first time you are installing Linux.

If you like you can always create partitions like /var, /usr, /tmp, /home et al. The /var partition is where linux stores all spool and error directories and logs. /usr is where most executable binaries go - like the Program Files folder in Windows. /tmp is where temporary files are stored. /home is where users home directories go if you are gonna have multiple users on the system. If you do not impose quotas on your users, this ought to be in its own partition.

newprouser

@hexwiz

Thx for the explanation...

matrix

The recommended size of swap partition is double the size of RAM. Also create /tmp partition with double the size of RAM. For new user of linux Mandriva also a good begining as has a windows like installation and most of the hadware driver support is buit in

thanx

newprouser

I switched to using pendrive linux solves the entire problem of partititions and since it has "persistent" mode all the modifications are saved in usb itself.

Best solution for the non-geeky linux guys

ShAdOwCoN

-->Fedora is one of the most stables version of Linux , It has been around for many years and every year they release a new version .

Because of its stability many institutions prefer Fedora core

-->Ubuntu is the most popular version of Linux . And because of it popularity you can get free support from Other Ubuntu users in Ubuntu forums .

-->Ubuntu 8.04 version of Ubuntu will be officially supported by its devolopers for the next 4 years .

-->Ubuntu 8.10 will be supported officially for roughly 1.5 to to 2 years .And i ll also tell you that its a bit more buggy than previous versions of Ubuntu .


For ubuntu you need only a single Partition . Archer has given the minimum size for the partiton in the previous posts .

The partiton will be formatted in the ext3 format [Normally your Drives will be partitioned in the NTFS format]

You can manualy set the size and format of the partitions before installing .

the partition in which Ubuntu is installed will not be visible in windows .

Why do you want another bootmanager ?

Grub is just fine ..... If you r not happy with the way it chooses the OS priority just open its source file in Linux and edit it

Do you own an apple computer ?

Mac OS X works only on Apple Desktops and Laptops ..... I dunno if you can install Linux in apple computers ....

newprouser

Coz i wanted to triple boot windows, linux and mac os X. And i wanted some method to boot linux through the Vista bootloader.

There are modded versions of Mac os X with specific driver files(kexts or sth similar name) with can work with PC.

U can get more info here.... http://uphuck.ggrn.de


Whether its legal or not purely depends on if u own a mac licence or not.

manas27587

i have download the new version of fedora 10......i am a first time user of Linux....so i need to know the installation procedure.....i have made a bootable CD and i am able to boot thru the CD....but i donno how to go ahead....i wud love to have the Gnome desktop after installation....pls help

newprouser

Usually there is an option on the desktop or the menu to install, there after you jus follow the instructions on screen.

The only difficult part is the parititioning , which you have to be carefull with. I would suggest that you take a backup of all your important data.

If you have any other doubts check the fedora documentation its pretty good.
Fedora Install Guide

If you have the time and patience you can install it first in Vmware or Virtual PC to be sure.

Good luck , enjoy.

ShAdOwCoN

if you want the vista boot loader ... y go for 3 rd party bootloader

Check this guide

Installing Fedora 10 - Step by step installation guide with screenshots - Softpedia

For step by step installation along with Screenshots Pictures for every step

newprouser

Yea confused my self a bit over there.... Since GRUB cannot boot into mac partitions , i'm looking for a suitable loader which can handle all the 3 OS's

Edit : This can be done from within Easy BCD software itself.Wish i had found this earlier.

ShAdOwCoN

xp's and Vista's Boot loader does not give you the Linux option .... am i correct ?

smnesmwhr

Not quite, you can use dd command in Linux to create an image file from the boot partition of Linux, make an entry in boot.ini and thus get the Linux option from the Windows menu.

An example, assuming your Linux /boot is /dev/sda2 and your windows partition is /dev/sda1, as reported by the fdisk in Linux and that you are using FAT32 filesystem in Windows; and you are at a Linux command-prompt with root access at the moment:

mkdir -p /mount/windows
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mount/windows
dd if=/dev/sda2 of=/mount/windows/linux.boot bs=512 count=1

then in your boot.ini, add:
c:\linux.boot="Linux"
in the Operating Systems section.

You can use, say:
vi /mount/windows/boot.ini
to edit this file, or you can boot into Windows, use the Control Panel|System|Advanced|Startup and Recovery section=>Settings to edit this file

ShAdOwCoN

ok then its similar to grub ....

Its simpler in grub for a windows entry though

newprouser

Can u explain the meaning of those commands , coz its possible i may have to change it to suit my config.

I am using NTFS , so wat changes in the command should i make.

smnesmwhr

You should use filesystem type ntfs in the mount command, instead of vfat.
/dev/sdax shows your partition number as reported by Linux fdisk command or its variants, you have to substitute your partition number correctly; and it can be /dev/hdax as well, just look at the output of your fdisk command in Linux (x is the partition number here, e.g., 1 or 3)

Doing a man <command> will tell you what the command is about, e.g., man dd (you can also type this in google search: manual dd linux)

mkdir -p is used to create directory hierarchy.
mount is used to mount a file-system under the chosen directory., e.g., to mount your c:\ drive under /mount/windows directory. Mounting makes it accessible as if it were a local directory.
dd is used to read and write raw bytes and can access boot records etc. (provided you know where on hard-disk the boot record is). In the example, we are reading off 512 bytes from the beginning of /dev/sda1 and writing them to a file, effectively capturing the boot record of Windows. Some people prefer to copy 1024 bytes instead. Very briefly, a boot record is a small program which ultimately transfers control to a pre-set or a configurable location (varies among boot records of different OS).

newprouser

@smnesmwhr
Thanks for the reply with detailed info...

Gave you a repo..

newprouser

If anybody is interested in accessing linux partition is ext2 format from windows u can use the extension windows explorer from here.

I have not tried it myself, but if u do so , pls give ur comments here.

Ext2 IFS For Windows

smnesmwhr

This software is perfectly usable, I use it. It supports Windows Vista now as well. There can be occasional glitches with the control panel utility it provides, but nothing is a show stopper. You can make your Linux partition appear as a drive in Windows by assigning it a drive letter using the utility (appearing in control panel) installed with this software.

I would recommend it but go through the web-site first to learn about any potential pitfalls and how the ext3 is supported etc.

niceguysan

windows XP is best OS dont go to linux