Hello!

Since I am planning to re-install Ubuntu Hardy and use it as my primary OS, I want to make sure I install the system properly from the beginning.

Since there are many (maybe too many) and different opinions about partitioning, I would like to share two schemes and, with your help, define which one is OK for me or what kind of modifications I should make to them in order to improve system performance.

My hard disk: 160 Gb (SATA II). RAM memory: 4Gb

Scheme 1:
a) /
b) /home
c) /usr/local
d) SWAP

Scheme 2:
a) /
b) /home
c) SWAP

Which one of these (or any other you suggest) would you recommend and what about partitions size, file system and type (primary or extended)?

I was thinking about 6Gb SWAP (my 4Gb + 2) to make sure it will work for suspension and so.

Which one should be bigger, / or /home?

Thanks in advance. Any help will be very welcome.

Glore2002.-

Your second scheme is the one I always use. Keep it simple and backup regularly.
Your root partition must always be a primary partition. Your swap extended. Your /home can be either.
Your /home should be larger than root. The actual sizes are up to you. Look at the minimum suggested root size for Ubuntu. A root partition of 10-15GB will be more than adequate. Use the swap size you've said and the rest for your /home.

Option #2 is definitely the best for a general desktop system, as far as I'm concerned. Are there any special considerations you've got for your installation?

Unless you're developing special applications that you can't just download through the repos, I don't see any sense in separating your /usr/local directory from the root (/).

Thanks for your help! I will go for this partition scheme. Is there any backup tool you use or you just tar the partition contents and restore them later? What about Slackware? Would you still recommend it? It was one of my first Linux distributions and would like to give it another try. It was very stable as I remember. Why have you chose it?

Thanks again. I really appreciate your answer.

From Argentina,
Glore2002.-

I will then go for option #2. Thanks Slowcoder for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate that.

Glore2002.-

Glad to be of help. Backups? Well, I keep it simple. I have a second hard drive that I use for backups/storing large files etc. I have folders labeled 'Home Backups', 'Config Files' 'System Files' with sub-folders inside each as necessary so I can find things as easily as possible. Then I just copy and paste the relevant files over on a regular basis. I also burn copies of the most important files to DVD/CD in case of a hardware failure. That's it. There are plenty of backup apps around but I prefer the manual method. It's down to personal choice and how much backup space you have available. As is what and how much you back up. Though your /home folder (including all the hidden config files in it) is a must. I also make a copy of my /etc directory once and then only after upgrades etc. Using Slackware, I also keep an up to date copy of my /var/log/packages directory.
Recommend Slackware? Absolutely! I'll never go back to any other distro. "Once you Slack, you never go back."
Why I chose it is more complicated. It just suits me and I like the way it works.
Like anything else though it's down to personal choice.
I have a spare machine that I use for trying out other distros.
If you're new to Linux I would suggest you do as you plan and use Ubuntu till you get the feel of things. It has excellent forums (not as good as LQ though) and if you just Google "Ubuntu + whatever your problem is" you'll find an answer.
Then you can try Slackware or any of the other distros out there.
Backup before you do though
Good luck, you've made the right move by choosing Linux.

Thanks nix2ways for your opinion an help! Slackware deserves giving it a try!!!

glore2002.-

A root partition does not need to be a primary one - unless Ubuntu diverges in a very significant way from the mainstream. I have used Gentoo installs at the very end of a drive, partition 25 or so (that was before the introduction of libata, which limits the number of available partitions to just 15).
Personally, I like to have a separate /var partition. It reduces the risk of the root partition filling up because of a logfile getting too large or too much mail and it allows me to separate my servers from the rest of the system.