Howto handle disc partitioning when trying various versions of Linux?
 

I have an Acer Aspire One Netbook running Win7 Starter on one partition and a Linux version called WATTos on another partitioin. I want to keep the Win7 Partitions and try different versions of Linux in the other partition until I am satisifed which version I want to keep. At that time I will put it on the whole drive .

Any help on how to do this w/o screwing it up is appreciated.

It might be best for you to try different versions in the form of a LiveCD/LiveUSB before you take the time to install a specific one. That way you can see which ones work most successfully with your netbook's hardware before you commit to an installation. You can also see which ones simply appeal to you the most.


By the time you have chosen one or two that you would like to pursue further, you will be more familiar with partitions and how to proceed with them. In any case, you'll find that most distributions have installers that guide you carefully through the entire process.

I appreciate the suggestion, I have been trying the Live CD but am now to the point I want to install them to see how quickly they boot. The installer ask to install next two the two existing OSs or to blow them away or gives me the option to handle the partioning myself. I would do the latter if I could understand the partioning map better.

Please give details about your current partitions,...
Size of drive, size of partitions, MBR?, GPT?, arrangement of partitions (primary, extended, logical, etc.).

It helps to understand what kind of space we're talking about, the arrangement, etc,

With a Live CD, you should be able to mount the partitions and look at their directory structures. With that information, it should be easy to figure out which one has Windows installed to it and how Linux identifies the partitions (sda1, sda2, and so on).

Blow away the one that doesn't contain the Windows install you wish to keep and install Linux there.

Here's what I see:
Disk 1 (MBR)
Partition___________File System___Capacity________Used______Unused________Status________Type
*:PQSERVICE_________NTFS__________8.56GB__________8.06 GB___505.39MB______None__________Primary
*___________________Unallocated___3.45GB__________0 Bytes_____3.45GB______None__________Logical
*:System Reserved___NTFS________101.98MB_________38.09MB_____63.89MB______System________Primary
c:Acer______________NTFS________100.92GB_________52.63GB_____48.28GB______Boot__________Primary
*___________________Unallocated___2.5GB___________0Bytes______2.5GB_______None__________Logical
*:__________________Other________27.94GB_________27.94GB______0Bytes______None__________Logical
*:__________________Other_________5.59GB__________5.59GB______0Bytes______None__________Logical


I hope this helps

I am seeing this partition map while in Win7, I am guessing the two logical partitions marked as "Other" represent Linux and the Linux Swap drive.

It's OK,... but it would be better if we could see it from a Linux tool, not a Windows one... The Windows tool just lists the Linux partitions as unallocated. It's important to know which is truly unallocated (or is hidden or ExFat) and those that are Linux partitions.

Would you tell me how to get the same information using Linux?

I found a terminal command called parted but I do not know how to invoke it. Here's what I found with help

print [devices|free|list,all|NUMBER] display the partition table,available devices, free space, all found partitions, or a particular partition
What do I enter for "devices" and "NUMBER"?

Easy button?!?!

Run gParted from within Linux and take a screen shot of the app window,... maybe a couple of times, even...

I was able to figure it out:


(parted) print free
Model: ATA WDC WD1600BEVT-2 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 160GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 32.3kB 9188MB 9188MB primary ntfs
9188MB 12.9GB 3701MB Free Space

2 12.9GB 13.0GB 107MB primary ntfs boot

3 13.0GB 121GB 108GB primary ntfs
121GB 124GB 2683MB Free Space

4 124GB 160GB 36.0GB extended

5 124GB 154GB 30.0GB logical ext4

6 154GB 160GB 6002MB logical ext4
160GB 160GB 877kB Free Space

gParted is not recognized on my system, currently running wattOS. gParted probably needs to be installed.

I now have gparted installed and running. What do I use to take a screenshot?

I took a screenshot, I hope it attched correctly