[SOLVED] I installed a new hard drive. Now what do I do?

jefro · 05-26-2016, 09:56 PM

Modern distro's are pretty good with how they manage ram. Faster boards, faster ram also contribute to needing less swap. However, if you need swap then it doesn't hurt to have more. You can add in more swap later if you find you need it. You can make a swap file too but it limits how you can suspend.

beachboy2 · 05-27-2016, 12:19 AM

Gregg,

As per BW-userx's suggestion.

Choose the Something Else or Manual partitioning option.

Something like this for 3 partitions:

sda1................ext4.....................25GB.........mounted as root.... /

sda2................swap......................2GB.........swap area (NOT mounted)

sda3................ext4....................Remaining space........mounted as home..... /home

ardvark71 · 05-27-2016, 12:32 AM

Hi Gregg...

I think Xubuntu, like the others in the Ubuntu family, takes care of everything for you, including swap, although there should be an option to configure partitions and swap manually.

Regards...

BW-userx · 05-27-2016, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachboy2

Gregg,

As per BW-userx's suggestion.

Choose the Something Else or Manual partitioning option.

Something like this for 3 partitions:

sda1................ext4.....................25GB.........mounted as root.... /

sda2................swap......................2GB.........swap area (NOT mounted)

sda3................ext4....................Remaining space........mounted as home..... /home

@Gregg Bell OP .. pls be sure to post your swap file usage . I'd personally love to see if you ever use 2GB of swap file at any given time, and let us - me - know what was taking place if you ever do.

Code:

 320GB HDD
- 25GB / (root)
-------
 295GB
-200GB swap
------
  95GB play room storage for personal files etc.. that can fill up fast.

so yes pls let me know if you ever actually use up your 2GB swap file for an extended period, and on a regular basis that would warrent actually needing it every waken moment.

this is just my option from experience in what I have use my box for. same goes for the way you split up your hard drive. I just gave you the logic behind it.

it is just advice. you are your own man do what you like.........

Fred Caro · 05-27-2016, 08:08 PM

Gregg Bell,

10 year old computer you want to put Linux on, well UEFI won't be a problem (at least I doubt) so if you have a dvd/cd (USB just more hassle) of the Linux you want and you are happy with just go with the defaults.

Which Linux is possibly restricted by the age of the hardware, graphics will most likely be the most apparent problem.
Lubuntu or Debian 7 (for older hardware) 8 for newer.

On Dell optiplex, sometimes you have to reset the bios to accept the new hardware.

Gregg Bell · 05-28-2016, 12:19 AM

Many thanks for all the really helpful comments. Unfortunately I didn't get to use any of them. When I turn the computer on I get 6 beeps. I checked around, re-seated the RAM sticks, made sure all the connections were tight for the new hard drive and the keyboard controller. Nothing worked. Still the 6 beeps. This computer has the AMBIOS

http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/amibeep.htm

and as far as I could tell it's a A20 error. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000383.htm

The thing is the keyboard is the exact same PS/2 keyboard that worked with the computer before. It is hard getting the male end into the computer, whereas in the other computers it slides right in. But as far as I could tell the only problem with the computer (before this) was the defective hard drive.

I tried a USB keyboard. No luck.

Again, as far as I can tell, I need to install a new motherboard (see screenshot). And in an 11 year old computer that probably isn't a great idea. Oh well, maybe I can salvage the new hard drive and put it in a computer I buy on Craigslist or something.

Thanks.

ardvark71 · 05-28-2016, 01:38 AM

Hi Gregg...

Do you know the brand and model (and model number) of the motherboard? If it's a Dell, I wonder if this is the page you need to look at?

Regards...

BW-userx · 05-28-2016, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

The thing is the keyboard is the exact same PS/2 keyboard that worked with the computer before. It is hard getting the male end into the computer, whereas in the other computers it slides right in. But as far as I could tell the only problem with the computer (before this) was the defective hard drive.

sometimes they can be picky who gets to put the male parts inside of them.
So, you might try to sweet talk her to get your male plug to just side inside of her

...

lol

BW-userx · 05-28-2016, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Many thanks for all the really helpful comments. Unfortunately I didn't get to use any of them. When I turn the computer on I get 6 beeps. I checked around, re-seated the RAM sticks, made sure all the connections were tight for the new hard drive and the keyboard controller. Nothing worked. Still the 6 beeps. This computer has the AMBIOS

http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/amibeep.htm

and as far as I could tell it's a A20 error. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000383.htm

The thing is the keyboard is the exact same PS/2 keyboard that worked with the computer before. It is hard getting the male end into the computer, whereas in the other computers it slides right in. But as far as I could tell the only problem with the computer (before this) was the defective hard drive.

I tried a USB keyboard. No luck.

Again, as far as I can tell, I need to install a new motherboard (see screenshot). And in an 11 year old computer that probably isn't a great idea. Oh well, maybe I can salvage the new hard drive and put it in a computer I buy on Craigslist or something.

Thanks.

did you try buying a different ps2 keybord and keep the recipt so you can take it back if it does not work first?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MINI-KEYBOAR...8AAOSwhkRWbx7n

Gregg Bell · 05-28-2016, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardvark71

Hi Gregg...

Do you know the brand and model (and model number) of the motherboard? If it's a Dell, I wonder if this is the page you need to look at?

Regards...

Ardvark! Your link got me thinking again. I'd already re-seated the memory modules. So I figured all I had to do was reseat the video card and the keyboard connector--and I didn't know how to do either of those things, so I Googled and found a Youtube video on re-seating the memory and the video card. Well, I hadn't re-seated the memory properly. (I had just set the sticks in there and closed the connectors on the end, whereas you're supposed to push down on the end of the stick itself until the connector snaps in place.) So I re-seated them properly and voila! no more beeps and I got to the BIOS. Amazing. (I was ready to bail.) Thanks so much!

Gregg Bell · 05-28-2016, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW-userx

sometimes they can be picky who gets to put the male parts inside of them.
So, you might try to sweet talk her to get your male plug to just side inside of her

...

lol

Ha ha. Thanks for the laugh!

Gregg Bell · 05-28-2016, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BW-userx

did you try buying a different ps2 keybord and keep the recipt so you can take it back if it does not work first?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MINI-KEYBOAR...8AAOSwhkRWbx7n

Thanks BW-userx. I got a different keyboard and indeed, the connector did go in easier but I still got the beeps. Then I found that I hadn't re-seated the RAM sticks properly, and so I re-seated them (properly) and then there were no more beeps and I got to the the BIOS. So now I'll set the boot sequence there, put my iso DVD in and reboot. (Fingers crossed.)

ardvark71 · 05-28-2016, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Thanks so much!

Awesome, praise God! And you're welcome! I'm glad that was an easy fix.

Let us know how the hard drive and Xubuntu installation goes...

Regards...

WFV · 05-28-2016, 03:28 PM

As others mentioned, if you're saving a partition for Windows later (for dual booting) then better to go ahead and install Windows upfront and first, then install Ubuntu in the empty space and lay it out as others have mentioned: [Windows | / | SWAP | /Home]. Ubuntu pretty much walks you through the whole process and it doesn't matter if you install it from live USB or DVD and does give you the option to launch G-Parted and manually partition the drive along-side the Windows install, or set up the partitions as you go with the install. If making it dual boot, your drive might look something like this:
sda1 = FAT32 (Windows ~32MB)
sda2 = NTFS (Windows)
sda3 = ext4 (root Ubuntu)
sda4 = Linux SWAP
sda5 = ext4 (home Ubuntu)
However, if you're hardware can handle virtualization (not merely as a BIOS setting, but resource-wise, such as a minimum duo-core CPU (more cores the better) with multi-threading and 4GB RAM) you might want to consider full Linux install and then install Windows in VirtualBox or some other VM app.

Gregg Bell · 05-28-2016, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardvark71

Awesome, praise God! And you're welcome! I'm glad that was an easy fix.

Let us know how the hard drive and Xubuntu installation goes...

Regards...

Ha ha. Yeah. Praise God! Absolutely! Installation went without a hitch. After it started I had a little "Floppy Diskette Seek Failure" error, but there was a really good Youtube fix for that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOegio0Pi64 So everything is looking good. Thanks again. (This wouldn't have happened without that link you gave me.)