Swap space question

nyheat · 08-29-2005, 08:23 PM

How necessary is swap space if my system has 512mb of ram?
Can 2 Linux systems installed on the same hard drive use the same partition as swap space?

bosewicht · 08-29-2005, 08:26 PM

Yes, i would still make some swap space. The old rule use to be double the ram, but IMHO people have so much ram that isn't always necessary. I would prob use at least 512 of swap. That will give you a gig which should be enough. I guess it also depends on what you will be doing.

As for sharing swap, it is done all the time. Shouldn't be any probs.

Other people may have opinions on the amount of swap issue

nyheat · 08-29-2005, 08:32 PM

Since I'm only starting out with Linux I'm not completely sure what I'll be doing, but some c++ is a definite, and hopefully photo editing if I find a way to run Photoshop CS in Linux

bosewicht · 08-29-2005, 08:37 PM

You should be good with 512 swap, prob won't even need that much, but better to error by making too much.

why not use gimp
www.gimp.org

aysiu · 08-29-2005, 08:56 PM

I have 512 MB of RAM and I've never had to use my swap partition. Still, since I have a 160 GB hard drive, the swap barely makes a dent. It depends on what hard drive space you have to spare.

nyheat · 08-29-2005, 08:57 PM

I'm quite familiar with Photoshop, so I'd rather stick to PS since all my work is already in .psd format and I also have thousands of brushes that wouldn't work in Gimp.

Is it okay to have the 2 Linux systems on logical partitions, will they still boot?

mherring02 · 08-29-2005, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nyheat
Since I'm only starting out with Linux I'm not completely sure what I'll be doing, but some c++ is a definite, and hopefully photo editing if I find a way to run Photoshop CS in Linux

PS6--and maybe 7--will run under Crossover office ( a version of WINE). In Crossover Office 4.2, they specifically say CS will NOT work. However, they have just announced v. 5 alpha, which they claim has many new features.

I am also a Photoshop addict--I can usually get Gimp to do what i wnat, but--when in a hurry, its back to PS

aysiu · 08-29-2005, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nyheat
I'm quite familiar with Photoshop, so I'd rather stick to PS since all my work is already in .psd format and I also have thousands of brushes that wouldn't work in Gimp.

I don't know about the thousands of brushes, but my GIMP can save as .psd (see image)

sundialsvcs · 08-29-2005, 09:23 PM

Swap-space seems to me to be one of those things whereby it's better to have it and not use it, than to need it and not have it. A system that's "Short On Storage = SOS" is not a pleasant thing to watch. When a typical PC-system starts swapping, you'll know it and you can do something about it, but it's not truly "SOS" yet.

As far as I know, the swap-partition format hasn't changed in a long time and two different releases (obviously, not running at the same time) should be able to use it.

syg00 · 08-29-2005, 10:17 PM

Do some searching - this comes up all the time.
Swap (in it's intended usage) is not persistent. Multiple installs can share the same swap space.
Obviously only one can be active at any given time.

If you plan on using Suspend2, *don't* share the swap space.
Likewise if you plan on utilising the efforts of things like the LKCD project.

nyheat · 08-29-2005, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by syg00
Do some searching - this comes up all the time.
Swap (in it's intended usage) is not persistent. Multiple installs can share the same swap space.
Obviously only one can be active at any given time.

If you plan on using Suspend2, *don't* share the swap space.
Likewise if you plan on utilising the efforts of things like the LKCD project.

I will not be using Suspend2 or LKCD project, primarily because I have no clue what that is. and as much as I like venturing into the unknown, I think I'll stay on the ground for now and try to acquaint myself with linux.

thank you for the suggestions about Gimp, I'll take a look at it once I have everything running