For general linux-ing around, is there much difference between the different file systems? Right now, everything is done in ext3. My partitioning scheme looks like this:

hda1 /boot
hda2 swap
hda3 /
hda5 /home
hda6 /files

A friend recommended ReiserFS as a better alternative, and that it was quite a bit faster. Is there something better than ReiserFS?

Is it in my best interest to move to ReiserFS? Why would I want to hang onto ext3?

Is there a tool to convert ext3 partitions to ReiserFS, and hang onto my files?

Now, I read that ReiserFS is being surpassed by Reiser4. It has been a while since I have installed, and I haven't messed with a kernel in a while. Is Reiser4 even supported by the linux kernel now?

I use ReiserFS on all my machines, server and desktop. So it comes highly recommended at least from me.

It is possible to open up fdisk and change a partition's TYPE (that two-bit hex number that designates it as Raid Autodetect, swap, Linux, etc) but I'm not entirely certain you can change the filesystem without erasing data.

But, knowing the Linux community, someone may have found a way and will post it below.

As for your other questions, you would only want to hang on to etx3 if you didn't want the (potential) hassle of reformatting certain partitions.

Now, if changing a partition's filesystem without deleting the data is not possible why not just change /home and /files and leave your system (/) intact, eliminating the need to reinstall Linux but still giving you the added speed boost when accessing most of your files...at least in the mean time?

This is my partition table for a 80GB hdd:
/boot 50MB ext2
/root 8GB ReserFS
/media 60GB ReiserFS
Free space, unparititioned left over.

Works fine for a normal distro.

You have to patch your kernel:

If you want to find out more about Reiser4, checkout the articles:

Some Amazing Filesystem Benchmarks. Which Filesystem is Best?
Compiling yourself a new Kernel (with Reiser4 support).
Installing your favorite Linux Distro on Reiser4.
Installing GRUB on a Reiser4 Partition.

at http://linuxhelp.150m.com/

aww comeon ... seriously?? Languishing in prison because he made a good FS ?

Reiser 3! I have a machine which has been through hundreds of hard reboots after lock-ups and have never had any file corruption. In fact I have only seen ONE person comment that they had problems with reiserfs and I suspect they had done something really weird. If you like experimenting go ahead -if you want to keep your files use reiserfs 3 and forget about having problems basically forever.

Hi,

To get the record straight about Hans Reiser languishes in prison.

BTW, I agree with gnashley, use Reiser3 instead of Reiser4.

ReiserFS 3 is a great filesystem. I've used it for years without a single problem (since Mandrake 7.2).

However, to my knowledge, you can't change a partition's filesystem without formatting it, so unless you have spare space to swap data around, I don't see the point of changing from ext3; ext3 is good too.

Yves.

I wouldn't recommend ReiserFS after my FS failure anymore.
It's greater and all that but it can cause you severe headaches.

I've lost tons of nerves and time to save my own and my users files on my server while using ReiserFS. So if you're willing to take that risk of problems with it go ahead. I know I'm not anymore and I'm sticking to ext3.

Same experience the other way round; never any problems
with Reiser, data loss with ext2/3 ... mileages apparently
vary quite widely. Whenever I had a choice I've installed
systems on Reiser since '99, no data loss ever. I've seen
several boxes cark it with ext2/3 in the mean time.


Cheers,
Tink

Same for me, so i alway choose ReiserFS for now

Well I didn't loose any data, but I struggled to rescue it.

hmm , so you are saying ( or the quoted articles are hinting at it and you seem to agree)
1. Hans Resier is a visionary with a great FS. Agreed.
2. Linux Kernel Hackers/ Controllers are trying to sabotage Reiser4. I doubt it but maybe true. esp. given the evidence.
3. Those SAME people sent Hans Reiser to jail (killing his wife ) .. SO THAT REISER4 wouldn't develop.
????

If thats what you want me to believe , and thats what you mean by getting real... (I doubt that) ... but whatever .. I don't want to believe that, I have my faith in humanity ...

And anyways don't reply etc. cos I won't bother replying , as this is a meaningless discussion that doesn't belong here.

And please, writing in all red fonts is a pain to read and not as cool/attention grabbing as you might think. please avoid it.

I know this is going to quickly become a battle of anecdotes, but I use ext3 in the safe jouraling mode (ordered), noatime and dir_index. I used ReiserFS for some time but first, it takes too long to mount the partitions, and more importantly I suffered unrecoverable data loss on ReiserFS, which has never happened to me under ext3.

I lived for some time in a town in which power outages were relatively frequent and, after some time and while using ReiserFS I experienced problems with specific files having their contents changed for binary zeros. Not files that I was working with at the moment of the power outage, but files that had been in the hard drive for weeks or months. Very specific cases but noticeable. The first times I thought it had been a problem when I had moved the data over to the ReiserFS partitions, but some months later the audio player failed to reproduce a song I had ripped, without a doubt, after moving the data but that I had been listening for some weeks. I then thought my computer hard drive or memory was failing (strange because the computer was relatively new), but memtest86 and badblocks didn't detect a thing. Only then I started suspecting about ReiserFS, so I moved to ext3 and, while power outages continued I didn't experience any other problems again. I don't have any real evidence that it was ReiserFS, of course, but those are the facts. ext3 with journal_data_ordered for safety, noatime and dir_index for speed, and sparse_super for efficiency is my safe bet. My two cents.