I want to try out Linux distributions on a PC with 6 hard disks, and lots of disk space. Windows XP is on it and I will surely settle down to using a handful of Linux distros but I will start by playing around with a bunch of them and deleting the ones that I don't want.

1. Should I separate /, /home partitions ? I could even put them on different disks for each distro if that makes it run faster for any reason. Up until now, the little Linux experience that I have had consisted of putting the / and /home on the same partition and putting swap on another drive. Should I dump this practice? please let me know why.

2. I already know to put the swap on a separate disk.

3. I read at the slackware site that using a separate partitions for: /, /home, swap, and maybe even /usr is advisable. I am pretty new to Linux. Could you give me an ideo of why having so many partitions for a distro could be a good idea.

Thanks!

I think having several partitions is good way as you can mount different partitions with different options and all like mounting root partition read-only.

A note too for your partitioning, you only need a single swap partition as all distros can share the one swap You could even make smaller swap partitions, each in own disk and use them parallel to get some performance boost if you use a lot of swap.

This is one of the most frequently asked questions on LQ, and the answer is that there is no true right or wrong answer. If this is your first Linux install, I'd recommend keeping things simple, and go with 3 partitions: swap (maybe 512Mg), / (maybe 15G-20G), and the rest for /home.

As a general comment, putting your personal data (eg, /home) on a separate partition from your system data (eg, /) is an excellent idea, and one that I would recommend regardless of distro or even OS. Good luck with it

On one of my boxes I have done something similar to what you propose. Perhaps the following might help:

Disk Partitioning
Multibooting Tips

With my box I created separate /boot, /home, /opt, /tmp, /usr/local and swap partitions. Those partitions are common to any distro I install. Some people do not like the idea of a common /home partition for different distros and if you intend to experiment wildly, then that advice might prove sound. However, I have had no issues with a common /home partition but as the old warning goes, YMMV. Similarly with a common /usr/local partition. I store all of my True Type fonts, various sound files, and common user and admin scripts in that latter partition and those files are conveniently available to all distros.

With each distro I install I adopted a practice of using a separate /var, /usr, and / (root) partition. I discovered early on in this process that a common /var partition creates havoc.

I use a shared FAT32 partition. In dual-boot mode I mount my NTFS partitions as read-only, but when I network with my other box those partitions are mounted through samba and are read-write.

As already mentioned, disk partitioning is much to do with personal preferences and needs. I had to experiment some before I adopted my current approach.

One tidbit: I found that GRUB served me better in a multi-booting environment than LILO. With GRUB I need modify only one file for all distros rather than each LILO config file for each distro installed. I also can install GRUB on the MBR and serve all distros. Of course, my opinion is based upon my experiences and some LILO fans likely will disagree.

If you plan to experiment a lot, then I recommend buying an inexpensive used box and toy there rather than with your primary production box in multi-boot mode. I started with only one box and had to go the multi-boot route, but in hindsight I recommend obtaining a second box. Playing with only one box, especially if that box contains critical data files, can be nail-biting at times and requires stern diligence to frequently backup files before proceeding to the next adventure. In the end, a second box would have been far less stressful. I realize most people do not have money trees in their backyard, and I certainly do not, but if a few dollars are available for a second used box, then this is the route I recommend. I was fortunate in that the second box I own was given to me as a gift.

brj.. IMHO, Put each distro the choosers recommend & U want to try on a different HD.
Search LQ for GAG,Graphical Boot Analyzer it helps me a lot w/ M$Windoz. Allows booting from 9 different HDs, boot fm floppy or install GAG to HD. {In success stories, but not mine)

Linux Distro Choosers to help you find a starting point:
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php
http://eedok.voidofmind.com/linux/chooser.html
I have used the 1st more often, they did respond to my feedback. Fixed the links I told them were outdated, in just a few days (Me checking, not sure how they quick fixed!)
The 2nd one gives more choices w/ %#, allows tester to leave option Qs blank. I like that, as I did not know how to answer one of them.

I am sharing Swap, or trying to. Default in Suse 10.1 wants 2 GB, but ODIN 4 GB. I do not know enough yet to try making all the partitions, let the distro do it. I make/select swap, / , /home (shared FAT32).
LT no option for diff HD, but my further experiments on my DT will use diff HD from now on.

We're talking about Slackware here, "this distro let's you do it" - so to say . I would recommend J.W.'s advice for you... you have all the time in the world to experiment after you get the hang of it.

If you are just experimenting, I think you should checkout a VM solution and forget about having to partition anything. You can even do this for free with the VMWare Player and a pre-built appliance; for distros, check out this list http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/cat/45

Running a VM for each distro under your existing Windows XP installation could save you alot of time. When you are finished with a distro, simply delete the virtual machine.

Thanks guys.

This is the best forum of any kind I have seen on the web.