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Unfortunately I cannot register in Sidux forums as I am told that I give the wrong answers. Many times I have tried to no avail, so it is here that I have to ask two questions, one of which is specifically Sidux oriantated:
a. Through my weekly apt-get update and apt-get dist-upgrade of Sidux, my root (/) partition has swollen to about 9.1GB. It seems that every time the downloaded files are added and nothing is deleted.
Am I supposed to run some command for it ? Was not able to find something relevant neither in the manual nor in the wiki or in the forums (as guest).
b. I have installed Sidux in a multi distro Linux only machine, having a / partition currently of 23.1 GB (after enlarging it from originally 10.3 GB for the "overswelling" above mentioned reason) and a /home partition of 66.57 GB. They are installed in an IDE 250 GB hd.
I want to enlarge /home but there is no space in my hd so I want to add a new hd
of 500 GB but it has to be SATA as my mobo will not take any further IDE.
The question is how to add this new hd as a continuation to the existing /home, making it a total of 566.57 GB.
b. create a partition on your new hd, then mount it and run cp -ar /home /mnt/<mountpointfordrive>, then you can unmount the old home and mount the new one and MAKE SURE IT WORKS before you delete your old home
a) sounds like either you are not emptying your /tmp or other temp files
and/or
your package manager has not be set to delete old ones. You could install a different front end to apt like aptitude etc and configure that.
a2) If that is a bit difficult for you...in the meantime you can have a look at /var for .deb files....a search using root powers may find them
eg
find /var -name *.deb
However you need to be careful deleting files because some may still be required.....so I suggest IMHO you are better off using a front end (gui) to apt to manage your packages.
b) You have 3 main options....
1) cull the current drive to appropriate disk space so not needing a second drive.....save da money
2) install sata....configure bios to detect it....use sidux to partition and format it and then some more options
i) in /etc/fstab mount it as folder /data
using root powers
mkdir /data
check your current fstab to see if you want to use UUID or /dev style and create the entry in fstab for example
First a big huge thank you to all of you that answered my request.
Please bear in mind that I am a novice in computers, have had no schooling or experience of any operating system other than Linux, hence my questions may seem outrageous.
1)
a. I first tried the easiest for me: #apt-get autoclean, which deleted 1.9GB of files within seconds ! So my / partition now stands at 7.2GB not bad considering that I have both kde and gnome managers installed.
b. Then I went over and checked:
/tmp = 41.2KB
/usr = 3.5GB
/var = 2GB >cache = 1.8GB >apt = 1.7GB> archives = 1.7GB.
No files to be deleted I think. Of course they were probably there but were deleted with: #apt-get autoclean.
2)
Concerning the addition of a sata 500GB hd:
a. AceofSpades19 says: "b. create a partition on your new hd, then mount it and run cp -ar /home /mnt/<mountpointfordrive>, then you can unmount the old home and mount the new one and MAKE SURE IT WORKS before you delete your old home"
I can create a ext3 partition on the new hd with gparted but: how do I mount it? I can run: "cp -ar /home /mnt/sda1 (provided that I have created the whole hd (500GB) as partition sda1), will this command annex it to the already existing /home of 66.57GB so that I will have a single /home of total 566.57GB ?
How do I "unmount the old home and mount the new one" ? or "delete your old home".
Sorry for the questions but I am new to computers.
b. aus9 says: "ii) if you save money....fix your package manager
if you can afford a new drive....create one partition for /data and another partition for /images
and use partimage to backup your data to /images and then burn them to a dvdrw"
As I understand it you suggest that I create two /homes, one /home/data and another /home/images to segregate the data and image files. If so it seems a marvellous idea to keep video files(images) separated from documents(data), unless "data" and "images" have a different meaning in the IT world.
"2) install sata....configure bios to detect it....use sidux to partition and format it and then some more options
i) in /etc/fstab mount it as folder /data
using root powers
mkdir /data"
nr 2) I can manage easily.
nr 2)i):do I: #mkdir /etc/fstab/data ?
Here is my fstab:
/etc/fstab - static information about the filesystems - fstab(5)
#
# /etc/fstab is only read by programs, and not written; it is the duty of the
# system administrator to properly maintain this file.
#
# Instead of giving the device explicitly, one may indicate the filesystem
# that is to be mounted by its UUID or VOLUME label. This will make the
# system more robust: adding or removing a disk changes the disk device name
# but not the filesystem UUID or VOLUME label.
#
# <filesystem> <mountpoint> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
It seems it uses /dev/sda for my only hd which is IDE though. So I suppose the new 500GB sata will be sdb;
Now I am confused with "/dev/sda1 /data ext3 relatime 1 1
"ii) you can move all of /home to new drive" How? jv is me the user in my machine. Sidux is installed: "/" in "/dev/sda13" (23.50GB), and "/home" in "/dev/sda14" (66.57GB).
Do I go: #mv /dev/sda14/home/jv /dev/sdb1/home/jv ?
Question: The old home at /sda14 if moved will free 66.57GB ? To be used otherwise or will it be annexed to the new /home ?
If I have given enough information about my machine, would it be asking too much from you to write for me the required commands ?
1) quote "Now I am confused with "/dev/sda1 /data ext3 relatime 1 1"
well I said eg or for example....meaning they were examples only not to be as official.
thanks for posting your fstab.
2) do I mkdir /etc/fstab/data no please...you add entries or amend entries using root powers.
eg all of your fstab seems to work thru having your distro automatically adding entries.
try amending that to fixed entry eg....(for example)
move this line
UUID=9bf93d16-3350-4bd9-af40-4f563bd7e6f2 / ext3 defaults,noatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
to immediately below this line
# <filesystem> <mountpoint> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
3) make sure you copy and paste or put a hash (#) in front of the old entry....which stops it being read as a real line.
4) before I forget...please please make a backup of your file before making any changes....name it something like
/etc/fstab-old
so on reboot if it fails to boot ....you use a live cd to mount the partition and rename the old fstab file to become the fstab file.
5) yes I agree ...if you have no other devices sdb is likely to be the new drive.
but I disagree you need a new drive....the aptitude autoclean should have worked.
its not entirely clear to me why you have so many partitions.....its a free world...but did you know each partition costs you free space
eg...if you have only 2 partitions..../ and swap...total free space will always be greater than
3 or more partitions with same data due to the way to partition system operates.
I am not suggesting you should use only 2 partitions I am just illustrating the extremes so you get the idea.
6) You may wish to do some reading on the matter?
I am a blunt person...so will try to seduce you to my way heh heh but others may differ. Its a free world.
--------IMHO------
partition system to have 3 primary partitions
/ about 7 G
swap about 500 megs
/data (balance of drive)
I do not do any big file downloading but if I do it goes to data and is backed up to dvdrw
I use a live cd to partimage (image) my / to write to /data....backed up to dvdrw
Partimage will compress...I choose that option ....so 7G full will come roughly 2G image which is small enough to be burnt to dvdrw....but I never go that far.
I have a manual page of details of how to re-create my partition table...using a live cd of course....so if I have to buy a new drive....I can migrate very easily.
--------end of opinion-------
7) to your question on howto move home drive....I still think you are wrong to do so...clean up your current drive and gain more space by reducing the number of partitions....learn to backup your stuff....learn to use a live cd....save da money
The reason I have too many partitions is that as a newcomer to computing I am trying to learn about this kind of beast, and I must say that I am extremelly impressed by its capabilities ! So I have two machines with a total of about 20 Linux only OSs, experimenting,
as I know nothing about MS, Unix, Apple etc.
Usually I have one partition for root and one for home.
Being spoiled as I am I download a lot of video files, presently more than 50GB using miro, with Sidux, which works perfectly with miro for about two months now. I did the same with another distro, downloaded about 65GB of video files but although it was ok at the beginning after the first upgrade I could not watch them any more ! I tried a lot of ways around to no avail. I could not watch them even using another distro. So I deleted them.
Since Sidux works ok and hoping it will do so in the future, I need that 500GB new disc to fill it up with cartoons, old films etc. Probably an additional one will be needed as well ! 1TB . That is all that my mobo will take, 2 IDE and two sata.
My other machine is specialized in sound for music files. Best distros for sound I discovered: 64Studio, Jacklab and Blag.
Still have to try Musix and earOS which refuses to install.
That is my story !
Thanks for the suggestions about fstab, I must say that I am reluclant to try them presently, afraid that I will make a mistake and I do not know how to use a live cd if I do.
thanks for the link aus9, I have been reading about virtualisation a lot, different types like quemu, or something similar, and others, but did not know how to grab them ! I suppose I will be able to learn now through this site.
Having all those distros installed though helps me jump from one to the other when for example I want to evaluate sound quality of a specific stream, usually at bbc radio 3's channel.
Have a nice night, I am in Greece, full summer 35`C 2.45pm.
Further to my yesterday's post, I ran today again #apt-get autoclean which removed another 0.2GB of files within 1-2 seconds and then I remembered I read somewhere about the command #apt-get autoremove which I used, removing some more 0.8GB of files!!! It took quite some time though. Now root stands at a respectable 6.2GB.
I would stay away from "apt-get autoremove". Tends to bork things up by removing needed stuff.
"apt-get clean" removes more than autoclean. Have a look at "man apt-get".
I did run #apt-get clean, possibly that did the trick and deleted another 1.4GB.
Now referring to the new hhd that I want to add as a continuation to my existing /home:
I unearthed a 5 month old instruction which I had never applied, concerning a similar request by me for an external hdd though, for reasons of being too difficult for me at that time and because the distro to be applied to did not behave and could not read the video files after an update. 65GB of them, which I erased.
Initially that distro had lvm + graphical interface and I could proceed if I wanted to, something that I could not do with Sidux until I realized that the problem was the lack of the interface called system-config-lvm. I discovered that in the excellent Kpackage and installed it. Now I can proceed which I will do within the next 2 days when I receive the new WD500GB hdd. And inform about the outcome, either laughing or crying if I mess up everything and lose all my files!!
The instructions by Stevea are as follows:..............."see system-config-lvm........
No problem w/ more questions. But you must answer the question of how you want to use the 590GB drive+partition.
If the usb drive is a permanent addition and you want to go the LVM route then ....
use gparted to make one big "unformatted" partition (/dev/sb1 perhaps) the full size of the volume.
Open "uninitialized entities" and click "initialize entity"
Open the system-config-lvm and select "unallocated volumes", then select the external drive "/dev/sdb" (or whatever) and select the big partition ("Partition 1" I expect).
Click - "create new volume group", give it a volume group name like "mygroup" and use the other defaults.
"mygroup" now appears under "Volume Groups"
Next you needd to create a logical volume (similar idea as a partition). So select "mygroup Logical View" and click "create new logical volume". Make up a logical volume name like "myhomevol". Select a size [pulldowd 'Gigabytes' and max out the slider]. Select filesystem "ext3" , select "mount" and "mount when rebooted" and add a mountpoint like "/home2". Click OK. You now have a ~500GB ext3-on-lvm mounted as /home2.
If you type "mount" as root in a terminal you should see a line like ...
/dev/mapper/mygroup-myhomevol on /home2 type ext3 (rw)
==
Next step you want to copy all of the existing /home to /home2
As root type the command
mv /home/* /home2
Next we want the LVM you mount at /home next time and we want the current /home to not mount at all next time.
So edit the file /etc/fstab as root and you'll see two relevant lines like ...
/dev/sda3 /home ext3 defaults 1 2
/dev/mygroup/myhomevol /home2 ext3 defaults 1 2
--
Change these to read like
# /dev/sda3 /home ext3 defaults 1 2
/dev/mygroup/myhomevol /home ext3 defaults 1 2
--
Then reboot and you should see that /home has all the user directories and everything is happy and you have an unused old /home partition at /dev/sda2 or whereever.
Use system-config-lvm to "initialize entity" and then add /dev/sda3 to existing volume group "mygroup". UNder "myhome Logical view" select "myhome". Then "edit properties" and move the slider to max ~590GB in your case. Click "ok" and you are done.
The "resize ext3" popup will take some time to complete."
This is not exactly my present system but very much so.
will proceed with trepidation and will inform you !!!!
Lesson up to now:
Go: #apt-get update, apt-get dist-upgrade, apt-get clean
Thank you all for your time spent on my problems and the wonderful information that you supplied. All for free. I suppose we are entering a better phase in the world.
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