hey i have a compaq 2005 PC which has 4 drives of 19gb.i want to install suse with win XP but as i dont want to partition my drives can i empty one of the drives and install opensuse exclusively only on it.
Yes you can install to One of the HD’s, but you do need partitions on it.
but i have a fully empty HD(E:) does it still need partitons . cant opensuse simply use the whole drive .
but i have a empty (e) drive . does it still need partitions. cant suse install on the whole drive.
and could someone please tell me the whole process as i am a newbie .
Boot the install media and make sure it’s good http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/11.4_DVD_Install/1_mediacheck.jpg
Then reboot it
Follow it to here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/11.4_DVD_Install/9.Installer_suggests_partitions.jpg
Then here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/11.4_DVD_Install/10.Custom.jpg
You can select the HD you want to use entirely and the installer will do the rest
If you want to see the process in more detail:
https://picasaweb.google.com/caf4926/114_DVD_Install
But to answer your question. The installer will still partition the drive like this
swap
root
home
Just to add:
It’s not like windows. Linux keeps your personal files etc in a different partition called /home
The system installation goes to root or /
swap is a bit like the page file in windows, sort of virtual memory.
Though I am just wondering what the installer will do with such a small HD, you said 19GB?
Ideally in that situation, I wouldn’t make a /home partition
So if you can follow the guide and partition manually, I would suggest
swap 1GB
/ (root) everything else
You will still have a /home but it’s combined in to the system section.