I am an average Windows user and new to Linux. Trying to install Suse for a dual boot on my Dell Dimension E310 with XP and 1GB RAM, with C, D and reinstall partitions.
I can boot from a live CD but don’t understand how to install SUSE 11.1 on my D (or sda3 drive).
Ideally, I should be able to partition this drive in 2 - 9GB for SUSE and the rest for Windows.
The pics will show how far I went before aborting. Prior to installing SUSE, I need to see a specific confirmation since cannot risk to have my entire hard drive wiped out.
Any help would be appreciated. I don’t understand the third pic - does it want me to install SUSE on the entire hard drive?
Your fundamental problem is that openSUSE wants rather more space than you are offering which is why it is proposing to take over sda2. The only way you can fit it onto sda3 is to do an expert partition of sda3 only, setting / to 8Gb, swap to 1Gb and /home to 9Gb or thereabouts. In practice you may get away with less than 8Gb for / if you restrict the number of applications you install and you could make swap 512Mb to save a bit more.
When you do it this way, make sure you also mount the windows partition as /windows/c at the same time as the openSUSE installer won’t assume this for you in expert partitioning.
storo13 adjusted his/her AFDB on Sunday 02 Aug 2009 17:56 to write:
>
> I am an average Windows user and new to Linux. Trying to install Suse
> for a dual boot on my Dell Dimension E310 with XP and 1GB RAM, with C,
> D and reinstall partitions.
> I can boot from a live CD but don’t understand how to install SUSE 11.1
> on my D (or sda3 drive).
> Ideally, I should be able to partition this drive in 2 - 9GB for SUSE
> and the rest for Windows.
> The pics will show how far I went before aborting. Prior to installing
> SUSE, I need to see a specific confirmation since cannot risk to
> have my entire hard drive wiped out.
> Any help would be appreciated. I don’t understand the third pic - does
> it want me to install SUSE on the entire hard drive?
>
> ‘HTML practice’ (http://www.practiceboard.com/?10889631) OR
> ‘PracticeWriter - 403048’ (http://PracticeWriter.com/vu/?62668)
>
>
You might find this a bit tricky, what you have there is a drive that is
already filled to the max with Primary partitions.
Only 4 are allowed per disk.
To get round this you need to delete one partition and create and “Extended”
partition which can then hold many more “Secondary” partitions.
However the way your disk is laid out it could be very very difficult.
What would be one way would be to delete sda3, shrink sda2 to give you some
more slack space and then create the Extended in the spare space between
sda2 and sda4 which would then let you create as many secondary partitions
as you need in that partition ( one for / at least 10 gig, swap would be
another 1 gig at least and the rest for /home ) the size of home is up to
you but the more the better and at least 5 gig is recommended.
Now the down side of this is that I am not sure what will happen to sda4, it
could possibly be fine and no probs or if it shifts it position to say sda7
then will your restore function work if you need it???
Having worked on a few Dulls in my lifetime I will not even guess what will
happen.
It might go all nice and smooth or you could end up in a terrible mess.
If it was me and the hardware will accept another drive (laptops and some
desktop machines do not either have 2 ide ports or do not have the physical
space) then I would just get another drive any size over 20gig will do and
add that as a slave and use that just for SuSE and not touch the Master Dell
one.
I am afraid you will have to tread carefully with this one and to coin a
phrase"Do you feel lucky?"
HTH
–
Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum
As said, I am very new to Linux and will have to take it one step at a time.
Since 4 partitions are the max, I removed everything from sda3 and the total available for SUSE is therefor 18.5GB on this partition.
But I never did any partitioning before and as am not sure what is the difference between ‘free space’ and ‘unused space’, please let me know on which of the 2 pictures should I click the OK :
http://auctionpresto.com/user/0000000016/0000000630suse5.jpg
http://auctionpresto.com/user/0000000016/0000000631suse6.jpg
http://auctionpresto.com/user/0000000016/0000000632suse7.jpg
Once I have this sda3 partition ready for SUSE, how do I 'set ’ it to / to 8Gb, swap to 1Gb and /home to 9Gb (keep in mind that I had to look up such basics to see what "/ " means!) .
As suggested by baskitcaise, I can of course delete sda3 and I could delete sda4 since I have a Dell reinstalation DVD. I also could shrink sda2 by say 10Gb . That would make it some 10+18.5+4.6= 33gb The question is whether one really needs so much for SUSE? And will I know how to create an “Extended” partition ? - never heard of such a thing though it makes sense.
As to installing a slave drive - I have never done this though I am willing to learn of course.
You have to create a extended partition with all of it’s 18.5GB
Then you create the partitions you need inside the extended partition you just created. Partitions created inside an extended partition must be logical partitions.
Just to clarify for you. An extended partition does not itself store any data, it’s just a container for logical partitions.
storo13 adjusted his/her AFDB on Monday 03 Aug 2009 01:26 to write:
>
> As suggested by baskitcaise, I can of course delete sda3 and I could
> delete sda4 since I have a Dell reinstalation DVD. I also could shrink
> sda2 by say 10Gb . That would make it some 10+18.5+4.6= 33gb
>
>
> The question is whether one really needs so much for SUSE?
Depending on what you want to do is the question 
If you just want to delve into the wonderful world of linux as a test to see
if you like it or it likes you then it would be quite possible to install in
the 23gig or so you would have without shrinking the windows partition, thus
saving a bit of potential problems with messing up windows ( no shrink can
be guaranteed 100% safe )
In 23 gig I ( and note the I ) would have something like 1 gig for swap,
maybe 12gig for / and the rest for home.
This would be more than enough to start with and allow 10 gig for your
personal files, settings and d/loads.
> And will I
> know how to create an “Extended” partition ? - never heard of such a
> thing though it makes sense.
Just to follow what caf said, an extended partition is just a container to
hold more logical ( I said secondary for which I do apologise, slip of the
brain there ) partitions, you can have loads of logical partitions inside
extended partitions which get round the 4 primary partition limit.
> As to installing a slave drive - I have never done this though I am
> willing to learn of course.
>
>
If you machine is capable of having another drive then this would solve all
the problems, if you can supply the hardware details ( model number or such
) then we could take look if it is possible for you.
If it is then we could walk you through the ways of doing it and get you
started, no probs.
Unfortunately I will be away for a couple of days but I am sure caf et al
will help if I do not appear, but if you are willing to wait then I will be
back later this week.
HTH
Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum
As a follow-up , I deleted D (in Windows) and made it an Extended partition. Suse had no trouble finding it and making 3 partitions and installing itself : 1.46, 7.1 and 9.9GB.
Thank you all for your help
storo13 adjusted his/her AFDB on Monday 03 Aug 2009 15:26 to write:
>
>
> As a follow-up , I deleted D (in Windows) and made it an Extended
> partition. Suse had no trouble finding it and making 3 partitions
> and installing itself : 1.46, 7.1 and 9.9GB.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/nfofs4
>
> Thank you all for your help
>
>
Glad you got it sorted.
Enjoy
–
Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum