Partition Help

[Quite]

Ok so i have Knoppix and i wanted to make a home directory on my xp pro machine without interfering with the xp pro os how do i go about doing this cause i know nothing about partitions this is my very first venture into them and i need some help

[j.drake]

You can partition using a program called Qtparted, that is on the Knoppix disk.

Before you do that, though, take a look at this option. http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/PoorMansInstall You don't need a hd install to get functionality, and the problems associated with a dual boot hd install typically require a good amound of Linux experience to diagnose and repair, and quite often inhibit the installer from booting back into Windows (not always, but often).

Before you do it, take a look at the post, and ask yourself honestly if you're prepared to handle things if they go wrong, or whether you should take a simpler and more reliable option with the same functionality for now. Just because Windows requires a hd install to get things done, don't assume this to be the case for Linux as well. I use this option, as do a number of experienced Linux users.

And please, I've been there and made this mistake, if you do the dual boot install anyway, please back up first. Really.

jd

[Quite]

well i dont want to install knoppix on the hard drive cause im just getting started as of two days ago and to my understanding the home directory is just the setting and all correct also will the windows ntfs file system interfear with the home directory as i have read linux doesnt like ntfs file systems

[j.drake]

Great. Sounds like you're doing what you need to do. The link I gave you has a link to a Debian website that explains the naming conventions of the drives. The primary hd is hda, the secondary is hdb, the first partition of the primary is hda1, the third partition of the primary is hda3. You get the idea. Figure out where you want to partition, and how big you want the partition to be. If you have one 250 GB NTFS partition on your computer, and you want to allow 100 GB for your home, then 150 will be hda1, and the 100 will be either hda2 or 3 (there are primary, logical, and extended partitions, and a finite number of any given kind that linux recognizes, so depending on how many you have, the names can change. look at that Debian link for details if you want to know)

You'll need to do almost all of this as root. In Linux, the more dangerous commands are reserved to "root", presumably the system admin of your linux system. Since you're talking about one PC, running as root involves giving yourself permission to execute one of these commands. There are 2 or 3 ways to do this, all involving the console. Click the icon in the toolbar that looks like a monitor. A text screen (like DOS) pops up. Type "sudo passwd' (without quotes), and set a root password for yourself - just make one up. Close the console. Any program you run from the graphical desktop that requires root privileges will ask for this password.

As I said, Qtparted is a graphical partitioning program. From what I understand, it is very similar to Partition Magic, although I have never used that product. I have used Qtparted, though, and it's pretty easy to figure out. It's been a while, but basically, you drag the partition borders with your mouse where you want them, and tell Qtparted what kind of partition you want to create. My guess is that you'll want a FAT32 partition that Windows can read also.

After you do this, I recall that I still had to make the file system on the new partition in the console (someone can correct me if there's an easier way). BTW, I'm going from memory here, so don't assume this to be a step-by-step - you'll still want to research. You change directory (cd command) to the new partition, then use the mkfs command to make your fat32 file system. Check the manual for the syntax ("man mkfs" without quotes, brings up the manual for the command, "vfat" is the fs type for FAT32) .

You might want to look at the WIKI for some more specific help and how-tos on this, and see what it has to say (click the "Docs" tab at the top). I'd try to help you more, but I'm in Windows right now.

Oh, I almost forgot. It's extremely important to defrag Windows drives before you partition. To be on the safe side, you might want to back up important files as well. I don't expect problems for you, but you never knowl

jd

[Quite]

ok i reset the password but when i go into the program to make the partion it wont let me do it ive tried everything how do i do it

sry for being a bother i just really want it

[j.drake]

No problem. Try this. Open the console and type "sudo qtparted" (without quotes), enter, and see if that gets you where you want to go.

jd

[Quite]

That just takes me into the program the create button is grayed out

One question would i have to resize my ntfs partition cause it might use the whole hd im not sure casue i dont remimber my hd size the partition is 75gb ive

[j.drake]

That's normal. It's that way until you actually resize.

jd

[Quite]

Ok ive finally managed to do it right the first attempted i acidently deleted every thing on the first partition but ive fixed all of that and now i have two seperate partitions but now its not detecting the one i just made what kind of file system should i make it so it will pick it up

[Quite]

sry for the double post but i got it all figured out now

[j.drake]

Congratulations!

jd

[Quite]

yeah i made the partition 20 gb and i have the home directory and configuration on it so now in a few days i might look into a dual install of both windows and linux on the hd thats a might not for sure thats why im giving it a few days cause as of now i have to restart 3-9 times to get knoppix to boot cause it wont uncompress all the time but eventually it does

[j.drake]

Cool. There are a number of intriguing options out there for dual boot, and it's interesting to watch them evolve. The one I used before actually involved leaving the Windows hd as is, installing a second hd, reversing the boot order in BIOS, and installing Linux and a boot loader to the second hd (which BIOS now boots first). The idea is to avoid having the bootloader mess with the Windows MBR, or having Linux touch in any way the Windows installation. I screwed it up the first time, but it still worked untill my mobo went out under warranty, and I never tried it again after they reimaged my hd.

Take a look at this post. http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=57198#57198 The guy who wrote it has helped out a lot of folks, and seems to have a good handle on this. It still looks to be an autodetection setup, so it may not be attractive to you. But it looks to me like a logical next step for people who like poor man's, but don't like entering cheatcodes or using boot devices.

jd