HDD re-install w/ multipartition questions

[Cuddles]

Ok, its getting close to when I am going to re-install my hard drive install Knoppix, and I have a few questions on "how" this process is going to be done... ( first time for me )

With the "last" hard drive install, I went with a "multi-partitioning" scheme... /hda device contains my Knoppix, which is broken down into the following;

/hda1 - boot, 50 MB
/hda3 - swap, 512 MB
/hda5 - root, 5 GB
/hda6 - /home, 35 GB

Now, the fun part... Getting a new install to "recognize" the "old install"...

My guess is, I need to get the installer setup to understand that the swap is at /hda3, no biggy, I want LILO to know that it should put the boot information into /hda1, the installer should replace what is found in /hda5, and I dont want the installer to mess with what I have in /hda6, but, use that for the /home... I also realize that after the install, I need to setup any users that I already have in the /home location, and ensure that the same UID's are being used in the new install... I, of course, will need to apt-get install all the programs that I had before this install, but the "users" configs for these programs should still be in there respective home locations, waiting for the programs to be installed...

Here is what I've come up with: Boot the new version CD to be installed. Mount my /hda5 partition ( root ) as read-write, and evaporate all files. Unmount /hda5, in preparation of the install. Start the hard drive installer. Check any configurations. Exit installer, and manually change the configuration file to include /hda1 as boot, /hda3 as swap, and /hda5 as root -=- NOW, the first of the questions, do I change the /home partition in the configuration here, at this time, or do I do it at a later time, say, after the install complete? I want to retain my /home intact...

Once all configuration changes have been made, re-start the installer, and verify settings, then fire off the install...

When completed, do I activate the /home then? I know I will need to add my users, not that big a deal, I only have one user, me, and that was setup as the "default" knoppix user, so the UID is the same number, but with my "name" not knoppix. I also need to add one more user, the next UID after the "knoppix" default UID.

Make sure the /home is working, and all users, before proceeding... Then, set up sources.list, setup fstab to include devices and configs I have currently, and lastly - get the "old" programs back - do a apt-get update, and go for the installs.........

This is going to be my first attempt at using this multipartition, and since, before that, the complete home had to be lost and recreated from scratch, this theory was intended to change that... Once I do this, at least once, it will be either noted what needs to be done, or commited to memory, for the next time.

So, thanks to any assistance, ( the install is not planned for at least a month, but, I like to have as much information as I can, beforehand, so "surprises" can be at a minimum )

[CrashedAgain]

/hda1 - boot, 50 MB
/hda3 - swap, 512 MB
/hda5 - root, 5 GB
/hda6 - /home, 35 GB

Something I never have understood, why separate partitions for boot & root? Why not just a 'normal' install on hda1 or 5 with swap & home as separate partitions.

I do something similar but dual boot:
hda1 windows
hda5 knoppix
hda6 swap
hda7 vfat data
In my case /home is not separate but contains almost nothing, primarily links to hda7. Last couple of reinstalls I have copied most of /home to hda7 then reinstalled then copied it back.

[eco2geek]

Cuddles: The one thing I don't know is how Kanotix (is that what you're planning to use?) will deal with a separate /boot partition. But my guess is, probably like it deals with a separate /home partition. (Read on...)

When you install it, it will format / (root) automatically. In other words, everything on / will be wiped out, and / will be formatted in your choice of file system (ext3, ReiserFS, etc.), before the files are copied to it.

It should automatically detect and use your existing swap partition.

You already know how you start the installer, configure it, quit, save the configuration, then go to /root and edit the installer's configuration file, .knofig. That's where you tell it where /home is (correct value inserted from what you gave):

# Here you can give additional mappings. (Experimental) You need to have the partitions formatted
# yourself and give the correct mappings like: "/dev/hda4:/boot /dev/hda5:/var /dev/hda6:/tmp"
HD_MAP="/dev/hda6:/home"

(Don't forget the slash / in front of "/home"! You won't get an error message and it won't mount it correctly.)

Then rerun the installer and perform the installation.

/home is not formatted, and the data on /home is not touched (which is why having a separate /home partition is such a good idea -- all the configuration data you already have there is used).

I'd assume /boot would be treated the same way (in other words, untouched), except in this case you want the new files copied to /boot. So maybe you don't want to add /boot to .knofig when you install; maybe you want to manually copy everything from the /boot directory that Kanotix installs on / to your separate /boot partition after you install, then edit /etc/fstab manually.

[shah]

Okay, let say we have all different partition for /boot, /swap,/root,/home;
but suddently one of the partition got corrupted and beyond repair unless you reinstall knoppix/kanotix.
Will this different partition make any good? Will my data in /home not be wipe out?
Or if I want to repair /root partition, could I just installed /root without touching other partition?

If the above not possible, I don't see why I need different partition.....I see that if single partition is corrupt everything in it can't be saved including my /home folder.....but by doing a backup, I can restore it (after reinstall)...so does different partition.

What about data keep growing from time to time......installing with different partition make it limited to the size given by you to that partition...unless you have the time resizing it every time you need more space.
Unlike single partition, everything can grow to the maximum size of your partition regardless which folder (/home,/root or boot).

Am I on the right track?

[eco2geek]

The main reason people use multiple partitions for Linux seems to be so that if one partition becomes corrupted or trashed, the data on the other partitions is still intact.

With Knoppix/Kanotix, there's an even better reason to use a separate /home partition. When the installer runs, it automatically reformats the partition you're installing it on. Meaning, if you didn't have a separate /home partition, everything would be wiped out.

Of course, you could put the data back if you had a backup, but having a separate /home partition is just easier.

35GB for /home and only 5GB for / ?! You're not planning on installing a lot of programs, are you, Cuddles?

[shah]

Meaning, if you didn't have a separate /home partition, everything would be wiped out.

You mean reinstall wil not wipeout/format that /home partition?
Anybody has try this,reinstall with data in /home partition still intact?

[OErjan]

if /home is in a separate hddpartition.
then it will be there untouched if you do not tell the installaer to format... that partition, then you can reuse it as /home again.

[Cuddles]

From what I learned, the reasoning for seperate partitions, is two fold; one, it makes for re-installing only one partition during a OS re-install, thus retaining other partitions, intact. Two, if one partition grows to excess, it doesn't take out anoither one, e.g. /home grows to exceed its "boundaries", it won't eat away from the / (root) partition... The big issue here is, the /boot partition was created because Knoppix uses LILO ( by default ), and can put its files on that "small" partition, saved for it, as the FIRST 50 MB of the physical disk, the problem is, as Eco2Geek says, yes, the re-install is going to be Kanotix, and Kanotix uses GRUB by default, hence, not even Knoppix really has any files on the boot partition, of the drive, it has its LILO files still saved in /boot, which is on the / (root) partition.

What I might want to do; go into cfdisk, disolve the 50 MB as /hda1, and put it into the /hda5, then take a few extra gigabyte from the /hda6, and place it also into /hda1 -=- what would be a good size for root in Kanotix BH9a ????? Now, I'm going to have to learn GRUB, and after I got so used to LILO... Oh well...

EDIT:
Oops, typo, What I meant to say was: take the 50 MB from /hda1 and put it into /hda5, and then take a few of the GB from /hda6 and put it into /hda5 -=- not /hda1, that would be gone. Sorry for the confussion, me bad.
END EDIT

[shah]

Thanks guys/gals.

Don't you think it be nice for knoppix/kanotix include option to do multiple partition installation in knoppix/kanotix-installer? I mean not manually edit .knofig.

[Cuddles]

Thanks guys/gals.

Don't you think it be nice for knoppix/kanotix include option to do multiple partition installation in knoppix/kanotix-installer? I mean not manually edit .knofig.

That would make sense, to people who intend on doing a multi-partition install, but...

It might make the install, for those who just do a single partition, a lot more confussing...
It might be more complicated to actually code this; you would need to consider "all" the partitions that could be made as an option, then back that up with possible formats, and finally, code it so it will detect them and check for them properly -=-

Having the edit manually thing, leaves the installer "clean and easy" for the single partition, and if you want to break out partitions, you are left to doing it yourself, and make it the way you want. Heck, considering all the "possibilities" of having a partition broken up during an install; /etc, root, /home, /tmp, etc... it might get extremely complicated doing it through a GUI, lots of check boxes, radio buttons, text boxes, and then, having to devise a way to "assume" that if this "option" for a seperate partition isnt used, that that partition should be "included" into "what" partition, if any, that might have been choosen, kind of stuff.

Right now, for most of those just starting out, having the "extra" partition for a swap, is confussing, and the posts in this forum can prove it. You go adding a ton of more options to them, like a seperate /home, and a seperate boot, /etc, /tmp, and they are just going to go nuts...

Right now, most are familiar with the installer, and requiring the swap partition, and most just use a standard singe partition for everything - its easier for them, if you want to break down into seperates, then, you can get lots of information on how to do it, during, and even after, you are installing. I think the idea was to make the installer less complicated as possible, but, having the edit ability, leaves it open to make it as complicated as you want... I think this was the intention. [ ]