[SOLVED] Should Linux Mint 19.2 best be installed on 2 or 3 partitions?

ImWolf

Honorable
Mar 18, 2019
195
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10,615
Could not find an answer using search here, but I see different methods of freshly installing Linux (Mint).

Most guides suggest creating a /root partition and a swap area partition, while other user inputs also include a /home partition.

I'm new at Linux and don't know why some would like the extra /home partition.

If it is a preferred method of install, how does one determine partition sizes, and also should the partition be designated as primary or extended?

1st HDD = 500G Windows XP (not to be touched)
2nd HDD = 500G (250G NTFS, 250G "unused" for Linux install)
4G Ram

Also, it is my intention to put the grub boot loader during install of Linux on the root of the 2nd HDD, and change the boot order in BIOS. This way, if either HDD were to fail at some point, I would still be able to boot up either Windows or Linux OS (which ever disk survives). Is this a potential problem?
 
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Solution
The rules are the same as you'd do for Windows installation: Root partition of enough size to hold your projected applications, plus a hefty reserve.

Being an old school, I always allocate swap partition. Old rules said "twice the RAM size", but I would bend around this and leave it at most 10gb-ish. With your setup (and "large" storage), this would be more than enough.

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Could not find an answer using search here, but I see different methods of freshly installing Linux (Mint).

Most guides suggest creating a /root partition and a swap area partition, while other user inputs also include a /home partition.

I'm new at Linux and don't know why some would like the extra /home partition.

If it is a preferred method of install, how does one determine partition sizes, and also should the partition be designated as primary or extended?

1st HDD = 500G Windows XP (not to be touched)
2nd HDD = 500G (250G NTFS, 250G "unused" for Linux install)
4G Ram

Also, it is my intention to put the grub boot loader during install of Linux on the root of the 2nd HDD, and change the boot order in BIOS. This way, if either HDD were to fail at some point, I would still be able to boot up either Windows or Linux OS (which ever disk survives). Is this a potential problem?
Don't be too small on your root partition. I usually use 40G -- you don't want to run out of space on your root volume.
 
The rules are the same as you'd do for Windows installation: Root partition of enough size to hold your projected applications, plus a hefty reserve.

Being an old school, I always allocate swap partition. Old rules said "twice the RAM size", but I would bend around this and leave it at most 10gb-ish. With your setup (and "large" storage), this would be more than enough.
 
Solution

ImWolf

Honorable
Mar 18, 2019
195
21
10,615
Thanks for the replies... is it possible to easily change a Linux partition using Partition Wizard or something like that the same as any other OS?

Also, if a /Home partition was not created at setup, can it be created for use later on?