Partitioning your System

Partiton Fields

Each line in the "Partitions" section represents a disk partition. Each line in this section has five different fields:

Mount Point:

This field indicates where the partition will be mounted. If a partition exists, but is "not set" you need to define its mount point. Double-click on the partition or use the Edit key.

We recommend that, unless you have a reason for doing otherwise, you should create the following partitions:

• A swap partition (at least 16MB) -- Swap partitions are used to support virtual memory. If your computer has 16MB of RAM or less, you must create a swap partition. Even if you have more memory, a swap partition is still recommended. The minimum size of your swap partition should be equal to your computer's RAM, or 16MB (whichever is larger).

• A /boot partition (16MB, maximum) -- The partition mounted on /boot contains the operating system kernel, along with files used during the bootstrap process. Due to the limitations of most PC BIOSes, creating a small partition to hold these files is a good idea. This partition should be no larger than 16MB.

• A root partition (600MB-1.5GB) -- This is where "/" (the root directory) resides. In this setup, all files (except those stored in /boot) reside on the root partition. A 600MB root partition will permit the equivalent of a workstation-class installation (with very little free space), while a 1.5GB root partition will let you install every package.

Device:

This field displays the partition's device name.

Requested:

The "Requested" field shows the partition's original size. To re-define the size, you must delete the current partition and recreate it using the Add button.

Actual:

The "Actual" field shows the space currently allocated to the partition.

Type:

This field shows the partition's type (such as Linux Native or DOS).

Problems When Adding a Partition

If you attempt to add a partition and Disk Druid can't carry out your request, you'll see a dialog box listing any partitions that are currently unallocated, along with the reason they could not be allocated. Note that the unallocated partition(s) are also displayed on Disk Druid's main screen (though you may have to scroll through the "Partitions" section to see them).

As you scroll through the "Partitions" section, you might see an "Unallocated Requested Partition" message (in red text), followed by one or more partitions. A common reason for this is a lack of sufficient free space for the partition. In any case, the reason the partition remains unallocated will be displayed after the partition's requested mount point.

To fix an unallocated requested partition, you must move the partition to another drive which has the available space, resize the partition to fit on the current drive, or delete the partition entirely. Make changes using the Edit button or by double clicking on the partition.

Drive Summaries

Each line in the "Drive Summaries" section represents a hard disk on your system. Each line has the following fields:

Drive:

This field shows the hard disk's device name.

Geom [C/H/S]:

This field shows the hard disk's geometry. The geometry consists of three numbers representing the number of cylinders, heads and sectors as reported by the hard disk.

Total:

The "Total" field shows the total available space on the hard disk.

Free:

The "Free" field shows how much of the hard disk's space is still unallocated.

Used:

These fields show how much of the hard disk's space is currently allocated to partitions, in megabytes and percentage.

The Drive Summaries section is displayed only to indicate your computer's disk configuration. It is not meant to be used as a means of specifying the target hard drive for a given partition. That is done using the Allowable Drives field in the section called Adding Partitions.

Disk Druid's Buttons

These buttons control Disk Druid's actions. They are used to add and delete partitions, and to change partition attributes. In addition, there are buttons that are used to accept the changes you've made, or to exit Disk Druid. Let's take a look at each button in order.

Add:

used to request a new partition. When selected, a dialog box will appear containing fields (such as mount point and size) that must be filled in.

Edit:

used to modify attributes of the partition currently highlighted in the "Partitions" section. Selecting this button will cause a dialog box to appear. Some or all of the fields in the Edit Partition dialog box can be changed, depending on whether the partition information has already been written to disk.

Delete:

used to delete the partition currently highlighted in the Current Disk Partitions section. You'll be asked to confirm the deletion of any partition.

Reset:

used to restore Disk Druid to its original state. All changes you may have made will be lost if you choose to reset the partitions.

Make RAID Device:

Make RAID Device can be used if you want to provide redundancy to any or all disk partitions. It should only be used if you have experience using RAID. To read more about RAID, please refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide.

Adding Partitions

To add a new partition, select the Add button. A dialog box will appear (see Figure 4-8).

• Mount Point: Highlight and enter the partition's mount point. For example, if this partition should be the root partition, enter /; enter /usr for the /usr partition, and so on.

• Size (Megs): Enter the size (in megabytes) of the partition. Note that this field starts with a "1" in it, unless you change it you'll end up with a 1 MB partition.

• Grow To Fill: This check box indicates whether the size you entered in the previous field is to be considered the partition's exact size, or its minimum size. When checked, the partition will grow to fill all available space on the hard disk. The partition's size will expand and contract as other partitions are modified. You can make more than one partition growable; if you do so, the additional free space will be shared among all growable partitions.

• Allowable Type: This field contains a list of different partition types (such as Linux Native or DOS). Select the appropriate partition type by using the mouse.

• Allowable Drives: This field contains a list of the hard disks installed on your system. If a hard disk's box is highlighted, then a desired partition can be created on that hard disk. If the box is not checked, then the partition will never be created on that hard disk. By using different check box settings, you can direct Disk Druid to place partitions as you see fit, or let Disk Druid decide where partitions should go.

• Ok: Select this button and press Enter when you are satisfied with the partition's settings, and wish to create it.

• Cancel: Select this button and press Enter if you don't want to create the partition.

Editing Partitions

To edit a partition, select the Edit button or double-click on the existing partition.

Deleting a Partition

To delete a partition, highlight itin the "Partitions" section and double-click the Delete button. You will be asked to confirm the deletion.