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tshontikidis
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Joined: 25 Apr 2005
Posts: 15
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 Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:48 am Post subject: n00b question on creating a /boot partition |
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So i am in the middle of reinstalling gentoo on an old box of mine with 40gig hd. Now when i create my partioning scheme. Which should lay out to
hda1 64mb /boot
hda2 768mb swap
hda3 (rest of disk) /
When i create them all and make the first partion bootable does that automatically declare it as /boot. Or is there another step when i activate to declare its mount point. Same with my / partition, do i declare it some how, also i am installing from stage 1 and following the guide almost to the "T".
if the question was confusing ask what you didnt get and i will clarify.
Thanks. |
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markkuk
Guru
Joined: 29 Nov 2002
Posts: 446
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 12:00 pm Post subject: Re: n00b question on creating a /boot partition |
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| tshontikidis wrote: | | When i create them all and make the first partion bootable does that automatically declare it as /boot. |
No. The partition becomes /boot when you mount it as /boot. Same with other partitions, their location in the file system is defined only when they are mounted. |
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depontius
Advocate
Joined: 05 May 2004
Posts: 3509
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 12:05 pm Post subject: Re: n00b question on creating a /boot partition |
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| tshontikidis wrote: | So i am in the middle of reinstalling gentoo on an old box of mine with 40gig hd. Now when i create my partioning scheme. Which should lay out to
hda1 64mb /boot
hda2 768mb swap
hda3 (rest of disk) /
When i create them all and make the first partion bootable does that automatically declare it as /boot. Or is there another step when i activate to declare its mount point. Same with my / partition, do i declare it some how, also i am installing from stage 1 and following the guide almost to the "T".
if the question was confusing ask what you didnt get and i will clarify.
Thanks. |
There are a few ways hda1 will get declared as "boot". Probably the foremost is in /etc/fstab, where it's given the mount point of "/boot". The other important spot is in /etc/grub/grub.conf, where you refer to it as "hd0,0". For some reason, grub insists on its own ordering/numbering scheme, which though it may be in the more correct "index origin 0", (for you APL fans) it's still different from the rest of the world, and is a pain. Finally, you can use e2label to label /dev/hda1 symbolically as "BOOT" and thereafter, or at least in /etc/ftab, refer to it as BOOT instead of /dev/hda1. But the ones that really count are /etc/fstab and /boot/grub/grub.conf.
Oops, it also REALLY matters when you run the grub command, to install the grub stage1 loader onto the master boot record. That's where system boot begins, after BIOS.
Finally, personal prejudices about partitioning:
1: I like to have a /home partition. This way, I can reinstall the OS, even install a different distribution, without losing my personal data. If you do re/new install, it takes a little care with UIDs to make sure the home directories come out ok, but it sure simplifies life.
2: You never know what the future may bring, and DOS only supports 4 primary partitions. So I tend to put in /dev/hda1 as boot, then make an extended partition using the rest of the disk as /dev/hda2. The rest of my Linux partitions are then logical drives in that extended partition, and the numbering begins at /dev/hda5. (/dev/hda1-4 reserved for primary/extended, hda5+ for logical)
3: To carry the thought further, on a really big drive it's worth considering lvm2 to manage your partitions. With lvm2 it's much less traumatic to change a partition (they have a different term for it in lvm2, but the idea's the same) size. But for the moment, it's a bit of a pain to boot off of lvm2, so f you wanted lvm2, I would have boot, a small root, and swap as hda1-3 and the lvm container as hda4, then build /usr, /var, /home (I did say "small" root) in lvm.
Finally, since your asking partitioning questions, I assume you don't have a lot of Linux experience. I would accept that once you've used your first install a bit, you'll wish you had done if differently. Don't be afraid to chalk it up to experience and reinstall.
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tshontikidis
n00b
Joined: 25 Apr 2005
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 2:21 pm Post subject: Re: n00b question on creating a /boot partition |
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| depontius wrote: |
Finally, personal prejudices about partitioning:
1: I like to have a /home partition. This way, I can reinstall the OS, even install a different distribution, without losing my personal data. If you do re/new install, it takes a little care with UIDs to make sure the home directories come out ok, but it sure simplifies life.
2: You never know what the future may bring, and DOS only supports 4 primary partitions. So I tend to put in /dev/hda1 as boot, then make an extended partition using the rest of the disk as /dev/hda2. The rest of my Linux partitions are then logical drives in that extended partition, and the numbering begins at /dev/hda5. (/dev/hda1-4 reserved for primary/extended, hda5+ for logical)
3: To carry the thought further, on a really big drive it's worth considering lvm2 to manage your partitions. With lvm2 it's much less traumatic to change a partition (they have a different term for it in lvm2, but the idea's the same) size. But for the moment, it's a bit of a pain to boot off of lvm2, so f you wanted lvm2, I would have boot, a small root, and swap as hda1-3 and the lvm container as hda4, then build /usr, /var, /home (I did say "small" root) in lvm.
Finally, since your asking partitioning questions, I assume you don't have a lot of Linux experience. I would accept that once you've used your first install a bit, you'll wish you had done if differently. Don't be afraid to chalk it up to experience and reinstall. |
No i do not have much experience, i have used knoppix as a one of my tech tools for fixing stuff and earlyer this year tried mandrake "WINDrake" as i like to call. I stoped after a week because it was pretty boring and i never really did anything on my own. So i got the urge to try linux again and this time i would throw my self in to learn more and i ended up with gentoo. I was thinking about a /home, but for my first time i thought to leave everything in one partition to keep everything in order. Later i will try new part schemes and other functions of gentoo.
But for right now i just want to complete a simple install for a minimal gentoo box and learn the basics.
also this is my second reinstall:) |
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kimchi_sg
Advocate
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 2969
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 2:49 pm Post subject: |
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If you want a minimalist partitioning scheme, you will need at least 2 partitions. 1 for swap, and 1 for /
You may have trouble following the installation handbook if you do this.
Just ignore the part about creating and mounting /mnt/gentoo/boot , and in the bootloader configuration section, remember that since /boot is now a sub-directory in the / partition and not a separate partition of its own, you will need to replace paths such as /grub/splash.xpm.gz with /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz .
Thus, i will recommend that you follow the handbook's partitioning scheme, it will make things a bit easier. |
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nordicskiah
n00b
Joined: 07 Mar 2005
Posts: 73
Location: Bethel or Falmouth, Maine
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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remember to name the partitions in /etc/fstab at the end of install
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Installing Gentoo
