5/19/2020 Partitioning issues - Community Help Wiki

5/19/2020 Partitioning issues - Community Help Wiki

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Partitioning issues
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Planning is needed when choosing a partitioning scheme and a tool to create such partitions
on a hard drive disk.
Windows Partitions
Manipulating Windows partitions requires special consideration and tools. See How to
Resize Windows Partitions for more information. In general, use Windows tools when
manipulating existing Windows partitions.
Format Windows partitions using the NTFS filesystem, in general. However, Windows
98 requires FAT32, and Windows XP will function fine with FAT32. The NTFS
filesystem allows greater security (and ability to lock folders), which can be an
advantage or disadvantage, depending on your point of view. (Microsoft can
administratively lock your folders without your permission in NTFS). Windows Vista
and Windows 7 both require NTFS.
In general, it is desirable to use Windows tools when formatting Windows partitions, but most
current partition managers (such as GParted) are able to format the filesystem (NTFS or
FAT32) in the partition correctly.
Linux and Mac partitions

Most current partition managers (such as GParted) are able to format or reformat any
partition to the desired filesystem type (ext3, ext4, swap, hfs+ for Mac OS X, NTFS or
FAT32 for Windows). In general, Linux partitions should be ext3 or ext4, but FAT32
and several other options are available as Linux filesystem types.
Install Windows in a primary partition

If Windows exists or will exist on your system, it must occupy a primary partition.
Most users put windows on the first primary partition, but this is not necessary. For
more information on installing Windows and Ubuntu in separate partitions, see Dual
Booting Windows and Ubuntu.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Partitioning issues?action=show&redirect=Partitioning 1/3

Why use multiple partitions?

When an operating system loads from its own partition, it always runs the fastest. When
other alternatives are used, such as running one operating system within another
operating system (using a virtual machine or a virtual disk mechanism), it is always
slower (due to higher RAM and hard-drive requirements when using these methods).
Bootloaders such as GRUB can be used to choose which operating system to load when
each operating system occupies its own partition.
The main reason to use separate partitions is for ease of maintenance. When an
operating system (OS) occupies its own partition, it can easily be updated without
affecting other operating systems or data that might be stored in other partitions.
This is especially useful when certain applications are able to be used by multiple operating
systems. A groupware application (such as Kolab), for example, can be placed in its own
partition and be used by whichever operating system is booted. It can stay consistent and
independent, even when one or more operating systems update themselves. It can then be
updated independently of any particular operating system update and in fact be excluded from
"automatic updates" by certain operating systems.
The linux filesystem can use a separate mount point for any directory, even if the directory
exists in its own partition. Here are some examples of directories that are often given their
own mount points (often in their own partitions):
swap -- Swap partitions allow you to use some of your harddrive space as RAM. Swap
prevents your computer from crashing when you run out of RAM space, and
additionally, allows the RAM to be used efficiently.
/home -- The /home mount point is where individual user settings are stored. By
placing this directory in its own partition, they can be shared between multiple OS's and
remain constant even when each OS is updated.
/boot -- The /boot mount point is where the GRUB bootloader files (needed to boot an
OS) are stored. (GRUB2 can also be used to allow multiple OS's to boot.) Having a
dedicated /boot partition can make it easier to run and maintain multiple operating
systems.
Arguments against partitioning

'Data loss is less frequent with current operating systems.' -- If you believe this one, I
have a bridge to sell you.
'The need to run multi-boot systems is mitigated due to the advent of virtualization and
virtualization tools like VirtualBox such that running a virtual Windows OS on an
Ubuntu system is mostly a breeze.' -- It's not. I've tried it. It runs very slowly on all but
the most powerful computers with lots of RAM.
'Partitioning to create swap space is unnecessary since systems are much faster than
before, Linux runs more efficiently, and RAM is quite cheap.' -- RAM may be cheap,
but not all computer motherboards can expand their RAM capabilities (and therefore
still need swap). Further, Linux systems require more RAM these days, not less. Also,
it is not the OS that requires plenty of memory, it is the programs that run within the OS
that requires memory.
Choosing a filesystem for a data partition

If you need a 'universally writable' drive so that Win, Mac, and *nix operating systems can
share files, consider these issues:
NTFS is a consideration, but it is proprietary and Window's peculiar usage of these

drives means that Linux doesn't quite work perfectly with it. Further, Microsoft has the
capability (and sometimes does) remotely lock NTFS folders. Do you want to take that
chance?
FAT32 was historically a good choice, but its size limitation (32 GB max) makes it
quite small for today's standards.
The exfat file system has no size limitation, but it is not commonly used.
Other resources
Psychocats -- Partitioning
DiskSpace
HowtoPartition
CategoryInstallation
Partitioning issues (last edited 2017-09-02 19:42:00 by ckimes @ c-76-126-20-

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5/19/2020 Partitioning issues - Community Help Wiki

Linux and Mac partitions

Install Windows in a primary partition

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Partitioning issues?action=show&redirect=Partitioning 1/3

Why use multiple partitions?

Arguments against partitioning

Choosing a filesystem for a data partition

NTFS is a consideration, but it is proprietary and Window's peculiar usage of these

Partitioning issues (last edited 2017-09-02 19:42:00 by ckimes @ c-76-126-20-

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Partitioning issues?action=show&redirect=Partitioning 3/3

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