How shall I partition my hard drive for Ubuntu (with Windows in virtualbox)

Question

I dual boot installed Ubuntu 12.04 and Windows 7 on a hard drive before. I remember Windows has to be installed on a primary partition which has to be at least of certain size.

Now I get a new hard drive of 1TB. I would like to install Ubuntu 14.04 or a later version on it, and then some time later (not now) install virtualbox and Windows under virtualbox (although I haven't completely ruled out installing Windows 8.1 as dual boot yet, but if that happens, shouldn't I install Windows before Ubuntu?).

Could you suggest me how to design the partitions of my hard drive, such as

• what must be put on primary partitions?

• how many partitions for what purposes, at least how much size, and logic or primary?

• where should I leave unpartitioned free space, so that later when one of the partitions runs out of place, it is possible/easier to add more free space to the partition?

• what else do I need to know?

Thanks.

Answer 1

For that kind of setup, you don't need to do anything special. It's essentially just a normal desktop installation of Ubuntu, so at minimum all you need is one big partition, plus some swap space (usually in another partition).

Unless you have any specific requirement that would require something else, I'd recommend just going with the default partitioning that the Ubuntu installer suggests.

I acknowledge the suggestion from others about separate root (/) and /home partitions, and that this is totally about personal preference, but having one big partition doesn't prevent you preserving your home directories when reinstalling, it just makes it slightly less convenient depending on how you're going to do it. If you're not literally going to be re-installing the system all the time, I'd downplay the need for it. This may be going against traditional Linux wisdom, but having one big partition for all files follows current Ubuntu thinking - they haven't made this the default in their installer by accident or neglect but because they specifically chose it as a suitable default for most people.

As for your Virtualbox installation, that's gonna put large "virtual hard drive" files somewhere in your home directory. Unless your hard drive is pretty small, this probably isn't going to significantly impact your partitioning strategy even if you do opt for separated partitions.

Note: I have run Virtualbox inside Ubuntu before and found it frustrating, and I don't do it anymore. If I need Windows I boot into it. But if your only need for it is the occasional software testing, then I guess that makes sense.

Answer 2

Sometimes I look at this notice from time to time when installing Ubuntu on different PC devices, just to be sure in case I forgot something. :) I think this is plenty enough about partitioning.

Answer 3

This is where things start to become a matter of personal preference and recommendation. Unless you have special purpose for a dual boot system, I found switching back and forth tedious. But that is a matter of style and organisation. I use Virtualbox for those Windows only applications that don't cut Wine and avoid the reboot interruption.

The Linux system should have at least 3 partitions, /(root), /home, and swap (10-30GB, the bulk, RAM size equivalent, repectively) . This allows one to completely screw-up a system and not loose personal data. It allows pithing the old root and grafting on a new. It allows switching distributions without too much drama.

A step in any direction precludes diverging options, but partitioning a drive, while having constraints, is not a permanent decision.

With a 1TB drive you could always allot 40,60-100GB to the first partition , for storage, and later,(as I've heard Windows is persnickety about placement, IDK, the last I used was XP). If you want a dual-boot Windows partition, it's just a matter of moving the boxes out of the garage and putting in carpeting. Resizing generally is only a matter of time.

...but, like I said, it's personal preference.

Edit: As neon_overload suggested, if you're not going to be under the hood tinkering, one partition (two, with swap), be done with it. But if you like to bang on the pipes and rearrange furniture - compartmentalise.