Arch Linux

LeafStorm

Member

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-05-20

Posts: 51

Website

Recommended partition layout for Ubuntu/Arch dual boot?

I just got a new (old) laptop, and my plan is to dual-boot Arch and Xubuntu. The Xubuntu is mostly to hold me over so I have a stable system while I'm setting Arch up/if I mess up Arch somehow/for testing. It has a new 160GB (149.05 GiB) drive, and my plan is to allocate roughly 35 GiB each for the Xubuntu and Arch / partitions, and a roughly 80 GiB partition for common data (that is, most of my home directory folders will be symlinks to that partition - e.g. ~/code will link to /common/code*).

Right now, my plan is to have three logical partitions - one for Xubuntu, one for Arch, and one that contains the common and swap partitions. So, I'm asking (A) are there any better ideas for partitioning, (B) does Arch still need a /boot partition, and (C) how should I handle the bootloader situation? (i.e. should I install Xubuntu's to the MBR and have it chainload to Arch's on a separate partition, or what?)

*The reason I'm not using a common /home partition is because my config files and the like will probably be different between the two OSes.

---

Thanks,
Matthew Frazier

Inxsible

Forum Fellow

From: Chicago

Registered: 2008-06-09

Posts: 9,183

Re: Recommended partition layout for Ubuntu/Arch dual boot?

A) Probably -- partitioning is always a relative subject
B) no...and it never did
C) Whatever you prefer.

Basic tips :

Having a separate /home helps in re-installing(if you ever have to) and it saves your config files.
Having a separate /var allows you to put a different filesystem on it which may be more suitable to the type of files in /var
You can use a separate /boot, if you are going to use the same /boot for both Xubuntu and Arch. That way 1 partition handles both. If not, I think there is no need to create a separate partition. If you do create one and plan to use it for Xubuntu and Arch, make sure that you install a filesystem that is acceptable to both distros. For eg. Arch grub is patched so it can read from ext4. I do not know if Xubuntu's grub is patched or not.

Last edited by Inxsible (2010-06-24 03:55:20)

---

Forum Rules

There's no such thing as a stupid question, but there sure are a lot of inquisitive idiots !