Source
r/Ubuntu•
easysolutions

New comp. What to do about 14.4?

I'm buying a new comp in the next few days. Can't postpone it. I'll be installing xubuntu. My q is: Should I install 13.10 in a partition, have another for my data, and then overwrite/install again when 14.4 comes (and in this case how big a partition?), or should I just install all in one partition and just upgrade? I am asking cause I've had problems in the past with going to newer releases (though not insurmountable), and being a new comp I want it to start in a pristine condition. Thanks.

EDIT: Or should I go with the betas, and upgrade those?

Posted Mar 23, 2014, 9:32 PM UTC

410
satissuperque•

I have 14.04 now and it's working ok, without any annoying problems. Sometimes using a separate partition for / is a good idea, I recently got a new SSD and migrating the install was thus relatively painless. I should say 25Gb for system is enough.

2
AntSUnrise•

13.10

1
Justanotherbiomajor•

My suggestion: Do it the Fedora way:

  • 200 MB EFI partition
  • 500 MB "/boot" partition
  • 20-50 GB "/" partition (for programs)
  • 2 times your ram for SWAP partition
  • rest for "/home"

It doesn't cost you anything to do it this way, and if for one reason or another you need to reinstall or if you want to change distro, your home folder will be safe and you won't lose your files.

1
easysolutionsOP•

What is / do I need, an EFI partition?

1
Justanotherbiomajor•

/ is the root partition, and you do need the EFI partition if the firmware of your computer uses UEFI to boot (all new computers use that, so yes, you do need it; though, if you dual boot, it will already be there as Windows 8 uses it too.)

For the installation:

Now, before doing anything at all make a copy of your recovery partition on a usb key (at least 16GB) in windows 8, then erase it. If you want to dual boot, you will have extra space, and even if you don't want to keep Windows 8, it's nice to know you can reinstall it in case you need it, or just to have a working operating system in case things go wrong.

In order to install Ubuntu the way I said, when you have the choice between:

  • install Ubuntu alongside Windows
  • replace Windows with Ubuntu
  • something else

select something else.

If you're not keeping Windows 8, just delete all the partitions. If you want to make a dual boot, resize the Windows 8 partition to make room for Ubuntu.

Then, when you make the partitions, you have 3 types of formatting to use.

  • EFI for the EFI partition if it doesn't already exist.
  • ext4 for the /boot, /, and /home partitions.
  • SWAP for the SWAP partition.

when you make the ext4 partitions, you must also select the directory (/boot, /, or /home) that it will be used for. Once you're done, just press continue in the installation menu.

1
easysolutionsOP•

Thanks for the detailed answer. I will just install xubuntu. ..But just in case, if I only make a copy from inside win8 of the recovery partition, is that enough to install win8 later on? I have no win dvd.Is the copy a file, an image, or does it overwrite the disk? Also, there are two recovery partitions, don't know why and what, and one is ~20GB, and I am not sure I care enough, to go buy a 32gb usb stick.

1
Justanotherbiomajor•

Basically, Windows 8 copies all it need from the various recovery partitions to make a bootable usb (a bit like your Ubuntu live DVD, but on a usb stick).

I suppose you could somehow reinstall windows 8 from clones of the various recovery partitions that you could send on a cloud web service, but that is something I'm definitely not knowledgeable enough to do myself. If you want to keep Windows 8, the simplest way is to get a usb stick.

1
Degru•

Install the beta and update it through the release. I'm using it, and it works very well already. It'll save you the hassle of reinstalling.

1
Sutarmekeg•

I'd just install 14.04 now.

1
theycallmebrisket•

I bought a new laptop a few days ago. Installed 14.04 and have not been disappointed.

1