One single partition for Linux versus using a partition table?

Heya folks, some people online told me I was doing partitions wrong, but I’ve been doing it this way for years. Since I’ve been doing it for years, I could be doing it in an outdated way, so I thought I should ask.

I have separate partitions for EFI, /, swap, and /home. Am I doing it wrong? Here’s how my partition table looks like:

  • FAT32: EFI
  • BTRFS: /
  • Swap: Swap
  • Ext4: /home

I set it up this way so that if I need to reinstall Linux, I can just overwrite / while preserving /home and just keep working after a new install with very few hiccups. Someone told me there’s no reason to use multiple partitions, but several times I have needed to reinstall the OS (Linux Mint) while preserving /home so this advice makes zero sense for me. But maybe it was just explained to me wrong and I really am doing it in an outdated way. I’d like to read what you say about this though.

kalkulat,
@kalkulat@lemmy.world avatar

When I started with Linux, I was happy to learn that I didn’t need a bunch of separate partitions, and have installed all-in-one (except for boot of course!) since. Whatever works fine for you (-and- is easiest) is the right way! (What you’re doing was once common practice, and serves just as well. No disadvantage in staying with the familiar.)

After I got up to 8GB memory, stopped using swap … easier on the hard drive -and- the SSD. (I move most data to the HD … including TimeShift … except what I use regularly.)

I use Mint as well; for me this keeps things as simple as possible. When I install a new OS version (always with the same XFCE DE) I do put THAT on a new partition (rather than try the upgrade route and risk damaging my daily driver) using the same UserName. A new Home is created within the install partition (does nothing but hold the User folder.)

To keep from having to reconfig -almost everthing- in the new OS all over again I evolved a system. First I verify that the new install boots properly, I then use a Live USB to copy the old User .config file (and the apps and their support folders I keep in user) to the new User folder. Saves hours of reconfiguring most things. The new up-to-date OS mostly resembles and works like the old one … without the upgrade risks.

mambabasa,
@mambabasa@slrpnk.net avatar

In my next reinstall, can I combine the / and swap partitions (they’re next to each other so I can do this) and will swap files just be automatically created instead?

lemmyvore,

They won’t be automatically created but you can create your own swap file on /, no need for a dedicated partition:

  • Use dd to create a file filled with zeros of appropriate size.
  • Format the file with mkswap.
  • Activate the swap file instantly with swapon.
  • Add it to /etc/fstab so it will be automatically used on reboot.

Appropriate size will vary but I suggest starting with something like 100 MB and check once in a while to see how much is actually used. If it fills up you can replace it with a larger swap file or you can simply create another one and use it alongside the first.

mambabasa,
@mambabasa@slrpnk.net avatar

Thanks!

rotopenguin,
@rotopenguin@infosec.pub avatar

Btrfs has some extra demands for its swap file, so the tool has its own “btrfs filesystem makeswapfile” command.

520,

You can use a swap file in your main partition, but most installers won't set this up for you. You'll want to follow this guide after installation: https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-add-a-swap-file-howto/

mvirts,

This is the way

Infiltrated_ad8271, (edited )
@Infiltrated_ad8271@kbin.social avatar

I don't like wasting space or having to predict how much space I'll be using two years from now, so I prefer the minimum of partitions: efi, boot, and system(luks), with a btrfs subvol for /, home, and swapfile.

ares35,
@ares35@kbin.social avatar

what you're doing is perfectly fine. if it's what your comfortable with, there's no 'need' to change.

moody,

That’s the standard way. It’s how (most) distros partition by default.

mambabasa,
@mambabasa@slrpnk.net avatar

Really? Default for Linux Mint has / and /home in one partition. So reinstalling erases /home as well.

Successful_Try543,

Yes, but afaik, in the installer there is at least the option to select a separate home partition.

SNFi,

I think they did that because of old disks, avoid fragmentation and if one partitions is corrupted you can always recover the important files on /home and things like that, not sure neither. 🫤

KISSmyOS,

It’s a good way to do it for your use case.

It’s not outdated, just less necessary now. With SSD’s, you can just copy your /home back from your daily backup after reinstallation, which takes all of 5 minutes.

mambabasa,
@mambabasa@slrpnk.net avatar

is this daily backup in-built in SSDs or is that a manual thing?

KISSmyOS,

OpenSUSE (and probably some other distros) have it built-in, you just have to activate it. If yours doesn’t, you have to install a program that does it or configure one manually.

mambabasa,
@mambabasa@slrpnk.net avatar

I have daily backups for brtfs but for my / only via Linux Mint’s Timeshift. I do manual backups for some of my home folders every week. I take it the backups you mention would be lost over a reinstall?

KISSmyOS,

A backup is only a backup if it’s not connected to the computer (ideally in a different building), so it wouldn’t be lost with a reinstall.

mambabasa,
@mambabasa@slrpnk.net avatar

Makes sense, thanks.

Successful_Try543,

No, but we all always do daily backups 😇.

KISSmyOS,

Ah yes, somewhere in this drawer I probably have a couple of daily backups from 2017.

taladar,

How long that takes depends entirely on the size of your home, the number of files in there and how you store your backups.Not everyone has tiny home directories.

KISSmyOS,

If your home is smaller than 2TB, it’s not an issue.
And if it’s larger than 2TB, then why the hell is all that data on your /home SSD and not a separate HDD, NAS or file server?

backhdlp,
@backhdlp@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I think that’s a pretty common partition layout

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • uselessserver093
  • Food
  • [email protected]
  • aaaaaaacccccccce
  • test
  • CafeMeta
  • testmag
  • MUD
  • RhythmGameZone
  • RSS
  • dabs
  • oklahoma
  • Socialism
  • KbinCafe
  • TheResearchGuardian
  • SuperSentai
  • feritale
  • KamenRider
  • All magazines
    •