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I have a 120 GB SSD and a 500 GB HDD .

In the SSD I have partitioned 98 GB (usable) as C: to start Windows and 19 GB as E: to start Ubuntu. In the HDD I have partitioned 350 GB as D: for Windows data and 116 GB as F: for Ubuntu data.

I have not yet attempted to install Ubuntu and want to ask, will this work?

Zanna
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Gerald
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  • Also note that you cannot create partitions for Linux using Windows. Linux requires formats that Windows does not support. And you must be careful creating partitions with Windows tools not to convert drive to dynamic partitions from basic partitions. – oldfred Feb 24 '18 at 16:35

2 Answers2

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Ubuntu (and Linux in general) does not require particularly fast disk drive. I you are running memory-intensive applications or have small RAM in your comp you should put swap on SDD and all other Ubuntu filesystems on HDD.

In such case you should have at least 3 partitions available for your Ubuntu installations:

  • 1st for swap - preferably on SDD
  • 2nd for /boot
  • 3rd for everything else - I usually use it to create LVM volume so I can keep things separated while having some flexibility

Here is my favourite partitioning example:

Filesystem                      1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-root--lv  10190136   1775676   7873788  19% /
/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-usr--lv  103081248   6285284  91536700   7% /usr
/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-srv--lv     999320      1284    929224   1% /srv
/dev/sda2                          516024    368440    121372  76% /boot
/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-tmp--lv   10190136     23568   9625896   1% /tmp
/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-opt--lv   10190136    207132   9442332   3% /opt
/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-home--lv   2535216    643960   1761172  27% /home
/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-var--lv   20511356   1361992  18168300   7% /var

Please note /boot on a separate partition.

You can search for "Ubuntu custom partitioning" or review this question for reference: How to use manual partitioning during installation?

The proposed scheme has also the advantage, that if you remove HDD and move it to another PC you just loose swap, but Ubuntu stays usable - you can import volume group and mount filesystems or you even may be able to boot it up and use. (depending on hardware similarities)

Pawel Debski
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  • Note that default LVM install with Ubuntu erases entire hard drive. And LVM is really intended for use of entire drive. Does not support Windows so not recommended if dual booting, but could be manually configured for part of drive. Most desktop users only need / (root) and perhaps /home, not other system folders as partitions. – oldfred Feb 24 '18 at 16:33
  • May experience shows that having /var on a separate partition/volume is critical. Perhaps it is my hardware problem, but from time to time Ubuntu starts generating logs as crazy and fills-up all the available space. Thus separating / and /var is mandatory, at least for me. – Pawel Debski Feb 25 '18 at 16:21
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Yes, you can install Ubuntu in a logical partition, it is not required to install Ubuntu in a primary partition. Also the swap-partition (if you intend to use one) can reside in a logical partition.

mook765
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