Optimum reinstall of Ubuntu 16.04 and partition choices

Question

I'm going to format my computer because of problems.

The first time I installed Ubuntu, I did not do the partitioning very well, and the machine does not like how it works.

I have 160 GB and little RAM, so I wanted to add 5 or 6 Gb of swap. I use it to create small applications and study how to create applications.

How should I do the distribution, primary, logical, etc? I have many doubts and I do not know what kind of partitions I should create. My language is Spanish, but I think it is convenient to do the installation in English, what do you say to that?

I'd appreciate some idea or an idea of where to study documentation.

Thanks, and forgive the bad syntax but I must make use of the translator

EDIT: I had an idea of creating three partitions: root /, /home and swap

Or two parts: root / and swap

Is there something wrong with the installer defaults? They are intended to meet the needs of most users.... — user535733, Jun 14 '18 at 17:35
I had some very bad parts, I made them the first installation without knowing how, because I did it in English. And now the same ones come out. Besides I wanted to increase the SWAP — Miguel Espeso, Jun 14 '18 at 17:43
Yes, 5 or 6 Gb of SWAP. Previously it used to use twice the RAM that had the computer. It's an old notebook, so I do not want to invest in RAM. — Miguel Espeso, Jun 14 '18 at 18:15
Regarding the partition types: What are the differences between primary and logical partition? — Melebius, Jun 27 '18 at 12:32

K7AAY · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-14T20:24:16.123

The default partitions in a 16.04 desktop install are root ("/") and swap . A useful explanation of swap may be found at https://itsfoss.com/swap-size/ .

Should you wish to use a swapfile within root and do without the separate partition, https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-add-swap-space-on-ubuntu-16-04 offers a useful tutorial on the subject.

As to a separate /home partition, some like it because it segregates almost of of their data and changes to the system (but not all....). See a discussion at What are the pros and cons of having a separate home partition?.

You can use either MBR or GPT partitioning with Ubuntu. MBR is the old method which requires the use of logical partitions within an extended partition if you need more than four (4) partitions on a drive. GPT is the new standard, and is easier to work with. It's also not limited to a maximum of 2TB, as MBR is. http://www.eassos.com/tutorial/hard-drive/mbr-vs-gpt.php provides a good explanation.

Well, I create a principal and the SWAP ... Or should it be logical instead of principal ...? — Miguel Espeso, Jun 14 '18 at 19:00

Optimum reinstall of Ubuntu 16.04 and partition choices

1 Answers1