Re: SEUL: Partitioning

[jfm2@club-internet.fr]

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   Date: Sat, 28 Jun 1997 10:19:41 +0200 (SAT)
   From: Neilen Marais <brick@cryogen.com>
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   > Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I always found the most
   > worrying part about Linux was the repartitioning of the hard disk. If
   > Win95/DOS users want to run Linux, why not provide an option which creates a
   > large file on the DOS partition and then mke2fs on that file - using the
   > loopback module? This should be just as fast as "proper" ext2 filing
   I have no idea whether it will be as fast as the real thing, but it
   certainly sounds like an excelent idea! (must just convince the user not
   to delete it while in DOS/Windows).  Of courese it will probably not be
   quite as optimal as a real partition, but for our needs it sounds ideal.
   Anyone have any real technical complaints about this?
   Delivered-To: jfm@sidney.remcomp.fr
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   > Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I always found the most
   > worrying part about Linux was the repartitioning of the hard disk. If
   > Win95/DOS users want to run Linux, why not provide an option which creates a
   > large file on the DOS partition and then mke2fs on that file - using the
   > loopback module? This should be just as fast as "proper" ext2 filing
   I have no idea whether it will be as fast as the real thing, but it
   certainly sounds like an excelent idea! (must just convince the user not
   to delete it while in DOS/Windows).  Of courese it will probably not be
   quite as optimal as a real partition, but for our needs it sounds ideal.
   Anyone have any real technical complaints about this?


   > systems, but without repartitioning. This also has the advantage that the
   > user does not have to repartition _again_ if s/he decides that Linux is not
   > for them. All that's required under DOS/Win95 is defrag, and if the user
   > doesn't have DOS/Win95, then there's very little reason not to repartition.
   > 
   > --
   > Thomas Molesworth            (thomas@bass.almac.co.uk)


I have a few objections on this:

1) Letting Linux in a DOS partition will put him at the mercy of any
rogue DOS program.

2) It puts Linux in position of inferiority (to the user it will seem
it runs under DOS).

3) It makes booting complicated specially if the user is running
Windows 95 (most likely than DOS today): he has to boot unto DOS mode
and then boot LINUX.

4) The user will later be unable to erase his DOS partition


However I think than today's Linux installation programs let too much
to be done by the user in the area of partitionning.  The user should
have only to decide how much space he will keep for LINUX.  It should
be to the installation program to decide, or at least to advise, how
much for /, how much for /usr and how much for swap.

-- 
			Jean Francois Martinez

==================== The Linux.  Use the Linux, Luke! =======================

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