If there are no special requirements it is always better to use automatic partitioning for all available or only unallocated space.
In order to avoid the unintended data loss, it is recommended to remove USB flash drives and portable hard drives not used during installation before the changes are applied.
This method should be used by advanced Linux users. In any case it is advised to backup all valuable data in the event of any error or failure.
Allocation of at least three partitions is recommended:
swap
— swap partition, normal size 1–2x RAM;/
— root partition for the system;/home
— home partition for user data.For primary partitions it is recommended to use ext3
file system.
ATTENTION! When creating an encrypted file system do not mount the /usr directory from a separate partition.
Linux OS supports several file systems. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages.
ext2
: non-journaling filesystem; provides relatively
simple recovery, but needs a lengthy integrity check after power
or kernel failure. Can be used for /boot or read-only partitions.ext3
: fairly reliable journaling file system with
an average performance.ext4
: default file system; logical continuation of ext3,
allows you to disable the journaling completely.btrfs
: supports images (copies of the file system created
at a certain point of time), compression and subvolumes.xfs
: high-performance journaling file system with
a higher sensitivity to failures. Recommended for actively used
file systems running on a high-quality hardware with stable power supply.jfs
: journaling file system, supports conversion
of filenames from one encoding to another (iocharset).reiserfs
: fast journaling file system; discontinued;
in rare cases may cause corruption with irreversible loss of data.
Not recommended for valuable information storage.FAT/FAT32/NTFS file systems are supported when the system is already installed, but cannot be used for installation of Linux OS.
In order to use these options, it is necessary to create the partition of an appropriate type, and then select the required option.