Install ubuntu using (and not formating) preexistent /home encrypted partition

Hi :)

Manual Partitioning in the installer is the right place. The option about formatting should be in there somewhere. There is usually a table showing the different partitions and the 2nd column should be "Format?", just make sure this is UNticked. When you get to the summary section 2 or 3 steps further along then scroll down to the bottom to check on what exactly it is about to do. You can cancel or back-step from the summary without having to commit your self but take care!

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

"There's usually", "should be" and "2 or 3 steps further" doesn't answer technical questions.

Hi :)

In the Partitioning Section - Manual Partitioning should be a table with the headings

Device, Type, Mount Point, Format?, Size, Used

Under these headings should be a list of the various partitions on your drives. The "Format?" column should have little boxes which should all be unticked to avoid formatting them, especially the /home partition. You can click on a partition to "edit" it which should allow you to set the "Mount Point" of the /home partition to "/home".

Given the precision of the initial question my answer was about as precise as it could be. Are you doing the best type of install by trying the LiveCd session first to check how easily Ubuntu will work on your machine?
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD

From the working desktop of the LiveCd is an icon for installing Ubuntu. Of course you might have chosen to install Ubuntu from the boot menu on the Cd or you might be trying to install inside Windows using the Wubi or perhaps using the Alternate Cd or using the Ubuntu Netbook Remix or Server Edition rather than the standard Desktop Edition. Then there's Xubuntu, Ubuntu or Kubuntu or even some unofficial variant. Also the version number is unclear. Are you installing 8.04, 9.04, 9.10 or something else?

Obviously it would be a good idea to experiment with the options inside a virtual machine such as VirtualBox or on an old machine or at least an old drive with your importatnt data-drive safely unplugged. Once you have become a little more familiar with the installer then you should hopefully be able to solve this issue easily. Start with a simple install to a virtual machine (or something), then try one with a separate /home and gradually build up your level of experience.

Linux offers "Freedom OF choice" so you can expect to find slight, minor differences between any 2 systems running what may have started out as being almost identical installs on 2 identical machines. Extra functionality installed by each user will be added into various menus. For example someone adding a web-cam to their machine to create home-movies will find that various programs such as the Instant Messenger will have webcam options added into it's various menus. Adding an extra codec will allow all the different media-players to be able to play the additional formats. Adding a new font will have an impact on many different programs. So an answer such as 4th screen 3rd option down is extremely unlikely to be right on every machine. Linux does require people to be able to read and use some common-sense. If you want a very unresponsive system where you just have to put up with everything set-up a way that you might not like then try Windows for "Freedom FROM choice".

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

I'm trying to install ubuntu karmic koala 9.10. Yes, I'm installing from live CD, and folowed all the instructions you gave. Before I was trying to install Ubuntu mint, since I hate the patent restrictions shit.
I tried to install the most common version of ubuntu just because of your instructions, since I followed the idea that any different version should have some differences. SAME THING
Let me explain only the experience I had with the instructions you gave.
I went to the manual partitioning of the LIVE CD INSTALL. I have 3 partitions. The first one is the encrypted swap of 2GB. The second is the unencrypted system partition, and the third is the /home encrypted partiton.
The installer didn't recognize both encrypted partitions. They were displayed as unknown. I edited both and I had NO OPTION to encrypt the swap partition, and when I defined the /home partition as /home (!!!) partition, it was impossible to erase the format checkbox, and it was impossible to define it as an encripted partition, even if I decided to format it.

When I said "erase the format checkbox", read it as "uncheck the format checkbox"

Hi :)

Please could you re-post this as a new question. Launchpad doesn't have a good way of dealing with questions that are more than a few days old. Hopefully by re-posting you might get someone new that knows a lot more about this than me. There are always new people starting in the Answers Team
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addquestion

My plan was to start with the partitions as unencrypted, do the install & then find a way to encrypt the partitions afterwards. I am now not sure that would work.

So, I looked up some guides about encrypted /home and found that there seems to be a lot but none of them seems to be The definitive one so all i can suggest is to try skimming through a couple of them and see if you can make sense of them (& post a new question)

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EncryptedHome
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FolderEncryption/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EncryptedFilesystemLVMHowto
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EncryptedFilesystemHowto5

I am really sorry about this!
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)