Ubuntu
grub2 package

difficulty installing Ubuntu on second hard disk

Asked by Philip H. Kahn

I created a USB boot drive that successfully loads Ubuntu 11.10 . I have a Windows 7 desktop computer with an Intel i5 processor with two SATA hard disks. One has Windows 7 installed and the other is formatted with ntfs and is 500 Gbytes and has no data on it. When I open the file manager I see my main hard disk, and I see the 500 Gbyte drive that I want to install Ubuntu onto, it is called New Volume.

When I run the Install Ubunto 11.10 from the desktop it asks me if I want to unmount any partitions. Do I have to unmount the hard disk that I want to install Ubunto onto?

So far I have answered no because I do not want to make any disks unaccessible to windows except the hard disk that I want to install Ubuntu onto. When I proceed I get three choices... 1) install Ubuntu with Windows so that each time I boot the machine I can choose whether I run Windows or Ubuntu without having to change the BIOS; 2) install Ubuntu in place of Windows: and 3) find or modify a partition to install Ubuntu into. I choose 3) because I am not sure that choice 1) will not adversely affect my running Windows 7.

The next screen shows the disks that I have available to install Ubunto on. I see '/dev/sda' which is my main hard disk with two ntfs partitions (sda1 and sda2). I see 'dev/sdb' with one ntfs partition (sdb1), this is the drive that I want to install Ubuntu on. I also see two external drives that are plugged into my system. I do not understand how to set this screen. If I double click on the partition in the sdb drive, an 'Edit Partition' window opens...how do I set this? I think I should leave the size alone, it shows 500104. What should I set 'Use as': ntfs, Fat32, Fat16, etc.? The table shows that the partition is of Type: ntfs. Do I have to select Format the partition, as there is no data on the drive, because I formatted it in Windows? What should I put as the Mount point?

When I select the partition I want to install to and I select the Device for boot loader installation and push Install Now I get the following message: 'No root file system is defined. Please correct this from the partitioning menu.' How do I correct this?

Thanks for any assistance. Obviously I am new to linux/unix, and I would greatly appreciate clearer instructions for performing what to me should be a relatively simple task.

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Solved
For:
Ubuntu grub2 Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Solved by:
Philip H. Kahn
Solved:
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

Unpartition the drive to install ubuntu to and the installer will make its own partitioning on the drive. NTFS cannot hold Linux file permissions. The OS will set it up in a suitable way and will use Ext4 by default and swapfs for swap space.

Revision history for this message
Philip H. Kahn (phkahn) said : 		#2

Thank you (actionparsnip) for your reply...

I reformatted the internal disk drive to FAT32 file system which is recognized as such on the Installation Type page of the install program. The program still gives me the same error message: 'No root file system is defined. Please correct this from the partitioning menu.' I still do not know to choose the correct settings. When I highlight '/dev/sdb1' and then select 'Change' I am presented with a window where I select the New Partition size. Then I select 'Use as:' with options: do not use this partition, swap area, fat32 file system, fat16 file system, xfs journaling file system, jfs journaling file system, btrfs journaling file system, Reiserfs journaling file system, ext2 file system, ext3 journaling file system, and ext4 journaling file system. It has a selector to check 'Format the partition:' and it has a selector for mount point which can be /dos or /windows.

How do I define the root file system and what are recommended settings for installing Ubuntu onto a formatted hard disk with FAT32 file system?

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#3

Delete the partition. Why did you make it FAT32??

You can manually create the partitions. You will need at least 2. One formatted Ext4 for / and the other which will be the amount of system RAM you have multiplied by 1.1 and set as swap space.

If you simply leave the space unpartitioned you will not have to do this manually.

Revision history for this message
Jeet (gour-jitendrasingh) said : 		#4

ok

trying to explain

::

when you install ubuntu you must choose three partition
/root
/boot
/swap

when you presented to partition choosing window do as follows

1. select /root partition (size you can choose at your own) and format partition using ext4 file system
2. select /boot partition (size you can choose at your own) and format partition using ext4 file system
3. select a swap area it will format automatically you just have to enter size

after choosing these all you can continue

by the way Ubuntu choose partition and size on its own. ( as andrew said you do not have to make partition ) but if you want to do it manually then you can go with above steps.

Revert back if unclear

thanks
Jeet

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

You don't need a separate /boot partition

Revision history for this message
Jeet (gour-jitendrasingh) said : 		#6

I do agree with andrew

On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 3:25 PM, actionparsnip <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #193872 on grub2 in Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+question/193872
>
> actionparsnip proposed the following answer:
> You don't need a separate /boot partition
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Philip H. Kahn (phkahn) said : 		#7

Thank you all. I googled setting partitions for installing Ubuntu and found a guide that explained how to set the options in the graphical install program. I created a root partition {/}, and a home partition for data. I directed the program to put the boot loader on the same hard disk. This time it installed correctly!!!

Revision history for this message
Philip H. Kahn (phkahn) said : 		#8

I also created a swap partition...