How to Partition a Hard Drive in Ubuntu
Partitioning a hard drive means splitting it up into separate storage areas, or partitions. This is almost like having several virtual hard drives. With multiple partitions, you can install more than one operating system on the same hard drive. Multiple partitions are also useful for separating sections of files, such as system files, programs, data and swap files.
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Instructions
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Preparing to Partition
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Back up any valuable data on a separate storage medium, such a separate hard drive, CD or DVD. The partitioning process is irreversible, and may damage or delete the existing contents of your hard drive.
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Run a defragmentation program such Microsoft's Disk Defragmenter, found under Programs>Accessories>System Tools if you plan to edit a Windows partition. This will group together data spread throughout your hard drive and help prevent data loss.
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Boot the computer from the Ubuntu Linux Live CD.
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Select whether you want to run Ubuntu from the CD or install Ubuntu. If you are partitioning by running Ubuntu from the Live CD, continue to the next step. If you are partitioning while installing Ubuntu computer, skip to the section titled, "Partitioning during the installation process."
Partition Using Partition Editor
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Start Ubuntu Linux from the Live CD.
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Click on "System" on the top deskbar, open the "Administration" sub-menu and start the Partition Editor application.
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Select the hard drive you wish to partition in the pull-down menu on the top right corner of Partition Editor's main screen.
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Observe the narrow, horizontal bar running across the program's main screen. This bar represents your drive's storage capacity, and the colored boxes represent separate partitions. More information is displayed textually in the box underneath.
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Click "Resize/Move" to edit existing partitions and "Delete" to erase them.
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Click the "New" button on the top-left corner to create a new partition. A new window will pop up, where you will be asked choose the partition's file system and size. A colorful box on the graphical display box represents your new partition. Establish the size of the partition either by typing in a number of megabytes or by dragging the display box.
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When you are finished, save your changes with the "Apply" button.
Partitioning during the installation process
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Select the "Manual" process to create and resize partitions by typing in the desired size of partitions in megabytes.
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Select the "Guided" process to create and edit partitions by manipulating a rudimentary graphical representation of your hard drive.
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Slide the graphical bar in the "Guided" process to choose the size of your partition.
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Tips & Warnings
Under Ubuntu Linux's drive-naming scheme, the name of your main hard drive is /dev/sda. Secondary and external hard drives are named /dev/sdb, /deb/sdc, and so forth.
Ubuntu Linux allows you to partition your hard drive graphically or textually. The graphic process is simpler and easier to understand, but less sophisticated. The manual process is more complicated, but provides greater control of the type and size of your partitions.
