<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <title>1.5. Where to Install Mandriva on your Hard Disk</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="images/mdk-doc.css" type="text/css"> <meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.73.2"> <link rel="start" href="index.html" title="Introducing Mandriva Linux"> <link rel="up" href="drakx.html" title="Chapter 1. Installation with DrakX"> <link rel="prev" href="drakxid-selectInstallClass.html" title="1.4. Installation Class"> <link rel="next" href="drakx-choosePackages.html" title="1.6. Package Selection"> </head> <body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"> <div class="navheader"> <table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"> <tr> <th colspan="3" align="center">1.5. Where to Install Mandriva on your Hard Disk </th> </tr> <tr> <td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="drakxid-selectInstallClass.html">Prev</a> </td> <th width="60%" align="center">Chapter 1. Installation with DrakX</th> <td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="drakx-choosePackages.html">Next</a></td> </tr> </table> <hr> </div> <div class="section" lang="en"> <div class="titlepage"> <div> <div> <h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="drakxid-doPartitionDisks"></a>1.5. Where to Install Mandriva on your Hard Disk </h2> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mediaobject" align="center"><img src="images/dx-doPartitionDisks.png" align="middle"></div> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa1"></a>You now have to decide where you will install <span class="application">Mandriva Linux</span> on your hard drive. Your hard drive needs to be partitioned which means it must be logically divided in order to create the required space for your new <span class="application">Mandriva Linux</span> system. </p> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa2"></a><a class="indexterm" name="BIdNEW-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-it3"></a> Because the process of partitioning a hard drive is usually irreversible and can lead to data loss, it can be intimidating and stressful for the inexperienced user. Fortunately, <span class="application">DrakX</span> includes a wizard which simplifies this process. Before continuing with this step, read through the rest of this section and above all, take your time. </p> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa3"></a> <span class="application">DrakX</span> will represent your disks and the way they are already partitionned. You will be able to see Mandriva Linux previous partitions but also Microsoft Windows® one. Depending on the configuration of your hard drive, several options are available: </p> <div class="variablelist"> <dl> <dt><span class="term"><a name="BIdNEW-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-te1"></a><span class="guilabel">Use free space</span></span></dt> <dd> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa4"></a>This option performs an automatic partitioning of any blank areas of your drive. If you use this option there will be no further prompts. </p> </dd> <dt><span class="term"><a name="BIdNEW-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-te2"></a><span class="guilabel">Use existing partitions</span></span></dt> <dd> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa5"></a><a class="indexterm" name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-it1"></a> The wizard has detected one or more existing <span class="application">Linux</span> partitions on your hard drive. If you want to use them, choose this option. Then choose the mount points to be associated with each of the partitions. The legacy mount points are selected by default, and for the most part it's a good idea to keep them. Then choose the partitions to be formatted or preserved. </p> </dd> <dt><span class="term"><a name="BIdNEW-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-te4"></a><span class="guilabel">Erase and use entire disk</span></span></dt> <dd> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa8"></a>Choose this option to delete all existing data and partitions present on your hard drive. You won't be able to undo this operation after you confirm. </p> <div class="warning" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"> <table border="0" summary="Warning"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Warning]" src="images/warning.png"></td> <th align="left">Warning</th> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa9"></a>If you choose this option, <span class="emphasis"><em>all</em></span> data on your disk will be deleted. </p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </dd> <dt><span class="term"><a name="BIdNEW-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-te5"></a><span class="guilabel">Remove Microsoft Windows®</span></span></dt> <dd> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa10"></a>This option appears when the hard drive is entirely taken by <span class="application">Windows <sup>®</sup></span>. Choosing this option simply erases the entire drive, partitioning everything from scratch. </p> <div class="warning" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"> <table border="0" summary="Warning"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Warning]" src="images/warning.png"></td> <th align="left">Warning</th> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa11"></a>If you choose this option, <span class="emphasis"><em>all</em></span> data on your disk will be lost. </p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </dd> <dt><span class="term"><a name="BIdNEW-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-te3"></a><span class="guilabel">Use the free space on a Microsoft Windows® partition</span></span></dt> <dd> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa6"></a>If <span class="application">Windows <sup>®</sup></span> is installed on your hard drive, you might have to create free space for <span class="application">Linux</span>. To do so, you can either delete your <span class="application">Windows <sup>®</sup></span> partition and data (see the “<span class="quote">Erase and use entire disk</span>” solution) or resize your <acronym class="acronym">FAT</acronym> or <acronym class="acronym">NTFS</acronym> partitions. Resizing can be performed without the loss of any data, <span class="emphasis"><em>provided you have previously defragmented the <span class="application">Windows <sup>®</sup></span> partition. Backing up your data is strongly recommended</em></span>. Using this option is recommended if you want to use both <span class="application">Mandriva Linux</span> and <span class="application">Windows <sup>®</sup></span> on the same computer. </p> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa7"></a>Before choosing this option, please understand that after this procedure, the size of your <span class="application">Windows <sup>®</sup></span> partition will be smaller than when you started, which means you will have less free space to store your data or to install new software. </p> </dd> <dt><span class="term"><a name="BIdNEW-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-te6"></a><span class="guilabel">Custom disk partitioning</span></span></dt> <dd> <p><a name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-pa12"></a><a class="indexterm" name="BId-drakxid-doPartitionDisks-it2"></a> Choose this option to manually partition your hard drive. Be careful: it's a powerful but dangerous choice and you can very easily lose all your data. This option is only recommended if you have performed custom disk partitioning before, and have enough <span class="application">Linux</span> experience. </p> </dd> </dl> </div> </div> <div class="navfooter"> <hr> <table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"> <tr> <td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="drakxid-selectInstallClass.html">Prev</a> </td> <td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="drakx.html">Up</a></td> <td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="drakx-choosePackages.html">Next</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">1.4. Installation Class </td> <td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a></td> <td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> 1.6. Package Selection </td> </tr> </table> </div> </body> </html>