A few pre-install questions

[svank]

I'm hoping to get another hard drive to install Linux on soon, and have a few questions I'd like to ask before I install.

1) I've been looking around and it seems lots of people are reporting problems with Fedora 5. Should I install 5 or install 4 and wait for the problems to get fixed before updating to 5? Also, is there a way to update to 5 from 4 without install CD's for 5?

2) I've seen it recommended to have all your Linux partitions started small with lots of unused space on your Linux drive, then expand the partitions as more space is needed. Is it easy to expand the partitions? How are they expanded? Would you recommend doing that?

Thanks!

[b_martinez]

svank,
the recommended way to upgrade is by using the installation cd's. If you aren't looking for the 'adventure' of a cutting edge distro, I would suggest going with FC4. FC5 is where all the newest stable releases are, but it is still in the 'cutting edge' category. I prefer it to FC4, yet I have 2 grandsons and 2 sons on FC4, to wean them from the 'other' os.
As for the partition question, in the graphical installation, choose the second hard drive by UN-checking the one you currently have installed. Then let the installer do it's thing.(Known as 'Remove all partitions on this Drive') . You wll end up with LVM partitions [logical volume management] [I think it's called] and the partitions will grow in size as needed, to the full capacity of your hard drive. Then search thru this forum for suggestions on things like a music player, a media viewer, start a LARGE thread by asking about desktops, [or join one in progress] , and most important, remember to take the time to learn. It will not be as easy as falling off a log, but it will be rewarding.
Good Luck and Have Fun
Bill

[svank]

So you can set up partitions with LVM and they automatically increase in size as you add files, not taking up space until they need to?

Also, updates for FC5 don't require CD's, right?

[b_martinez]

That's what I understand. You start off with a minimum set partition size, while the whole of the space you are going to use is made into the LVM setup and the partitions grow to the necssary size, using the un-allocated space as needed. The file system will also shrink down to the original size when files are removed. The original size is not supposed to be cut into. For instance, if you have a partition set as 3 GigaBytes to start, the smallest it will get is 3 GigBytes. But it could grow to however much you have un-allocated.
Before jumping into it , try reading these. They may shed some light for you.

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerwork...library/l-lvm/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_volume_management
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_Volume_Manager_(Linux)
The wikipedia articles have some words in blue. These are links to articles/definitions/other references. Follow them and then decide if you want to use LVM or a standard, set size partition scheme.
Bill


p.s. if you start in FC5 , no it is not necessary to have cd's to update. The major repositories are included in the necessary file configurations.