Suggested Partitioning

Define a partition setup for openSUSE in this step. In most cases a reasonable scheme that can be accepted without change is proposed. If a hard disk containing only Windows FAT or NTFS partitions is selected as the installation target, YaST proposes to shrink one of these partitions. Accept the proposal with Next and proceed with the installation. Experienced users can also customize the proposal or apply their own partitioning scheme.

The proposed partitioning is Partition Based by default. If you prefer an LVM Based setup, check the respective option to automatically convert the proposal. Refer to Section “LVM Configuration” (Chapter 2, Advanced Disk Setup, ↑Reference) for more information about the Logical Volume Manager (LVM).

To make small changes in the proposal (like changing the file system type or encrypt partitions), select Edit Partition Setup and adjust the settings. See Section “Using the YaST Partitioner” (Chapter 2, Advanced Disk Setup, ↑Reference) for instructions.

Figure 1.6. Suggested Partitioning

Partitioning a Specific Disk

If your machine contains more than one hard disk and you want to restrict the partitioning proposal to just one disk, choose Create Partition Setup and then select a specific disk from the list. If the chosen hard disk does not contain any partitions yet, the whole hard disk will be used for the proposal. Otherwise, you can choose which existing partition(s) to utilize. To add a separate partition for you personal data check Propose a Separate Home Partition. Instead of the default partition-based proposal, it is possible to Create an LVM Based Proposal. Choose two times Next to proceed to the next step.

Resizing a Windows Partition

If the selected hard disk only contains a Windows FAT or NTFS partition, YaST offers to delete or shrink this partition. If you select Delete Windows Completely, the Windows partition is marked for deletion and the space is used for the installation of openSUSE.

	Deleting Windows
If you delete Windows, all data will be lost beyond recovery as soon as the formatting starts.

To Shrink the Windows Partition, you need to interrupt the installation and boot Windows to prepare the partition before shrinking it. For all Windows file systems, proceed as follows:

Deactivate a Virtual Memory file, if there is one.
Run scandisk.
Run defrag.

After these preparations, restart the openSUSE installation. When you turn to the partitioning setup, proceed as before and select Shrink Windows Partition. After a quick check of the partition, the dialog for resizing the Windows partition opens.

The bar graph shows how much disk space is currently occupied by Windows and how much space is still available. To change the proposed settings use the slider or the input fields to adjust the partition sizing.

Figure 1.7. Resizing the Windows Partition

If you leave this dialog by selecting Next, the settings are stored and you are returned to the previous dialog. The actual resizing takes place later, before the hard disk is formatted.

	Writing on NTFS Partitions
By default, the Windows versions NT, 2000, and XP use the NTFS file system. openSUSE includes read and write access to the NTFS file system, but this feature has a few limitations. This means that you cannot read or write encrypted or compressed files. Furthermore, the Windows file permissions are not honored at the moment. See http://en.opensuse.org/NTFS for more information.

Custom Partitioning

Set up your own partitioning scheme by selecting Create Partition Setup and then Custom Partitioning. The Expert Partitioner opens, displaying the current partition setup. Expand the Hard Disks in the System View pane by clicking on the +, then click on one of the listed hard disks. Now you can Add, Edit, Resize, or Delete partitions. For more information about custom partitioning and configuring advanced features, refer to Section “Using the YaST Partitioner” (Chapter 2, Advanced Disk Setup, ↑Reference)