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  • Committer: Billy Cina
  • Date: 2007-10-18 12:21:11 UTC
  • Revision ID: training@canonical.com-20071018122111-nhq25u8ujn2g8mll
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 
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<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN" "http://docbook.org/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">
 
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<article>
 
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        <title>Ubuntu Desktop</title>
 
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        <sect1>
 
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                <title>Partitioning and Booting</title>
 
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                <para><emphasis role="strong">Objectives</emphasis></para>
 
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                <para>In this lesson, you will learn:
 
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                        <itemizedlist>
 
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                                <listitem><para>The benefits of partitioning (having more than one OS on your computer)</para></listitem>
 
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                                <listitem><para>How to create partitions.</para></listitem>
 
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                                <listitem><para>Configure start-up options.</para></listitem>
 
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                        </itemizedlist>
 
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                </para>
 
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                <sect2>
 
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                        <title>Advantages of Partitioning</title>
 
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                        <para>Hard disk partitioning refers to the creation of multiple logical divisions,
 
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                        called partitions, within one physical hard disk. You can use the partitions on a hard disk 
 
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                        as multiple, isolated hard drives. Partitioning is especially useful if you want to run multiple file systems on a
 
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                        computer. For example, you may want to reserve one partition for Microsoft Windows
 
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                        and run Ubuntu on another. You can then have a 'dual-boot' mechanism where you can choose which operating
 
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                        system you would like to run when loading your computer.</para>
 
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                        <para>Ubuntu allows you to have a single partition containing the entire operating system, applications and your personal
 
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                        files. However, many users feel that a separate swap partition, which is scratch
 
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                        space for an operating system, is required. A swap partition allows the system to
 
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                        use disk storage as virtual memory. By placing a swap on a separate partition, Linux
 
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                        can make much more efficient use of the swap space. Consequently, most users decide
 
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                        to use multiple partitions with Ubuntu.</para>
 
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                        <para>Additional advantages of partitioning include:
 
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                                <itemizedlist>
 
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                                        <listitem><para>Minimising data loss: If one of the file systems on
 
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                                        your computer is corrupted accidently, more often than not only one
 
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                                        partition is affected. As a result, you don't have to replace the data of
 
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                                        the entire hard disk, you will only need to replace the data in the
 
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                                        affected portion of the hard drive.</para>
 
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                                        </listitem>
 
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                                        <listitem><para>Enhancing security: You can provide enhanced security to
 
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                                        your system by creating a separate root partition that contains the most
 
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                                        essential components of the operating system. Doing this allows you to boot
 
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                                        into your Ubuntu to fix the system even when all other partitions are
 
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                                        corrupt.</para>
 
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                                        </listitem>
 
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                                        <listitem><para>Enhancing performance: Multiple partitioning helps reduce
 
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                                        disk head travel(???), resulting in improved performance.</para>
 
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                                        </listitem>
 
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                                </itemizedlist>
 
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                        </para>
 
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                        <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Caution:</emphasis></para>
 
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                        <para>You may run out of hard drive space in your home partition due to the
 
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                        sub-division of the drive into fixed-size partitions. This may occur even if
 
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                        the other partitions have plenty of usable space. A good implementation of
 
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                        partitioning requires you to predict how much space each partition needs.</para></screen>
 
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                        <para>For new users, home users and other single-user set-ups, a single root
 
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                        (/) partition with a swap partition would be the easiest and the most convenient
 
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                        to create and use. However, for multi-user systems or computers with lots of disk
 
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                        space, it is best to have the /home, /tmp, /usr and /var directories as individual
 
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                        partitions separate from the root (/) partition.</para>
 
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                        <para>However, before partitioning your hard drive, you should consider the
 
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                        following regarding directories and partitions:
 
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                        <itemizedlist>
 
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                                <listitem><para>root: Also called the slash directory, it is the highest
 
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                                directory of the directory tree. When creating the root partition, you
 
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                                need to ensure that the root should     contain the /etc, /bin, /sbin, /lib
 
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                                and /dev directories; else, you will not be able to boot-up the system.
 
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                                You also need to ensure that the root partition is allocated at least
 
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                                150-250 MB of disk space.</para></listitem>
 
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                                <listitem><para>/home: This directory contains all user-specific files and data.
 
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                                On a multi-user system, every user will store personal data in a subdirectory
 
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                                of this directory. The size of this directory would depend on the number of users
 
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                                using the system and the files they store in this directory. Ideally, you should
 
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                                plan the disk space for this partition based on your planned usage. In general,
 
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                                about 100-MB disk space can be allocated for each user. However, you may need to
 
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                                reserve a lot more space if you are planning to save a lot of multi-media files
 
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                                in your home directory.</para></listitem>
 
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                        </itemizedlist>
 
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                        <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Nice to Know:</emphasis></para>
 
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                        <para>It is good practice to have /home on a separate partition because
 
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                        it allows for a smoother transition from one distribution to another.</para></screen>
 
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                        <itemizedlist>
 
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                                <listitem><para>/var: This directory contains variable data, such as news
 
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                                articles, e-mails, Web sites, databases and the packaging system cache. The
 
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                                size of this directory also depends on system usage. Most probably, the size
 
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                                of this directory would be dictated by your usage of the Ubuntu package
 
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                                management utilities. If you plan to install all the packages that Ubuntu
 
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                                offers, you need to allocate 2 to 3 GB of space for the /var directory. However,
 
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                                if you want to save hard disk space and do not plan any major software updates,
 
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                                you can get by with as little as 30- or 40-MB disk space for the /var
 
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                                directory.</para></listitem>
 
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                                <listitem><para>/tmp: This directory contains temporary data created by programs.
 
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                                Some applications, including archive manipulators, CD/DVD authoring tools and
 
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                                multi-media software also use this directory to temporarily store image files.
 
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                                Based on your usage of these applications, you need to plan space allocation
 
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                                for this directory.</para></listitem>
 
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                                <listitem><para>/usr: This directory contains all user programs (binaries),
 
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                                their documentation and supporting libraries. This directory tends to use the
 
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                                maximum space on the hard disk. Therefore, you should provide at least 500-MB
 
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                                disk space for this directory. But, you need to increase this space depending
 
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                                on the number and types of software packages you plan to install. Based on your
 
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                                planned usage and the available disk space, you may allocate 1.5 to 6 GB of disk
 
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                                space for this directory.</para></listitem>
 
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                        </itemizedlist>
 
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                        <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Nice to Know:</emphasis></para>
 
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                        <para>The /usr partition is sometimes referred to as User System
 
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                        Resources and not user as was originally intended.</para></screen>
 
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                        </para>
 
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                        <para>Next, you will learn how to create new partitions on your computer's hard
 
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                        drive and access other operating systems and partitions from Ubuntu.</para>
 
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                </sect2>
 
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                <sect2>
 
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                        <title>Creating a Partition</title>
 
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                        <para>As mentioned earlier,  multiple partitions are very useful especially in cases
 
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                        where a partition is corrupted, as it enables you to boot into GNU/Linux to fix the system,
 
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                        without having to reinstall the system. To so this, a root partitionis required. This partition should contain
 
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                        the essential components of the system.</para>
 
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                        <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Caution:</emphasis></para>
 
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                        <para>The hard disk drive that you are formatting should not contain any
 
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                        data. If you have already formatted the drive and it contains data, skip
 
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                        the partitioning step and move to the next step - mounting.</para></screen>
 
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                        <para>If the hard disk drive that you want to format is blank and unformatted,
 
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                        you can use either of the following tools to partition it:
 
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                                <itemizedlist>
 
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                                        <listitem><para>GNOME Partition Editor (GParted): GParted is the GNOME
 
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                                        Partition Editor application. GParted is useful for creating space for
 
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                                        new operating systems, reorganising disk usage, copying data residing
 
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                                        on hard disks and mirroring one partition with another (disk
 
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                                        imaging).</para></listitem>
 
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                                        <listitem><para>Command Line: Command Line Interface (CLI) is a method
 
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                                        of interacting with an operating system by using a command-line interpreter.
 
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                                        The command line is faster and more powerful than GParted. When navigating
 
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                                        through the file system, you can use the command line to jump from one
 
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                                        directory to another in a split second. Use the command-line interface if
 
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                                        you are comfortable using the Terminal.</para></listitem>
 
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                                </itemizedlist>
 
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                        </para>
 
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                        <para>If you want to create a partition using GParted, you need to first install
 
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                        GParted by using <emphasis role="strong">Add/Remove Applications</emphasis> or
 
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                        <emphasis role="strong">Synaptic Package Manager</emphasis>.</para>
 
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                        <sect3>
 
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                                <title>Installing GParted by Using Synaptic Package Manager</title>
 
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                                <para>To install GParted by using Synaptic Package Manager:
 
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                                        <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
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                                                <listitem><para>On the <emphasis role="strong">System</emphasis> menu,
 
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                                                point to <emphasis role="strong">Administration</emphasis> and then click
 
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                                                <emphasis role="strong">Synaptic Package Manager</emphasis>. The
 
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                                                <emphasis role="strong">Synaptic Package Manager</emphasis> window
 
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                                                opens.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_001.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>When the <emphasis role="strong">Synaptic Package
 
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                                                Manager</emphasis> window opens for the first time, it displays a
 
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                                                list of all the software packages available in the Ubuntu software
 
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                                                repositories. The left pane lists the various software categories.
 
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                                                You can select a specific category to view the available software
 
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                                                packages listed in that category. Alternatively, you can use the
 
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                                                <emphasis role="strong">Search</emphasis> functionality provided in
 
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                                                the <emphasis role="strong">Synaptic Package Manager</emphasis> to
 
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                                                locate specific software in the list.</para>
 
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                                                <para>Click the <emphasis role="strong">Search</emphasis> button to
 
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                                                search the package you want to install. The
 
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                                                <emphasis role="strong">Find</emphasis> dialogue box appears.</para>
 
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                                                <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
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                                                <para><emphasis role="italic">If students want to know more about
 
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                                                software repositories, you can give them the following
 
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                                                information:</emphasis></para>
 
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                                                <para><emphasis role="italic">A software repository is a location
 
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                                                from where users can download and install packages over the Internet.
 
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                                                The Ubuntu software repository contains thousands of packages that are
 
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                                                freely available for installation over the Internet. It is easy to
 
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                                                install these packages because they are specially built for
 
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                                                Ubuntu.</emphasis></para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_002.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>In the <emphasis role="strong">Search</emphasis> field
 
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                                                of the <emphasis role="strong">Find</emphasis> dialogue box, type the
 
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                                                name of the package, <emphasis role="strong">Gnome Partition Editor</emphasis>,
 
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                                                and click the <emphasis role="strong">Search</emphasis> button. The
 
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                                                package, gparted, is now displayed in the right pane of the
 
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                                                <emphasis role="strong">Synaptic Package Manager</emphasis> window.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_003.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>Right-click the package name to select an action that
 
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                                                you want to perform on it. Notice that various options are available
 
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                                                to perform a number of actions on the selected package. If the selected
 
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                                                package is not installed currently, you can mark it for installation.
 
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                                                Inversely, if the selected package is already marked for installation,
 
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                                                you can unmark it to clear the selection. Similarly, if the package is
 
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                                                already installed, you may select <emphasis role="strong">Upgrade</emphasis>
 
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                                                to upgrade the package and <emphasis role="strong">Mark for Removal</emphasis>
 
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                                                or <emphasis role="strong">Mark for Complete Removal</emphasis> to delete
 
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                                                the package from your computer.</para>
 
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                                                <para>To install the package, select the <emphasis role="strong">Mark for
 
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                                                Installation</emphasis> check box. This displays the
 
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                                                <emphasis role="strong">Mark additional required changes?</emphasis>
 
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                                                dialogue box.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_004.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>The <emphasis role="strong">Mark additional required
 
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                                                changes?</emphasis> dialogue box displays a list of other associated
 
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                                                software programs that need to be installed to install the selected
 
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                                                package. Click the <emphasis role="strong">Mark</emphasis> button to
 
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                                                proceed.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_005.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>The gparted package is now selected for installation.
 
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                                                To continue with the installation, click <emphasis role="strong">Apply</emphasis>.
 
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                                                This displays the <emphasis role="strong">Summary</emphasis> dialogue
 
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                                                box.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_006.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>The <emphasis role="strong">Summary</emphasis> dialogue
 
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                                                box prompts you to perform a final check before implementing the marked
 
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                                                changes. Click the <emphasis role="strong">Apply</emphasis> button to
 
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                                                apply the marked changes. The <emphasis role="strong">Downloading package
 
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                                                files</emphasis> window opens.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_007.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>Wait for all the required files to download.
 
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                                                After all the required files in the package are downloaded,
 
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                                                the <emphasis role="strong">Changes applied</emphasis> dialogue
 
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                                                box appears.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_008.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>The <emphasis role="strong">Changes applied</emphasis>
 
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                                                dialogue box notifies you that all the requested changes have been
 
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                                                applied. Click <emphasis role="strong">Close</emphasis> to exit the
 
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                                                dialogue box.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_009.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                                <listitem><para>The Gnome partition editor is installed on your computer.
 
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                                                You can now partition the hard disk drive.</para>
 
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                                                <figure>
 
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                                                        <imageobject>
 
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                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_010.png" format="PNG"/>
 
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                                                        </imageobject>
 
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                                                </figure>
 
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                                                </listitem>
 
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                                        </orderedlist>
 
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                                </para>
 
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                        </sect3>
 
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                        <sect3>
 
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                                <title>Partitioning Using Gparted</title>
 
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                                <para>To partition the hard drive by using Gparted:
 
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                                        <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
280
                                                <listitem><para>On the <emphasis role="strong">System</emphasis> menu,
 
281
                                                point to <emphasis role="strong">Administration</emphasis> and then click
 
282
                                                <emphasis role="strong">GNOME Partition Editor</emphasis>. The
 
283
                                                <emphasis role="strong">GParted</emphasis> window opens.</para>
 
284
                                                <figure>
 
285
                                                        <imageobject>
 
286
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_011.png" format="PNG"/>
 
287
                                                        </imageobject>
 
288
                                                </figure>
 
289
                                                </listitem>
 
290
                                                <listitem><para>In the top-right corner of the <emphasis role="strong">GParted</emphasis>
 
291
                                                window is the drive drop-down box. You can use this box to select the hard
 
292
                                                drive that you need to partition by specifying the logical name you noted
 
293
                                                earlier. The Gparted window refreshes and shows you a representation of
 
294
                                                the selected drive.</para>
 
295
                                                <para>If the existing partitions on the drive have not yet been used, a
 
296
                                                white bar would run across the window. However, if the existing
 
297
                                                partitions contain some data, the data will be represented by a pale
 
298
                                                yellow area.</para>
 
299
                                                <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
300
                                                <para><emphasis role="italic">Explain how to read the specifications of
 
301
                                                the current partitions and file systems.</emphasis></para>
 
302
                                                <figure>
 
303
                                                        <imageobject>
 
304
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_012.png" format="PNG"/>
 
305
                                                        </imageobject>
 
306
                                                </figure>
 
307
                                                </listitem>
 
308
                                                <listitem><para>You can either resize an existing partition or create a
 
309
                                                new partition in the unallocated space of the hard drive. Before resizing
 
310
                                                an existing partition, you must make sure that you unmount it by
 
311
                                                right-clicking the partition and then selecting <emphasis role="strong">Unmount</emphasis>.
 
312
                                                Remember that you cannot resize a partition to be smaller than the yellow
 
313
                                                area, which represents the data on the partition.</para>
 
314
                                                <para>To create a new partition in the unallocated drive space,
 
315
                                                right-click the area and select <emphasis role="strong">New</emphasis>
 
316
                                                on the short-cut menu. The <emphasis role="strong">Create new
 
317
                                                Partition</emphasis> dialogue box appears.</para>
 
318
                                                <figure>
 
319
                                                        <imageobject>
 
320
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_012.png" format="PNG"/>
 
321
                                                        </imageobject>
 
322
                                                </figure>
 
323
                                                </listitem>
 
324
                                                <listitem><para>The <emphasis role="strong">Create new Partition</emphasis>
 
325
                                                dialogue box allows you to select specifications for the new partition.
 
326
                                                Apart from defining the size of the new partition, you can also select
 
327
                                                the partition type, whether primary or logical, for the new partition.
 
328
                                                In addition, you can even define the file system to be used on the new
 
329
                                                partition. By default, Ubuntu uses the ext3 partitions. However, if you
 
330
                                                want the new drive to be readable by both Windows and Ubuntu without
 
331
                                                installing anything extra, you can format it as Fat 32.</para>
 
332
                                                <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Note:</emphasis></para>
 
333
                                                <para>If you are creating a partition on a new hard drive, select
 
334
                                                Primary Partition. A SCSI or S-ATA hard disk can have a maximum of
 
335
                                                4 primary partitions and 11 logical partitions while an integrated
 
336
                                                development environment (IDE) hard drive can have up to 63 partitions
 
337
                                                overall. The primary partition used to house the logical partitions
 
338
                                                is called an extended partition. Unlike primary partitions, logical
 
339
                                                partitions must be contiguous.</para></screen>
 
340
                                                <figure>
 
341
                                                        <imageobject>
 
342
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_013.png" format="PNG"/>
 
343
                                                        </imageobject>
 
344
                                                </figure>
 
345
                                                </listitem>
 
346
                                                <listitem><para>In the <emphasis role="strong">New Size (MiB)</emphasis>
 
347
                                                field, specify the size of the partition by using the up or down arrow
 
348
                                                key. You can also define the size by dragging the black bold arrows on
 
349
                                                the top white bar.</para></listitem>
 
350
                                                <listitem><para>Select Primary, Logical or Extended partition from the
 
351
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Create as</emphasis> drop-down list.</para>
 
352
                                                </listitem>
 
353
                                                <listitem><para>Next, specify the file system by selecting from the
 
354
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Filesystem</emphasis> drop-down list.</para>
 
355
                                                </listitem>
 
356
                                                <listitem><para>Click the <emphasis role="strong">Add</emphasis> button
 
357
                                                to complete the partition. The white bar updates to show a new partition
 
358
                                                on the disk.</para></listitem>
 
359
                                                <listitem><para>You can create multiple partitions at this stage by
 
360
                                                following the above-mentioned procedure and then clicking
 
361
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Apply</emphasis> to add them to the hard drive.
 
362
                                                The <emphasis role="strong">Apply operations to harddisk</emphasis>
 
363
                                                dialogue box appears.</para>
 
364
                                                <figure>
 
365
                                                        <imageobject>
 
366
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_014.png" format="PNG"/>
 
367
                                                        </imageobject>
 
368
                                                </figure>
 
369
                                                </listitem>
 
370
                                                <listitem><para>The <emphasis role="strong">Apply operations to harddisk
 
371
                                                </emphasis> dialogue box recommends that you back up data before
 
372
                                                performing the changes and seeks your final confirmation before applying
 
373
                                                the changes to the hard disk. Click the <emphasis role="strong">Apply
 
374
                                                </emphasis> button to partition and format the hard disk according to
 
375
                                                your specifications.</para>
 
376
                                                <figure>
 
377
                                                        <imageobject>
 
378
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_015.png" format="PNG"/>
 
379
                                                        </imageobject>
 
380
                                                </figure>
 
381
                                                </listitem>
 
382
                                                <listitem><para>The system starts applying the changes to the hard disk.
 
383
                                                The duration of the operation will depend on the size of the new
 
384
                                                partition. When the operation is still running, you can click the
 
385
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Details</emphasis> button to view more information
 
386
                                                about where and how the changes are being made.</para>
 
387
                                                <figure>
 
388
                                                        <imageobject>
 
389
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_016.png" format="PNG"/>
 
390
                                                        </imageobject>
 
391
                                                </figure>
 
392
                                                </listitem>
 
393
                                                <listitem><para>After you receive a message that all the specified
 
394
                                                operations have been successfully completed, you can safely close
 
395
                                                the window by clicking the <emphasis role="strong">Close</emphasis>
 
396
                                                button. However, if something goes wrong and the process does not
 
397
                                                complete successfully, you can save the process output for future
 
398
                                                reference by clicking the <emphasis role="strong">Save Details</emphasis>
 
399
                                                button.</para></listitem>
 
400
                                                <listitem><para>The newly created partition is now visible in the
 
401
                                                <emphasis role="strong">GParted</emphasis> window. You will also
 
402
                                                notice that your system automounts the newly created partition.</para>
 
403
                                                <para>Mounting refers to the process of attaching the newly created
 
404
                                                partition or drive to an existing directory to make it accessible.
 
405
                                                The directory where the new partition is attached is called the mount
 
406
                                                point. After the partition is mounted, you can access the files on
 
407
                                                that partition by accessing the mount point for the new partition.
 
408
                                                Early Linux distributions did not allow the auto-mounting of new partitions
 
409
                                                or drives. However, Ubuntu 7.04 and above allow you to easily access
 
410
                                                the new partitions by auto-mounting the partitions. When you create a new
 
411
                                                partition, the new partition opens as a separate window and the
 
412
                                                partition appears as a disk icon on the desktop.</para>
 
413
                                                <figure>
 
414
                                                        <imageobject>
 
415
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_017.png" format="PNG"/>
 
416
                                                        </imageobject>
 
417
                                                </figure>
 
418
                                                </listitem>
 
419
                                                <listitem><para>When you no longer want to access the new partitions,
 
420
                                                you can unmount them by right-clicking the <emphasis role="strong">disk</emphasis>
 
421
                                                icon on the desktop and selecting the <emphasis role="strong">Unmount
 
422
                                                Volume</emphasis> option from the short-cut menu.</para>
 
423
                                                <figure>
 
424
                                                        <imageobject>
 
425
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_018.png" format="PNG"/>
 
426
                                                        </imageobject>
 
427
                                                </figure>
 
428
                                                </listitem>
 
429
                                                <listitem><para>If you want to stop Ubuntu from auto-mounting all
 
430
                                                the partitions when you boot into your operating system, you can do
 
431
                                                so by changing the default configuration settings. To access the
 
432
                                                configuration settings for the partitions, on the System menu, point
 
433
                                                to <emphasis role="strong">Preferences</emphasis> and click
 
434
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Removable Drives and</emphasis>
 
435
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Media</emphasis>. The
 
436
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Removable Drives and Media Preferences</emphasis>
 
437
                                                dialogue box opens.</para>
 
438
                                                <figure>
 
439
                                                        <imageobject>
 
440
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_019.png" format="PNG"/>
 
441
                                                        </imageobject>
 
442
                                                </figure>
 
443
                                                </listitem>
 
444
                                                <listitem><para>To prevent Ubuntu from auto-mounting all the drives,
 
445
                                                clear the first three check boxes on the <emphasis role="strong">Removable
 
446
                                                Drives and Media Preferences</emphasis> dialogue box and click
 
447
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Close</emphasis>.</para>
 
448
                                                <figure>
 
449
                                                        <imageobject>
 
450
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_020.png" format="PNG"/>
 
451
                                                        </imageobject>
 
452
                                                </figure>
 
453
                                                </listitem>
 
454
                                                <listitem><para>After making the required changes in the
 
455
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Removable Drives and Media Preferences</emphasis>
 
456
                                                dialogue box, you will notice that Ubuntu does not automount all the
 
457
                                                partitions and drives at boot-up.</para>
 
458
                                                </listitem>
 
459
                                        </orderedlist>
 
460
                                </para>
 
461
                        </sect3>
 
462
                        <sect3>
 
463
                                <title>Partitioning Using the Command Line</title>
 
464
                                <para>As you already know, you can divide a hard disk into multiple logical disks
 
465
                                called partitions. The description of these partitions is stored in a partition
 
466
                                table, which is found on sector 0 of the disk.</para>
 
467
                                <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
468
                                <para><emphasis role="italic">Depending on the profile of the learners, you may
 
469
                                need to explain the concept of disk sectors. You can ask the learners to check
 
470
                                the following URL to know more about disk sectors:</emphasis></para>
 
471
                                <para><emphasis role="italic"><ulink url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_sector">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_sector</ulink></emphasis></para>
 
472
                                <para>To create a partition using the command line, you need to use the fdisk
 
473
                                command. fdisk is a menu-driven program for the creation and manipulation of
 
474
                                partition tables. The fdisk program needs the hard disk name to manipulate
 
475
                                partition tables. Depending on the disk interface type, a hard disk may
 
476
                                use one of the following names:
 
477
                                        <itemizedlist>
 
478
                                                <listitem><para>IDE disks: /dev/hd[a-h]</para></listitem>
 
479
                                                <listitem><para>SCSI disk: /dev/sd[a-p]</para></listitem>
 
480
                                                <listitem><para>ESDI disks: /dev/ed[a-d]</para></listitem>
 
481
                                                <listitem><para>XT disks: /dev/xd[ab]</para></listitem>
 
482
                                        </itemizedlist>
 
483
                                </para>
 
484
                        <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Note:</emphasis></para>
 
485
                        <para>Visit <ulink url="http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/perf/ext/if-c.html">http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/perf/ext/if-c.html</ulink>
 
486
                        to know more about disk interface types.</para></screen>
 
487
                                <para>You need to use the Terminal to use the fdisk command. To access the
 
488
                                Terminal:
 
489
                                        <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
490
                                                <listitem><para>On the <emphasis role="strong">Applications</emphasis>
 
491
                                                menu, point to <emphasis role="strong">Accessories</emphasis> and then
 
492
                                                click <emphasis role="strong">Terminal</emphasis>. The Terminal window
 
493
                                                opens.</para>
 
494
                                                <figure>
 
495
                                                        <imageobject>
 
496
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_021.png" format="PNG"/>
 
497
                                                        </imageobject>
 
498
                                                </figure>
 
499
                                                </listitem>
 
500
                                                <listitem><para>The sudo command allows authorised users to run certain
 
501
                                                programs as root. Root is equivalent to an Administrator of Windows.
 
502
                                                This means that to run commands requiring root privileges, you need to
 
503
                                                pre-pend sudo to the commands.</para>
 
504
                                                <para>Before partitioning a hard drive using a command line, you need to
 
505
                                                determine the number of partitions that you need to create and the path
 
506
                                                that your system has assigned to the hard drive.</para>
 
507
                                                <para>To determine the path, type the following command in the
 
508
                                                Terminal:</para>
 
509
                                                <screen><para>$ sudo lshw -C disk</para></screen>
 
510
                                                <figure>
 
511
                                                        <imageobject>
 
512
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_023.png" format="PNG"/>
 
513
                                                        </imageobject>
 
514
                                                </figure>
 
515
        <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Note:</emphasis></para>
 
516
        <para>When you use the sudo command for the first time in a session,
 
517
        it asks you for your password. You need to provide your user account
 
518
        password to proceed.</para>
 
519
        <para>To know more about a root user and the sudo command, visit:
 
520
        <ulink url="https://help.Ubuntu.com/6.06/Ubuntu/desktopguide/C/linux-basics.html#root-and-sudo">https://help.Ubuntu.com/6.06/Ubuntu/desktopguide/C/linux-basics.html#root-and-sudo</ulink></para></screen>
 
521
                                        <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
522
                                        <para><emphasis role="italic">You can also use the following command to
 
523
                                        determine the path:</emphasis></para>
 
524
                                        <screen><para>$ sudo fdisk -l</para></screen>
 
525
                                                </listitem>
 
526
                                                <listitem><para>The above command should produce an output similar to
 
527
                                                this.</para>
 
528
                                                <figure>
 
529
                                                        <imageobject>
 
530
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_024.png" format="PNG"/>
 
531
                                                        </imageobject>
 
532
                                                </figure>
 
533
                                                <para>Make a note of the logical name for future reference.</para>
 
534
                                                </listitem>
 
535
                                                <listitem><para>To initiate partitioning, in the Terminal Window,
 
536
                                                run the fdisk command:</para>
 
537
                                                <screen><para>$ sudo fdisk /dev/sda</para></screen>
 
538
                                                <para>Replace /dev/sda with the logical name of your hard drive.</para>
 
539
                                                <figure>
 
540
                                                        <imageobject>
 
541
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_025.png" format="PNG"/>
 
542
                                                        </imageobject>
 
543
                                                </figure>
 
544
                                                <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Caution:</emphasis></para>
 
545
                                                <para>Proceed with caution while performing fdisk steps. If you
 
546
                                                follow the fdisk steps on a hard disk that is not empty, all the
 
547
                                                data may get damaged. It is therefore, recommended that you back
 
548
                                                up the data before following these steps.</para></screen>
 
549
                                                </listitem>
 
550
                                                <listitem><para>The output of the fdisk command shows that there are
 
551
                                                9,726 cylinders for the disk. However, an older Basic Input Output
 
552
                                                System (BIOS) can access only the first 1,024 cylinders of the disk
 
553
                                                to boot-up the system. Therefore, users that have computers with large
 
554
                                                disks often create another partition, just a few MB large, typically
 
555
                                                mounted on boot. This partition stores the kernel image and a few
 
556
                                                auxiliary files needed at boot time. Therefore, it is important to
 
557
                                                make sure that these files are accessible to the BIOS.</para>
 
558
                                        <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Note:</emphasis></para>
 
559
                                        <para>To know more about cylinders, heads and
 
560
                                        tracks, visit the following sites:
 
561
                                        <ulink url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylinder-head-sector">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylinder-head-sector</ulink>
 
562
                                        <ulink url="http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/tracksDifference-c.html">http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/tracksDifference-c.html</ulink></para></screen>
 
563
                                                <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
564
                                                <para><emphasis role="italic">You can also use the following
 
565
                                                commands:</emphasis></para>
 
566
                                                <screen><para>$ sudo sfdisk /dev/sda</para></screen>
 
567
                                                <para><emphasis role="italic">When using the sfdisk command to
 
568
                                                partition, the logical device should not be active.</emphasis></para>
 
569
                                                <screen><para>$ sudo cfdisk /dev/sda</para></screen>
 
570
                                                <para><emphasis role="italic">The cfdisk command provides
 
571
                                                a curser interface.</emphasis></para>
 
572
                                                <para>You can use the following commands for frequently performed tasks:</para>
 
573
                                                <table>
 
574
                                                        <tgroup cols="2">
 
575
                                                        <colspec colname="col1" align="left"/>
 
576
                                                        <colspec colname="col2" align="left"/>
 
577
                                                        <tbody>
 
578
                                                                <row>
 
579
                                                                        <entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Command</emphasis></para>
 
580
                                                                        </entry>
 
581
                                                                        <entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Command Action</emphasis>
 
582
                                                                        </para></entry>
 
583
                                                                </row>
 
584
                                                                <row>
 
585
                                                                        <entry><para>d</para></entry>
 
586
                                                                        <entry><para>Deletes a partition</para></entry>
 
587
                                                                </row>
 
588
                                                                <row>
 
589
                                                                        <entry><para>l</para></entry>
 
590
                                                                        <entry><para>Lists known partition types</para></entry>
 
591
                                                                </row>
 
592
                                                                <row>
 
593
                                                                        <entry><para>n</para></entry>
 
594
                                                                        <entry><para>Adds a new partition</para></entry>
 
595
                                                                </row>
 
596
                                                                <row>
 
597
                                                                        <entry><para>p</para></entry>
 
598
                                                                        <entry><para>Prints a partition table</para></entry>
 
599
                                                                </row>
 
600
                                                                <row>
 
601
                                                                        <entry><para>q</para></entry>
 
602
                                                                        <entry><para>Quits without saving changes</para></entry>
 
603
                                                                </row>
 
604
                                                                <row>
 
605
                                                                        <entry><para>w</para></entry>
 
606
                                                                        <entry><para>Writes a table to disk and exits</para></entry>
 
607
                                                                </row>
 
608
                                                                <row>
 
609
                                                                        <entry><para>m</para></entry>
 
610
                                                                        <entry><para>Help</para></entry>
 
611
                                                                </row>
 
612
                                                        </tbody>
 
613
                                                        </tgroup>
 
614
                                                        </table>
 
615
                                                </listitem>
 
616
                                                <listitem><para>To add a new partition, type <emphasis role="strong">n</emphasis>
 
617
                                                and press <emphasis role="strong">Enter</emphasis>.</para>
 
618
                                                <figure>
 
619
                                                        <imageobject>
 
620
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_026.png" format="PNG"/>
 
621
                                                        </imageobject>
 
622
                                                </figure>
 
623
                                                </listitem>
 
624
                                                <listitem><para>Next, choose the partition type. Type
 
625
                                                <emphasis role="strong">l</emphasis> for a logical partition
 
626
                                                or p for a primary partition and press
 
627
                                                <emphasis role="strong">ENTER</emphasis>.</para>
 
628
                                                <figure>
 
629
                                                        <imageobject>
 
630
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_027.png" format="PNG"/>
 
631
                                                        </imageobject>
 
632
                                                </figure>
 
633
                                                </listitem>
 
634
                                                <listitem><para>Type <emphasis role="strong">p</emphasis> to print the
 
635
                                                partition table. The output shows that a new partition has been
 
636
                                                created.</para>
 
637
                                                <figure>
 
638
                                                        <imageobject>
 
639
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_028.png" format="PNG"/>
 
640
                                                        </imageobject>
 
641
                                                </figure>
 
642
                                                <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
643
                                                <para><emphasis role="italic">The new partition is assigned the Linux
 
644
                                                file system type by default.</emphasis></para>
 
645
                                                </listitem>
 
646
                                                <listitem><para>Now that the partition is created, type
 
647
                                                <emphasis role="strong">w</emphasis> to write the partition
 
648
                                                table to the disk and press <emphasis role="strong">ENTER</emphasis>.</para>
 
649
                                                <figure>
 
650
                                                        <imageobject>
 
651
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_029.png" format="PNG"/>
 
652
                                                        </imageobject>
 
653
                                                </figure>
 
654
                                                </listitem>
 
655
                                                <listitem><para>If all went well, you now have a partitioned hard drive
 
656
                                                that is ready to be formatted. You will need to reboot your computer for
 
657
                                                the changes to take effect.</para></listitem>
 
658
                                                <listitem><para>If you want to delete a partition, type
 
659
                                                <emphasis role="strong">d</emphasis> and press <emphasis role="strong">Enter</emphasis>.
 
660
                                                Type the partition number that you want to delete and press
 
661
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Enter</emphasis> again.</para>
 
662
                                                <figure>
 
663
                                                        <imageobject>
 
664
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_030.png" format="PNG"/>
 
665
                                                        </imageobject>
 
666
                                                </figure>
 
667
                                                </listitem>
 
668
                                                <listitem><para>Type <emphasis role="strong">p</emphasis> to print the
 
669
                                                partition table; you can check if partition <emphasis role="strong">5</emphasis>
 
670
                                                has been deleted.</para></listitem>
 
671
                                                <listitem><para>If you need further help while performing fdisk, type
 
672
                                                <emphasis role="strong">m</emphasis> and press
 
673
                                                <emphasis role="strong">ENTER</emphasis>.</para>
 
674
                                                <figure>
 
675
                                                        <imageobject>
 
676
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_031.png" format="PNG"/>
 
677
                                                        </imageobject>
 
678
                                                </figure>
 
679
                                                </listitem>
 
680
                                                <listitem><para>The m command displays a list of all the commands that you
 
681
                                                can use along with their resultant actions.</para>
 
682
                                                <para>After writing the updated partition table to the disk, the kernel
 
683
                                                needs to be notified on the change. You can use the partprobe command to
 
684
                                                notify the kernel of the change; else, you will need to reboot the
 
685
                                                system.</para></listitem>
 
686
                                        </orderedlist>
 
687
                                </para>
 
688
                                <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
689
                                <para><emphasis role="italic">To format the disk as an ext3 file system, which
 
690
                                is best for use with Ubuntu, type the following command:</emphasis></para>
 
691
                                <screen><para>$ sudo mke2fs -j /dev/hdd1</para></screen>
 
692
                                <para><emphasis role="italic">Substitute "/dev/hdd1" with your
 
693
                                own drive's path.</emphasis></para>
 
694
                                <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Nice to Know:</emphasis></para>
 
695
                                <para>When formatting a drive, 5 percent of the total space of the drive
 
696
                                is reserved for the super-user (Root) so that the operating system can
 
697
                                still write to the disk even if it is full. However, for disks that only
 
698
                                contain data, this is not necessary.</para>
 
699
                                <para>You can adjust the percentage of reserved space by using the tune2fs
 
700
                                command, as shown below:</para></screen>
 
701
                                <screen><para>$ sudo tune2fs -m 1 /dev/hdd1</para></screen>
 
702
                                <screen><para>The above example reserves 1 percent of space. You can
 
703
                                change this percentage according to the requirement. Using this command
 
704
                                does not change the existing data on the drive. You can use this command
 
705
                                on a drive that contains data.</para></screen>
 
706
                        </sect3>
 
707
                </sect2>
 
708
                <sect2>
 
709
                        <title>Bootup Options</title>
 
710
                        <para>Booting up is a process through which the operating system is loaded into the
 
711
                        computer's main memory or random access memory (RAM). The boot-up process
 
712
                        starts when you turn on your computer. During this process, the BIOS takes control of
 
713
                        your computer and decides where to look for software on the computer and in which
 
714
                        order. Based on the BIOS settings of your computer, it is decided whether your
 
715
                        computer will first check the hard disk or a floppy disk, CD, DVD or flash memory to
 
716
                        start the booting-up process. In case you have multiple operating systems installed on
 
717
                        your computer, the BIOS configuration decides which operating system will be loaded
 
718
                        first at boot-up.</para>
 
719
                        <para>Only after all system files have been loaded into the main memory, is the
 
720
                        operating system given control of the computer. The operating system performs the
 
721
                        requested initial commands and then waits for the first interactive user input.</para>
 
722
                        <para>However, as a superuser or user with administrative privileges, it is possible
 
723
                        for you to change the boot-up configuration to define the computer's boot order,
 
724
                        change the default operating system to boot-up or make a system command run
 
725
                        automatically at boot-up.</para>
 
726
                        <para>One way to change or check your BIOS setting is to restart your computer, and
 
727
                        press a key to enter the setup function before it starts to load any operating system.
 
728
                        Generally, you can do this by pressing F1, F2, ESC or DELETE. Once you are inside the
 
729
                        BIOS setup, you can make the desired changes by following the instructions for using
 
730
                        the setup. However, you need to be very cautious when making any changes in the BIOS
 
731
                        settings because a wrong setting can prevent your computer from booting-up
 
732
                        properly.</para>
 
733
                        <para>You can also perform these configuration changes by using a command line on your
 
734
                        computer's Terminal.</para>
 
735
                        <sect3>
 
736
                                <title>Running a System Command Automatically at Start-Up</title>
 
737
                                <para>At times, you may wish to add a custom command for the start-up process so
 
738
                                that your computer executes this command every time it boots up. To run a system
 
739
                                command automatically at start-up:
 
740
                                        <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
741
                                                <listitem><para>On the Terminal, type the following command to open the
 
742
                                                rc.local file:</para>
 
743
                                                <screen><para>$ sudo nano /etc/rc.local</para></screen>
 
744
                                                <figure>
 
745
                                                        <imageobject>
 
746
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_032.png" format="PNG"/>
 
747
                                                        </imageobject>
 
748
                                                </figure>
 
749
                                                <para>The rc.local file contains a script that is executed after all the
 
750
                                                other initial scripts. You can insert your own initialisation scripts in
 
751
                                                this file if you want some services to be executed automatically during
 
752
                                                the start-up process.</para>
 
753
                                                </listitem>
 
754
                                                <listitem><para>The rc.local file opens in the Terminal window.
 
755
                                                Type the command that you want to run at system start-up before
 
756
                                                the line, exit 0.</para>
 
757
                                                <screen><para>$ date > /home/oem/newbackup</para></screen>
 
758
                                                <figure>
 
759
                                                        <imageobject>
 
760
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_033.png" format="PNG"/>
 
761
                                                        </imageobject>
 
762
                                                </figure>
 
763
                                                </listitem>
 
764
                                                <listitem><para>After you enter the command you want executed at system
 
765
                                                start-up, press CTRL+X to save and exit the edited file.</para>
 
766
                                                <figure>
 
767
                                                        <imageobject>
 
768
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_034.png" format="PNG"/>
 
769
                                                        </imageobject>
 
770
                                                </figure>
 
771
                                                </listitem>
 
772
                                                <listitem><para>When you reboot the system, the rc.local file executes.
 
773
                                                If you want to display the output of the above command, type the
 
774
                                                following command in the Terminal:</para>
 
775
                                                <screen><para>$ cat newbackup</para></screen>
 
776
                                                <para>The following image shows the output of the above command:</para>
 
777
                                                <figure>
 
778
                                                        <imageobject>
 
779
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_035.png" format="PNG"/>
 
780
                                                        </imageobject>
 
781
                                                </figure>
 
782
                                                </listitem>
 
783
                                        </orderedlist>
 
784
                                </para>
 
785
                        </sect3>
 
786
                        <sect3>
 
787
                                <title>Changing the Default Operating System at Boot</title>
 
788
                                <para>When multiple operating systems are installed on a computer, this is
 
789
                                referred to as a multi-boot configuration. Typically, the operating system
 
790
                                that is listed on top in the configuration file is loaded on the computer.
 
791
                                To choose the operating system that starts when you turn on your computer,
 
792
                                edit the grub configuration file.
 
793
                                        <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
794
                                                <listitem><para>Back up the configuration file, and open it in a text
 
795
                                                editor, as follows:</para>
 
796
                                                <screen>
 
797
                                                <para>$ sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu.lst_backup</para>
 
798
                                                <para>$ sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst</para></screen>
 
799
                                                </listitem>
 
800
                                                <listitem><para>Find the line written below to change the default sequence:</para>
 
801
                                                <screen>
 
802
                                                <para>...</para>
 
803
                                                <para>default 0</para>
 
804
                                                <para>...</para></screen>
 
805
                                                <para>Replace this line with the following line:</para>
 
806
                                                <screen>
 
807
                                                <para>default X</para></screen>
 
808
                                                <para>Replace X with a number based on the order in which your operating
 
809
                                                systems appear in the configuration file. You should start counting from
 
810
                                                0. For example, if you wish the default operating system to be the first
 
811
                                                in the  list, replace X with 0; and if you wish the default operating
 
812
                                                system to be the second in the list, replace X with 1.</para>
 
813
                                                </listitem>
 
814
                                                <listitem><para>Point to saved and save default to reboot the last OS
 
815
                                                chosen.</para></listitem>
 
816
                                        </orderedlist>
 
817
                                </para>
 
818
                        </sect3>
 
819
                        <sect3>
 
820
                                <title>Configuring Start-Up Services</title>
 
821
                                <para>When Ubuntu starts up, many services are started for your convenience. Some
 
822
                                services are mandatory for Ubuntu to work properly on your computer. Others can
 
823
                                include services that you'll probably never need or want, either because you just
 
824
                                do not want them (for example, ntpdate, which sets your system time from a time
 
825
                                server) or you simply don't have the device (for example, the HP printing and
 
826
                                scanning system, which is of no use if you don't own a HP device).</para>
 
827
                                <para>Although these services are harmless, they increase your computer's start-up
 
828
                                time. By de-activating some of these services, you should get a slightly faster
 
829
                                start-up time.</para>
 
830
                                <screen><para><emphasis role="strong">Caution:</emphasis></para>
 
831
                                <para>Read the service information before you disable any service because
 
832
                                disabling some services may stop your system from booting-up or running
 
833
                                properly.</para></screen>
 
834
                                <para>To configure the start-up services, you need to have administrative
 
835
                                privileges. Then, perform the following steps:
 
836
                                        <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
837
                                                <listitem><para>On the <emphasis role="strong">System</emphasis> menu,
 
838
                                                point to <emphasis role="strong">Administration</emphasis> and then
 
839
                                                click <emphasis role="strong">Services</emphasis>.</para>
 
840
                                                <figure>
 
841
                                                        <imageobject>
 
842
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_036.png" format="PNG"/>
 
843
                                                        </imageobject>
 
844
                                                </figure>
 
845
                                                </listitem>
 
846
                                                <listitem><para>Type your administrative password. The
 
847
                                                <emphasis role="strong">Services settings</emphasis> window
 
848
                                                opens.</para></listitem>
 
849
                                                <listitem><para>Select the services you want running by selecting or
 
850
                                                clearing the respective check boxes and click <emphasis role="strong">OK</emphasis>.
 
851
                                                </para>
 
852
                                                <figure>
 
853
                                                        <imageobject>
 
854
                                                                <imagedata fileref="./images/Chapter11_Image_037.png" format="PNG"/>
 
855
                                                        </imageobject>
 
856
                                                </figure>
 
857
                                                </listitem>
 
858
                                        </orderedlist>
 
859
                                </para>
 
860
                                <para><emphasis role="strong"><emphasis role="italic">Instructor Notes:</emphasis></emphasis></para>
 
861
                                <para><emphasis role="italic">If you want greater control over the boot-up
 
862
                                services, install Boot-up Manager (bum). You can install bum from the Universe
 
863
                                repository. You need to click the <emphasis role="strong">System</emphasis> menu,
 
864
                                point to <emphasis role="strong">Administration</emphasis> and click
 
865
                                <emphasis role="strong">Boot-up Manager</emphasis>.</emphasis></para>
 
866
                        </sect3>
 
867
                </sect2>
 
868
                <sect2>
 
869
                        <title>Lesson Summary</title>
 
870
                        <para>In this lesson, you learnt that:
 
871
                                <itemizedlist>
 
872
                                        <listitem><para>You can run Ubuntu on a single partition or drive or may
 
873
                                        decide to partition the drive after considering the various advantages of
 
874
                                        partitioning.</para></listitem>
 
875
                                        <listitem><para>Before partitioning the hard drive, you should make sure
 
876
                                        that there is no data on the hard drive. If the hard drive on which you
 
877
                                        are creating a partition contains data and you wish to preserve it, it
 
878
                                        will be safer to back up the data before proceeding.</para></listitem>
 
879
                                        <listitem><para>You can create a partition by using both the Gnome partition
 
880
                                        editor and the command-line interface.</para></listitem>
 
881
                                        <listitem><para>It is possible for you to change the boot-up configuration
 
882
                                        to define the computer's boot order, change the default operating system to
 
883
                                        boot or make a system command run automatically at boot-up.</para></listitem>
 
884
                                        <listitem><para>To run a set of commands each time the system boots up, you
 
885
                                        need to include the commands in the /etc/rc.local file so that the computer
 
886
                                        executes them automatically at every boot-up.</para></listitem>
 
887
                                        <listitem><para>You can change the default operating system at boot by making
 
888
                                        changes in the configuration file.</para></listitem>
 
889
                                        <listitem><para>You must read the service information before disabling any
 
890
                                        service because disabling some services may stop your system from booting-up
 
891
                                        or running properly.</para></listitem>
 
892
                                </itemizedlist>
 
893
                        </para>
 
894
                </sect2>
 
895
                <sect2>
 
896
                        <title>Review Exercise</title>
 
897
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Question 1</emphasis></para>
 
898
                        <para>What are the advantages of partitioning?</para>
 
899
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Answer 1</emphasis></para>
 
900
                        <para>The following are the advantages of partitioning:
 
901
                                <orderedlist numeration="loweralpha">
 
902
                                        <listitem><para>Minimises data loss</para></listitem>
 
903
                                        <listitem><para>Enhances security</para></listitem>
 
904
                                        <listitem><para>Enhances performance</para></listitem>
 
905
                                </orderedlist>
 
906
                        </para>
 
907
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Question 2</emphasis></para>
 
908
                        <para>What is the minimum disk space that you need to allocate to a separate
 
909
                        root partition?</para>
 
910
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Answer 2</emphasis></para>
 
911
                        <para>A separate root partition should be allocated at least 150-250 MB of disk
 
912
                        space.</para>
 
913
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Question 3</emphasis></para>
 
914
                        <para>What is the function of each of the following fdisk commands:
 
915
                                <orderedlist numeration="loweralpha">
 
916
                                        <listitem><para>d</para></listitem>
 
917
                                        <listitem><para>n</para></listitem>
 
918
                                        <listitem><para>p</para></listitem>
 
919
                                        <listitem><para>w</para></listitem>
 
920
                                </orderedlist>
 
921
                        </para>
 
922
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Answer 3</emphasis></para>
 
923
                        <orderedlist numeration="loweralpha">
 
924
                                <listitem><para>d - Deletes a partition</para></listitem>
 
925
                                <listitem><para>n - Adds a new partition</para></listitem>
 
926
                                <listitem><para>p - Prints the partition table</para></listitem>
 
927
                                <listitem><para>w - Writes table to disk and exit</para></listitem>
 
928
                        </orderedlist>
 
929
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Question 4</emphasis></para>
 
930
                        <para>Why do you need to use the sudo command?</para>
 
931
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Answer 4</emphasis></para>
 
932
                        <para>In Unix-based operating systems, you need to use the sudo command to run
 
933
                        programs that require administrative privileges.</para>
 
934
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Question 5</emphasis></para>
 
935
                        <para>Which of these file systems does Ubuntu use by default?</para>
 
936
                        <orderedlist numeration="loweralpha">
 
937
                                <listitem><para>Fat 32</para></listitem>
 
938
                                <listitem><para>NTFS</para></listitem>
 
939
                                <listitem><para>Ext3</para></listitem>
 
940
                        </orderedlist>
 
941
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Answer 5</emphasis></para>
 
942
                        <para>b) ext2</para>
 
943
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Question 6</emphasis></para>
 
944
                        <para>If you want to run a system command automatically at start-up,
 
945
                        where should you add the command?</para>
 
946
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Answer 6</emphasis></para>
 
947
                        <para>The command needs to be added to the /etc/rc.local file.</para>
 
948
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Question 7</emphasis></para>
 
949
                        <para>Is it possible to disable all the start-up services? Why?</para>
 
950
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Answer 7</emphasis></para>
 
951
                        <para>No, it is not possible to disable all start-up services because
 
952
                        disabling some services will stop your system from booting-up or running
 
953
                        properly.</para>
 
954
                </sect2>
 
955
                <sect2>
 
956
                        <title>Lab Exercise</title>
 
957
                        <para><emphasis role="strong">Exercise 1</emphasis></para>
 
958
                        <para>As a previous Windows user, you want to have a dual-boot configuration
 
959
                        on your computer and create a separate partition to run Windows on it. To
 
960
                        perform this task, you need to create a 5-GB primary partition and
 
961
                        format it with a Windows-compatible file system.</para>
 
962
                        <para>Option a: To create a Partition using GNOME Partition Editor:
 
963
                                <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
964
                                        <listitem><para>On the <emphasis role="strong">System</emphasis> menu,
 
965
                                        point to <emphasis role="strong">Administration</emphasis> and then click
 
966
                                        <emphasis role="strong">GNOME Partition Editor</emphasis>.</para></listitem>
 
967
                                        <listitem><para>In the drive drop-down box, select the hard drive you need
 
968
                                        to partition by specifying its logical name. The window refreshes and shows
 
969
                                        you a representation of the drive.</para></listitem>
 
970
                                        <listitem><para>Right-click the white bar and click
 
971
                                        <emphasis role="strong">New</emphasis> to create a new partition.
 
972
                                        The <emphasis role="strong">Create new Partition</emphasis> dialogue box
 
973
                                        appears, in which you choose the specifications of the new
 
974
                                        partition.</para></listitem>
 
975
                                        <listitem><para>In the <emphasis role="strong">New Size</emphasis> dialogue
 
976
                                        box, select the size of the new partition.</para></listitem>
 
977
                                        <listitem><para>In the <emphasis role="strong">Create as</emphasis> box,
 
978
                                        select <emphasis role="strong">Primary Partition</emphasis>.</para></listitem>
 
979
                                        <listitem><para>Next, specify the file system. Select ntfs.</para></listitem>
 
980
                                        <listitem><para>Click <emphasis role="strong">Add</emphasis> to compute the
 
981
                                        partition. The graphical display updates to show a new partition on the disk.
 
982
                                        </para></listitem>
 
983
                                        <listitem><para>If you are sure about the specification of the new partition,
 
984
                                        click <emphasis role="strong">Apply</emphasis>. The disk will be partitioned
 
985
                                        and formatted.</para></listitem>
 
986
                                </orderedlist>
 
987
                        </para>
 
988
                        <para>Option b: To create a partition using command Line:
 
989
                                <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
 
990
                                        <listitem><para>To initiate partitioning, run the fdisk command:</para>
 
991
                                        <screen><para>$ sudo fdisk /dev/sda</para></screen>
 
992
                                        </listitem>
 
993
                                        <listitem><para>Type <emphasis role="strong">n</emphasis> to add a new
 
994
                                        partition, and press <emphasis role="strong">ENTER</emphasis>.</para>
 
995
                                        </listitem>
 
996
                                        <listitem><para>Type <emphasis role="strong">l</emphasis> for a logical
 
997
                                        partition, and press <emphasis role="strong">ENTER</emphasis>.</para>
 
998
                                        </listitem>
 
999
                                        <listitem><para>Type <emphasis role="strong">p</emphasis> to print the
 
1000
                                        partition table. The output shows that a new partition has been created.
 
1001
                                        </para></listitem>
 
1002
                                        <listitem><para>Now that the partition is created, type
 
1003
                                        <emphasis role="strong">w</emphasis> to write the partition table to
 
1004
                                        the disk and press <emphasis role="strong">ENTER</emphasis>.</para></listitem>
 
1005
                                        <listitem><para>To format the disk, type the following command:</para>
 
1006
                                        <screen><para>$ sudo mkfs -t vfat /dev/sda4</para></screen>
 
1007
                                        <para>Replace sda4 with your device name.</para></listitem>
 
1008
                                </orderedlist>
 
1009
                        </para>
 
1010
                </sect2>
 
1011
        </sect1>
 
1012
</article>