This thread was posted by jl_harry12 in the wrong section and has been transferred to here-----------------------saikee


Hi Saikee and others...
..this is a continuation from several posts on the other thread...last numbers of interest were: - h=57, s=66
I've called it hda's and Ubuntu partitioning, although the Moderator may care to find a better thread-name...

My reply:-
Hi Saikee
Have looked on my Ubuntu PC and today synaptic-loaded Gparted, which I'm looking at right now.!
I get the same dev/hda's.... (as Msg 57, but without the start/end addresses). Plus some graphical boxes above. Two large boxes and one, on the right, is rust-red, very small, so I'm guessing this is the “swap” file: dev/hda6 ...esp. as the colours match. +Moving the u/d arrow keys, puts a white line round the box that corresponds with the dev/hda colour-code. Goody, this looks sense.
There are four hda's...Starting top:-
#1=dev/hda1.....(closed padlock)....slate-blue box .....filesystem = ext3 . ......Size=56.89G .....used =3.31G ,... unused=53.57G ...flag=boot
the graphic shows the used part as a small proportion of this box
moving to dev/hda2 ((which alone, curiously has a hollow, down-point triangle which I can rotate to right-point with a hollow centre, when I select this triangle, it turns black! – ))

#2=dev/hda2 ..... (closed padlock,).....cyan box ...filesystem=extended. . . .Size=57.61G . . . . . . used - , ...unused - ... no flag
when dev/hda2 is selected, no box appears to be selected .
#3=dev/hda5 .. .. no padlock! .....slate-blue box .....filesyste, = ext3 . . .....Size=56.89G . . . . . .34.63 =used, . . . 22.27=unused . . . . . no flag
when dev/hda5 is selected the RH box is selected and it shows about half is “used” by a pale yellow tint.
#4=dev/hda6 .....(closed padlock) . . . rust-red box ......fs= Linuxswap . . . Size 729MB . . . . used, . . . unused . . . . . . . no flag
when dev/hda6 is selected the tiny box on the right is selected

I don't know, but it still looks like the 57.61 is not exactly "doing much" and I think this is the partition that I want to convert to FAT32 so it can be read by both Ubuntu and Windows. er, if it can be done "now" the drive is working OK with Ubuntu. Of course I could use the 57G for another purpose, such as a dual-boot , since I can store pictures on a portable HDD with USB interface. Since Ubuntu handles USB this shouldn't be difficult.
+ I suppose the issue is that I don't like to have 57G lying about not used, when I don't understand what I did/didn't do.

The partitioning software at the start was not, IMHO, the model of clarity considering Ubuntu is aimed at all-comers....indeed even after several Revisions there is nothing to tell me what to do ( Hint), the purpose of the Padlock is a mystery and the triangle, pretty though it is! I found a curios panel that grid-lists many HDD-forms of formatting against hda.....some are ticked and others have an angry circular arrow...grief it can only get better!

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Can anyone explain these effects?
Preferable with a suggestion as to the best route.
I hasten to add that everything that did work, still does. It's a stable system on a rather poor-spec PC.

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[[.and I've also added inkscape =drawing/drafting) and bb3 a burning package. AND gparted. Oddly PartedMagic,LiveCD wasn't on Synaptic-list, but I now have it on a CD (which proudly, I burnt from an iso file = my first!)....
...and I managed another iso today for Slax and whilst it works, allowing me to check my memory with patterns the rest of it appears to be Merlin-Magic ...ie very dark and best not be involved. More owls, please. This Slax runs as a LiveCD in the same way Parted Magic does.]]
The above results are from "within" Ubuntu, using the now-installed GParted. Golly, I hope it's clearer to you, since I'm not clear enough for me!
Thank you for yr patience. H.