# Partition size for Ubuntu



## sweetloop

I'm going to install Ubuntu for a dual boot with xp pro. This will be my first time installing linux and I'm sure I'll have a few questions. The first question I have is how big of a partition is needed for Ubuntu?


----------



## Spatcher

Doesn't matter. How big is your hard drive?


----------



## sweetloop

250GB.

I'm not worried about running out of space. I'm just wondering how much room the installation takes up.


----------



## FredFinn

When you install you can tell it how much or how little to use. It will also tell you it's minimal size. It's default partition settings will try to set it to use all the free space on the partition. 

If you are new to linux, let it detect what it thinks it should do (by selecting use freed space) BUT BEFORE FINALIZING select manually edit partitions and set the size you want it to use.

If you are familiar with linux partitions, then just select edit partitions manually when you are prompted.


----------



## Bartender

http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/

Best website I know of for dual-booting Ubuntu. My Ubuntu install is occupying about 4.5 GB after adding Automatix and a few other odds & ends.


----------



## Skie

This will depend on how much you plan to install/download. For just the install itself, you'll need about 2 - 3GB of space. If you go crazy and decide to install both Gnome and KDE plus lots of programs, you'll need about 5 - 6GB. At this point, any additional space will be available for downloading whatever it is you want during your normal day to day routine. Also, you'll need a swap partition which should be twice the size of your RAM (if you have 512MB of RAM, create a swap partition that's 1GB in size).


----------

