Thread: Just started running linux

What is the best format for a linux disk.

The version I hav ehas many options including fat32, ntfs, Ext2, ext3, reiser4, reiserfs and xfs.

Too many options for a linux nooby.

thanks

Originally Posted by Corgie Carrier

What is the best format for a linux disk.

The version I hav ehas many options including fat32, ntfs, Ext2, ext3, reiser4, reiserfs and xfs.

Too many options for a linux nooby.

thanks

I would ext3. It is similar to ext2 but with journalling, so there is less chance of a corrupted disc if the power goes off. Both are native to Linux.
FAT32 is the Windows 95/98 format, useful if you want the partition to be read by your Windows system, but not otherwise.
XFS is a Silicon Graphics FS, supposedly better for very large files - I would not use it.
Reiser file systems have a question mark over support as the single author of them (apparently a programming genius) is doing a long stretch of imprisonment for murder. They are very good, but there are arguments as to how they compare to the ext family.
Not mentioned is the latest "designed especially for Linux" fs - ext4. This is the default for the latest kernel versions, but may still have teething troubles. It is supposed to be faster than ext3, but this depends on exactly what you are doing. As I understand it the speed gain is by only storing changes when you save a file and then rewriting the new version when you close the file.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I would ext3. It is similar to ext2 but with journalling, so there is less chance of a corrupted disc if the power goes off. Both are native to Linux.
FAT32 is the Windows 95/98 format, useful if you want the partition to be read by your Windows system, but not otherwise.
XFS is a Silicon Graphics FS, supposedly better for very large files - I would not use it.
Reiser file systems have a question mark over support as the single author of them (apparently a programming genius) is doing a long stretch of imprisonment for murder. They are very good, but there are arguments as to how they compare to the ext family.
Not mentioned is the latest "designed especially for Linux" fs - ext4. This is the default for the latest kernel versions, but may still have teething troubles. It is supposed to be faster than ext3, but this depends on exactly what you are doing. As I understand it the speed gain is by only storing changes when you save a file and then rewriting the new version when you close the file.

John

Thanks John.

What is journalling and how important is it?
I have formatted with ext2, just so I could install and have a look. If it is important I can easily reformat it, no probs.

Originally Posted by Corgie Carrier

Thanks John.

What is journalling and how important is it?
I have formatted with ext2, just so I could install and have a look. If it is important I can easily reformat it, no probs.

It is only important if you have a power failure, for example. A journalling file system makes a file containing changes to a file (a journal) before it makes the changes, so that if the system is interrupted while making the changes, the damaged file can be reconstructed without going completely through the file.

It simply makes recovery either easier and quicker, or often, a non-event. It also reduces the time taken for automatic file checking, which Linux systems do every twenty or so boots, and can take a while for large partitions without journalling. But if you have formatted ext2 I would just leave it.

John

This may be another way to escape the Windoze operating system. Google stuff usually just works. I love the comment about users wanting an OS that stays running as fast as it did when new.

From today's press
Google goes after Windows with launch of Chrome OS

Posted by Sam Diaz @ 11:42 pm

Google said late Tuesday that it will launch the Google Chrome operating system, a computer operating system that initially will target netbook computers by offering a faster, better and more secure way for users to access Web-based applications.

The Chrome operating system should not be confused with the Android operating system that the company launched for mobile devices. While there will be some overlap between the two systems, Android was designed to work across a number of devices, such as phones, set-top boxes and netbooks. The Chrome OS is being designed to power computers that range from small netbooks to full-size desktop machines.

The Chrome OS is a direct attack against Microsoft’s lucrative - albeit vulnerable - Windows operating system. By now, it’s no secret that Windows Vista was a nightmare and that Microsoft is eager to launch its Windows 7 operating system, which is scheduled for release in the fall. From the official blog post announcing Google Chrome OS:

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

Google, which has long been singing the praises of cloud-based applications, is stepping up its game to bring the cloud to the mainstream. The operating system - a lightweight open source system that will run on both x86 as well ARM chips - is deigned to start up and have the user on the Web within seconds, as opposed to the long startup time on Windows. In addition, the company said that it’s “going back to basics” - just as it did with the Chrome browser - to redesign the underlying security architecture “so that users don’t have to worry about viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”

Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot

Some of you might find this interesting. These are the stats from our ubuntu based myth-tv. Keep in mind that it has good power management, so it writes to the bios on shutdown with the time of the next program it has to record, and then starts 5 minutes before. Without this the uptime would be much greater...

What hardware are you running in it ? I have a spare HD pci card and spare pc that i plan to use as a media pc but since loading XBMC onto a modded wireless xbox that i have running in HD i got sidetracked.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

What hardware are you running in it ? I have a spare HD pci card and spare pc that i plan to use as a media pc but since loading XBMC onto a modded wireless xbox that i have running in HD i got sidetracked.

I'm running a amd MB/processor (sorry... can't remember the speed but it's a few years old) with 4gb of memory (2 would be plenty), and everything is on board.

Critically I'm running two of the technistat tuners from this page.

Apparently there is a new version of Myth TV coming out in a couple of months that has many improvements.

Originally Posted by martinozcmax

This may be another way to escape the Windoze operating system. Google stuff usually just works. I love the comment about users wanting an OS that stays running as fast as it did when new.

Meh. At the moment it's just a browser and the OS will be intended for netbooks. There's no browser for anything other than MS at the mo'.

Vapourware.

Alan