[SOLVED] Install fails at disk partitioning--dual boot Win7

[PTSWhite]

Greetings,

I am new PCLInuxOS, but have worked various Linux distros off and on for the the past three or four years, the latest being Pardus 2011.2.  Using EASUS Partiton Master, I wiped the 150GB partition I had created for Pardus.  i then used Win7s install DVD to restore the win7 bootloader. The system is an AMD Quad, 4GB of RAM, and a nominal 1TB hard drive (960GB actually). PCLinuxOS 11.9 Full Monty runs fine from the DVD. However, when I try to install it to the unallocated 150GB partition I get an error message saying that I need 11GB of space but only 10GB are available. Repeated attempts using the automatic settings have failed, as has manual attempts.

I love PCLinuxOS's implementation of KDE, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Steve

[AS]

Hi and welcome,

being yours a 1 TB hard disk, it's possible that it's one of those disk that use a 4KB sector size ?
When running from LiveCD, open a teminal Konsole, su to root and post the output of the following command:
fdisk -l (the option is -L lowercase)

if for some reason fdisk command would fail, try:
parted -l

AS

[PTSWhite]

Thanks for the response, AS.

It looks like my drive's sectors are 512 bytes.

fdisk -l and parted -l results are below.  The Hitachi drive is my Win7 boot drive, and the one to which I want to install PCLOS. The ST3500320AS was a Win7 boot drive, but has since been relegated to a separate data drive.

Not wanting to damage anything, when faced with a choice to Ignore or Cancel, I chose cancel when fidsk displayed "Error: Invalid partition table - recursive partition on /dev/sr0."   

The three Linux partitions are the result of my last attempt to install PCLinuxOS.

What next?

-Steve


----------------------------------------------------------------
fdisk -l results:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x02e20d6e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *          63   976768775   488384356+   7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb1eb3544

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *        2048  1622934494   811466223+   7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sdb2      1622934495  1953520064   165292785    5  Extended
/dev/sdb5      1622934558  1648124414    12594928+  83  Linux
/dev/sdb6      1648124478  1656301499     4088511   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb7      1656301563  1953520064   148609251   83  Linux


----------------------------------------------------------------------
parted -l results:

Model: ATA ST3500320AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos                                                         

Number  Start   End    Size   Type     File system  Flags
 1      32.3kB  500GB  500GB  primary  ntfs         boot, type=07               
                                                                               

Model: ATA Hitachi HUA72101 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 1000GB                                                           
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B                                       
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system  Flags                   
 1      1049kB  831GB   831GB   primary   ntfs         boot, type=07           
 2      831GB   1000GB  169GB   extended               type=05                 
 5      831GB   844GB   12.9GB  logical   ntfs         type=83                 
 6      844GB   848GB   4187MB  logical                type=82
 7      848GB   1000GB  152GB   logical                type=83
                                                                               
                                                                               
Warning: Unable to open /dev/sr0 read-write (Read-only file system).  /dev/sr0 
has been opened read-only.
Error: Invalid partition table - recursive partition on /dev/sr0.               
Ignore/Cancel? c
Model: HP DVD Writer 1270t (scsi)                                               
Disk /dev/sr0: 694MB                                                           
Sector size (logical/physical): 2048B/2048B
Partition Table: unknown

[AS]

Thanks for the response, AS.

It looks like my drive's sectors are 512 bytes.

OK, asked only to be sure about.

fdisk -l and parted -l results are below.  The Hitachi drive is my Win7 boot drive, and the one to which I want to install PCLOS. The ST3500320AS was a Win7 boot drive, but has since been relegated to a separate data drive.

Not wanting to damage anything, when faced with a choice to Ignore or Cancel, I chose cancel when fidsk displayed "Error: Invalid partition table - recursive partition on /dev/sr0."

/dev/sr0 is you optical drive unit, ignore it.

The three Linux partitions are the result of my last attempt to install PCLinuxOS.

What next?

-Steve

Please note that the partition /dev/sdb5 is of type Linux but it is formatted as NTFS 
You need to format the Linux partitions as ext2 or ext3 or ext4 (suggested ext4, which is also the default).

----------------------------------------------------------------
fdisk -l results:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x02e20d6e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *          63   976768775   488384356+   7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb1eb3544

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *        2048  1622934494   811466223+   7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sdb2      1622934495  1953520064   165292785    5  Extended
/dev/sdb5      1622934558  1648124414    12594928+  83  Linux
/dev/sdb6      1648124478  1656301499     4088511   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb7      1656301563  1953520064   148609251   83  Linux


----------------------------------------------------------------------
parted -l results:

Model: ATA ST3500320AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos                                                         

Number  Start   End    Size   Type     File system  Flags
 1      32.3kB  500GB  500GB  primary  ntfs         boot, type=07               
                                                                               

Model: ATA Hitachi HUA72101 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 1000GB                                                           
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B                                       
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system  Flags                   
 1      1049kB  831GB   831GB   primary   ntfs         boot, type=07           
 2      831GB   1000GB  169GB   extended               type=05                 
5      831GB   844GB   12.9GB  logical   ntfs         type=83                 
 6      844GB   848GB   4187MB  logical                type=82
 7      848GB   1000GB  152GB   logical                type=83
                                                                               

My suggestion is to delete the 3 Linux partitions and the extended partition too, and restart the installation, when asked choose "use the free space". This choice will allow you to assign a bit more space to the first partition, say 20 to 30 GB for '/' filesystem, 4+ Gb for swap, and the remaining space for /home.

If something is not clear or if you need further help, please ask.

AS

[PTSWhite]

AS Said...

"My suggestion is to delete the 3 Linux partitions and the extended partition too, and restart the installation, when asked choose "use the free space". This choice will allow you to assign a bit more space to the first partition, say 20 to 30 GB for '/' filesystem, 4+ Gb for swap, and the remaining space for /home.

If something is not clear or if you need further help, please ask."

I believe that is what I did in the last failed installation attempt. I'll give it a go again and post results.

-Steve

[PTSWhite]

Using Gparted from within the Live DVD of PCLOS-FM, I deleted the partitions on the 1TB drive and resized the 500GB Partition down to 400 GB giving me respectively 150 and 100 GB of unallocated space on the drives.

fdisk -l results:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x02e20d6e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *          63   768002047   384000992+   7  HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb1eb3544

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *        2048  1622934494   811466223+   7  HPFS/NTFS

parted -l results:

Model: ATA ST3500320AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End    Size   Type     File system  Flags
 1      32.3kB  393GB  393GB  primary  ntfs         boot


Model: ATA Hitachi HUA72101 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End    Size   Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  831GB  831GB  primary  ntfs         boot


Warning: Unable to open /dev/sr0 read-write (Read-only file system).  /dev/sr0
has been opened read-only.
Error: /dev/sr0: unrecognised disk label

Then I started the installer from within the Live DVD and got an error message saying, "An error occurred--Not enough space available (10GB available while 11GB are needed). The same thing happened on successive attempts to install to the free space on both discs.  When attempting to re-run the installer both disks showed new partitions, so I ran fdisk -l again and got:


Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x02e20d6e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *          63   768002047   384000992+   7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2       768003390   976768064   104382337+   5  Extended
/dev/sda5       768003453   793177244    12586896   83  Linux
/dev/sda6       793177308   801354329     4088511   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda7       801354393   976768064    87706836   83  Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb1eb3544

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *        2048  1622934494   811466223+   7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2      1622934495  1953520064   165292785    5  Extended
/dev/sdb5      1622934558  1648124414    12594928+  83  Linux
/dev/sdb6      1648124478  1656301499     4088511   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb7      1656301563  1953520064   148609251   83  Linux

parted -l yielded:

Model: ATA ST3500320AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End    Size    Type      File system  Flags
 1      32.3kB  393GB  393GB   primary   ntfs         boot
 2      393GB   500GB  107GB   extended
 5      393GB   406GB  12.9GB  logical
 6      406GB   410GB  4187MB  logical
 7      410GB   500GB  89.8GB  logical


Model: ATA Hitachi HUA72101 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  831GB   831GB   primary   ntfs         boot
 2      831GB   1000GB  169GB   extended
 5      831GB   844GB   12.9GB  logical   ntfs
 6      844GB   848GB   4187MB  logical
 7      848GB   1000GB  152GB   logical


Warning: Unable to open /dev/sr0 read-write (Read-only file system).  /dev/sr0
has been opened read-only.
Error: /dev/sr0: unrecognised disk label

What should I try next?

-Steve

[AS]

I think you are right!

Full Monty require a lot of space, 11 GB for the base installation, probably more after few time. Please retry the following way:

delete again all 3 logical partition and when prompted choose "custom partitioning", then you will create 3 logical partition:

a '/' partition, say 30 GB
a swap partition, 5 GB
a '/home' partition using all the remaining space.

I think you hit a case where default PCLinuxOS create a 10 GB partition, which could be fine for all PCLinuxOS flavours except Full Monty.
Right now I don't know how are calculated the proposed partitions sizes, obviously look like this is a thing that need to be addressed in Full Monty.

AS

[PTSWhite]

Thanks again, AS!  That did the trick.  Up and running with the Full Mionty!

-Steve

[AS]

Thanks again, AS!  That did the trick.  Up and running with the Full Mionty!

-Steve

Welcome to the PCLinuxOS world! 

[Duke3z]

I think you are right!

Full Monty require a lot of space, 11 GB for the base installation, probably more after few time. Please retry the following way:

delete again all 3 logical partition and when prompted choose "custom partitioning", then you will create 3 logical partition:

a '/' partition, say 30 GB
a swap partition, 5 GB
a '/home' partition using all the remaining space.

I think you hit a case where default PCLinuxOS create a 10 GB partition, which could be fine for all PCLinuxOS flavours except Full Monty.
Right now I don't know how are calculated the proposed partitions sizes, obviously look like this is a thing that need to be addressed in Full Monty.

AS

I'm having the same problem but the above mentioned correction isn't working.  Using the "Custom Install" chain the lowest swap drive size is 7mb and no way of making it any smaller.  Other than that I've been able to do everything as stated in the quote.  Been pulling my hair out on this all day now.
d3z

[AS]

I think you are right!

Full Monty require a lot of space, 11 GB for the base installation, probably more after few time. Please retry the following way:

delete again all 3 logical partition and when prompted choose "custom partitioning", then you will create 3 logical partition:

a '/' partition, say 30 GB
a swap partition, 5 GB
a '/home' partition using all the remaining space.

I think you hit a case where default PCLinuxOS create a 10 GB partition, which could be fine for all PCLinuxOS flavours except Full Monty.
Right now I don't know how are calculated the proposed partitions sizes, obviously look like this is a thing that need to be addressed in Full Monty.

AS

I'm having the same problem but the above mentioned correction isn't working.  Using the "Custom Install" chain the lowest swap drive size is 7mb and no way of making it any smaller.  Other than that I've been able to do everything as stated in the quote.  Been pulling my hair out on this all day now.
d3z

Basically you need to have a large '/' partition, larger than say 20 GB, the swap size is not a problem for itself ...
How large is you disk ? how much free space if the disk is already in use ?

[Bald Brick]

I'm having the same problem but the above mentioned correction isn't working.  Using the "Custom Install" chain the lowest swap drive size is 7mb and no way of making it any smaller.  Other than that I've been able to do everything as stated in the quote.  Been pulling my hair out on this all day now.
d3z

Do you mean that the minimum size for a swap partition is 7 megabytes (7 MB) or 7 gigabytes (7GB)? A seven megabyte swap partition is so small that it would be useless. A 7 gigabyte swap partition may be more than you need. (And nitpicking: note that "7mb" actually stands for "seven millibits", which you cannot possibly mean. Case does matter....)