Can I delete swap partition created during installation

[searcher1]

I am using a Dell 6400 with a 500 GB HD and 1.5 GB RAM. Before installing PCLinuxOS I partitioned my HD as follows: 50 GB for Win XP and 2 GB for swap. When I was installing PCLinuxOS I chose the option to install using the remaining free space. After the installation I found that another 4 GB swap partition had been created. Is it ok for me to remove the swap partition that was created during the installation?

I am quite new to Linux so I hope this is not a stupid question. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[Xero]

Yes, it is. Go into the control center, and find the section to manage disks/partitions.  (can't recall exact name, and currently at work). Open it, and delete the one you no longer want, and make sure to save changes, and reboot.

[Xenaflux]

If you " delete " a partition, swap or another, ...all the partition names after the deleted partition will change.
This has the potential of screwing up your install.

If your swap is at the end of all partitions, then no problem, but I think it's between the / and /home

Note: if you have a 500Gb HD, I wouldn't bother, or maybe I would shrink the 4Gb to 500Mb


Of course, there may//will be an other solution to it, but you will have to wait for a more experienced person than me, like OP

[searcher1]

Thanks for the quick responses. Based on what you told me, I used GParted on a pendrive and deleted the swap partition. It was the last partition on the right. I then expanded the PCLinuxOS partition to occupy the space previously used by the swap. It's all worked out and it looks like it hasn't affected the installation.

Once again, many thanks for the help.

[denoobifyme]

I'm confused. Won't pclos just create another swap area within that section of the partition that expanded into the old partition?  I'm guessing you've reclaimed some disk space, which is what you wanted, since if it does create a swap area, it's not as large as the partition you deleted. (Annexed might be a better word.) Could someone confirm or correct my thinking on this?

[Bald Brick]

I'm confused. Won't pclos just create another swap area within that section of the partition that expanded into the old partition?

No, it will not. For a swap partition to be used for swapping it must be formatted as a swap partition. (And it should be listed in /etc/fstab.)

For how big it should be, see O-P's post here: http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,69910.msg573094.html#msg573094

I'm guessing you've reclaimed some disk space, which is what you wanted, since if it does create a swap area, it's not as large as the partition you deleted. (Annexed might be a better word.) Could someone confirm or correct my thinking on this?

I know that you can use a swap file instead of a swap partition, but I have no idea how to set it up: I never had any reason to find out.

[denoobifyme]

Soooo, why would searcher delete the swap partition, and what happens once it's deleted?

[Was_Just19]

Soooo, why would searcher delete the swap partition, and what happens once it's deleted?

There were two swap partitions  2GB & 4GB  so the OS, being capable of accessing and using more than one Swap partition had a total of 6GB swap available.

The second swap has been deleted, leaving the OS with a 2GB Swap partition.

The freed up space has been added into another partition, making that one bigger by 4GB.

The OP decided there was no need for 6GB swap space and so deleted the partition of 4GB Swap.

The OS now runs with 2GB Swap ........  and it is my guess that (with 1.5GB RAM) that swap will be rarely and little used.

[Bald Brick]

Soooo, why would searcher delete the swap partition,

As you wrote yourself: to regain some diskspace.

and what happens once it's deleted?

After it was deleted he had some unallocated space after his PCLinuxOS partition. Then he used GParted to enlarge that partition so that it swallowed up the unallocated space. Now his PCLinuxOS partition is four gigabytes larger than it used to be.

Edit: It seems that JohnBoy was faster....

[denoobifyme]

Thank you, JohnBoy. "One of two swaps was deleted" clears away all of my confusion. And Blackbird answered my question with his usual aptitude. I too have some space issues, which I'll start another thread for.

And while I was typing this, Blackbird answered another question. I just didn't see why deleting the only swap partition (which, as JohnBoy pointed out, wasn't the case) would be desirable.

[YouCanToo]

One question that no one has bothered to inquire about is why would Linux arbitrarily add swap on its own. The original poster said that he created a 2 gig swap space and after the install noticed that there was another swap space. Please explain how or why a second swap space would of been created by the installer.  Also in all the years of running Linux I have yet to have the installer add a 2nd swap space and least of all add the swap space at the end of the disk! Something sounds rather fishy about it.  At least the OP was able to recover the extra space and use it as he wished.
 

[searcher1]

Hi everyone,

I am the original poster of this thread and it was my first post in this forum. I never expected so many responses! I have read all your replies and learned quite a lot as your postings motivated me to play around with the OS. Another thing I discovered is that my /home has been installed in a separate partition from everything else. This must have been done during the installation because I certainly don't know how to do it. I understand this is a good thing but most distros don't do it automatically.

Thank you for helping me learn and keep the responses coming! 

[denoobifyme]

On an initial install, the default is usually "use existing partitions." Most new computers are partitioned into a C: drive for ordinary computing and a D: drive (data drive.). Unless you switch to "erase and use entire disk," PCLOS will put your home and/or swap on one of the partitions. 

I've been exploring the advantages of a separate /home partition. It came in handy for me because I had to reinstall several times while learning PCLOS and Linux. I'd reinstall the / (root) partition, but not format my /home partition, thus preserving my settings -- themes, firefox addons, etc. This saved time and aggravation, which is always an advantage. Word on the forum is, this advantage is negligible. With my last install, I Formatted and Used the Entire Disk because I couldn't get my Atheros wifi modem to connect. Turns out the IP's router needed to be set, and had nothing to do with either my computer or the OS I was trying to install.

I asked the forum how to get my /home on a separate partition. General consensus was six of one, half a dozen of another. 

YouCanToo had a good point. I too would like to know why PCLOS would create a second swap. Maybe since you have /home on a separate partition, it created one for / and one for /home, just to have it handy. (shrug) I'm starting to go with the notion that, as long as it works to your satisfaction, however it's arranged, trying other arrangements is an academic question.

[searcher1]

On an initial install, the default is usually "use existing partitions

When I installed I chose the option to use the free space. I had only two partitions before installing - XP on the extreme left and the swap I had created on the extreme right (as shown in GParted).