GPT 4 dummies (forget the book or webpages) - I finally get it. And so can y'all;
Linux Mint install on my Toshiba Satellite laptop replacing Windows dual boot completely.
And what do I get? I finally get it !!
Squeaky clean GPT partitioned drive.
Nice!
No interventions, fussing with Disk Partitioning software, etc.
I actually just realized this greatness of GPT when I went to move my Home folder to another Drive.
Actually I had been so keen to get Windows wiped and Mint installed I made the cardinal (to a linux-geek) sin of not making a seperate /home folder and partition.
When I went to change that, and started using Gparted I thought I'd have to muck around about the usual / primary , extended and logical drive shuffle.
Thats when I realized it was so easy. Just select free space size-> format, done..... partition forever!
up to 128 possible of these by default in GPT. see reference
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-gpt/index.html
GPT uses LBA exclusively, so CHS headaches are gone.
Disk pointers are 64 bits in size, meaning that GPT can handle disks of up to 512 x 264 bytes (8 zebibytes, or 8.6 billion TiB), assuming 512-byte sectors.
GPT data structures are stored twice on the disk: once at the start and again at the end. This duplication improves the odds of successful recovery in case of damage from an accident or a bad sector.
Cyclic redundancy check values are computed for critical data structures, improving the odds of detection of data corruption.
GPT stores all partitions in a single partition table (with backup), so there's no need for extended or logical partitions. By default, 128 partitions are supported, although you can change the partition table size if the partitioning software supports such changes.
Whereas MBR provides a 1-byte partition type code, GPT uses a 16-byte globally unique identifier (GUID) value to identify partition types. This makes partition-type collisions less likely.
GPT enables storing a human-readable partition name. You can use this field to name your Linux® /home, /usr, /var, and other partitions for easier identification within partitioning software.
But Like I said forget the books or websites - get yourself a Linux Mint 18 disk and install and forget the GPT details. You get the GPT benefits and no interferences (provided you have an EFI and/or UEFI and GPT capable machine) from the crappy factory Windows style install.
You see the factory install of this laptop like most with Windows had the usual quirky Windows drive setup. Hidden backup partition from Toshiba, to refresh the OS if wanted, etc.
Windows also alwaays tries to make it harder for any other OS to be installed..
Not anymore.
And even if I wanted to put Windows back on here (NOPE!)
At least the drive now has been properly GPT partitioned - with a big enough EFI partition 512MB.
Unlike the way I got it!
btw; if you ever need to move your ubuntu or mint home folder see;
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Partitioning/Home/Movingor
https://www.maketecheasier.com/move-home-folder-ubuntu/just remember to edit fstab (the second time - /media/home thingy) before you move the home folder the last time!
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