Automatic Partitioning
Automatic partitioning allows you to perform an installation without having to partition your drive(s) yourself. If you feel uncomfortable about manually partitioning your system, choosing automatic partitioning is the best solution for you.
The Automatic Partitioning screen is only seen when performing a workstation- or server-class installation.
If you choose to manually partition, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide on the Documentation CD; see the Chapter Installing Red Hat Linux via the GUI.
 | Please Note |
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If the Automatic Partitioning screen does not appear, then you do not have enough free space available for this installation option. You can either exit out of the installation program and then make space available, or you can partition manually. |
In this screen, you can choose to continue with this installation, to partition manually using Disk Druid, to partition manually using fdisk, or use the Back button to choose a different installation method (see Figure 5-7).
| Please Note |
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Manual partitioning using Disk Druid or fdisk is outside the scope of this manual. Although Disk Druid will be briefly discussed, detailed information on both Disk Druid and fdisk is available in the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide on the Documentation CD. |
Automatic partitioning in a workstation-class installation will create / ("root"), <swap>, and /boot partitions for you in the free space available on your hard drive.
If you do not want to lose some or all of your data, you should either choose to partition manually or choose a different installation class.
 | Caution |
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A workstation-class installation will remove all data on all currently existing Linux partitions. If you do not want Red Hat Linux to be installed on your master boot record (MBR) or if you want to use a boot manager other than LILO, do not choose this installation method. |
If you are unsure how you want your system to be partitioned, please read the chapter on partitioning in the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide, on the Documentation CD.