Adds option to manual install to partition disk using cgdisk

Signed-off-by: ihutchin <ianeta.hutchinson@intel.com>
2026-09-06 05:41:44 +00:00 · 2017-10-01 21:18:22 -07:00
parent 487391bdac
commit 5e983578d6
19 changed files with 319 additions and 11 deletions
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ By following this guide and selecting the :guilabel:`< Manual(Advanced) >`
 menu option as seen in figure 1, you can do the following
 additional tasks during the |CL| Installer setup:

-* modify the disk layout using the cgdisk utility
+* :ref:`modify the disk layout using the cgdisk utility<cgdisk-manual-install>`
 * add additional command-line parameters to the kernel
 * create a hostname for your system
 * create an administrative user
@@ -31,10 +31,7 @@ Begin the manual installation process
   Figure 7: :guilabel:`Choose installation Type`

 #. This will bring you to the ``Choose partitioning method`` screen as shown
-   in figure 8. If you have already set up your hard drive for a Linux system
-   then you can select the :guilabel:`< Use default partition and mount scheme on target device >`
-   menu item and press :kbd:`Enter` to move to the next step of the installer
-   setup process. This is the option that we will take for this guide.
+   in figure 8.

   .. figure:: figures/cmi5of13.png
      :scale: 50 %
@@ -42,9 +39,21 @@ Begin the manual installation process

      Figure 8: :guilabel:`Choose partitioning method`

-   If you want to set up your hard drive partitions before moving to
-   the next step, select the :guilabel:`< Manually configure mounts and partitions >`
-   menu.
+   If you want to set up your hard drive partitions before moving to the next
+   step, select the :guilabel:`< Manually configure mounts and partitions >`
+   menu item and follow the instructions for :ref:`using CGDISK to set up your Clear Linux hard drive<cgdisk-manual-install>`.
+
+   .. toctree::
+   :maxdepth: 1
+
+   cgdisk-manual-install
+
+   If you have already set up your hard drive for a Linux system
+   then you can select the :guilabel:`< Use default partition and mount scheme on target device >`
+   menu item and press :kbd:`Enter` to move to the next step of the installer
+   setup process. This is the option that we will take for this guide.
+
+.. _choose-target-device:

 Choose target device for installation
 =====================================
@@ -255,16 +264,16 @@ Visit our :ref:`tutorials <tutorials>` page for examples on using your |CL|
 system.

 .. _`information about stateless`:
-   https://clearlinux.org/features/stateless
+   https://clearLinux.org/features/stateless

 .. _`wiki page about Hostnames`:
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostname

 .. _`software bundle list`:
-   https://clearlinux.org/documentation/clear-linux/reference/bundles/available-bundles.html#available-bundles
+   https://clearLinux.org/documentation/clear-Linux/reference/bundles/available-bundles.html#available-bundles

 .. _`learn more about telemetry.`:
-   https://clearlinux.org/features/telemetry
+   https://clearLinux.org/features/telemetry

 .. _`latest kernel's command-line parameters`:
   https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.html
@@ -0,0 +1,299 @@
+.. _cgdisk-manual-install:
+
+Clear Linux Partitioning Using CGDISK
+#####################################
+
+These instructions will guide you through the initial setup of your hard drive
+partitions using the :command:`cgdisk` utility as part of the |CL| manual
+installation process.
+
+Prerequisites
+*************
+
+This guide assumes that you have followed the :ref:`bare-metal-install`
+guide and intend to :ref:`install Clear Linux manually <bare-metal-manual-install>`
+by choosing the :guilabel:`< Manual(Advanced) >` menu item on the
+``Choose Installation Type`` |CL| Installer setup menu as shown in figure 1:
+
+.. figure:: figures/cmi-step4.png
+   :scale: 50 %
+   :alt: Choose installation Type
+
+   Figure 1: :guilabel:`Choose installation Type`
+
+
+Partition using CGDISK
+**********************
+
+You will need to create a :abbr:`GPT (GUID Partition Table)` since
+|CL| only supports the :abbr:`UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)`
+specification. For a complete description of the :command:`cgdisk` utility and
+how to use it, you can visit Rod Smith's `GPT fdisk tutorial`_.
+
+For this guide we will start with a hard drive that has not been
+partitioned and we will use the entire drive for this |CL| installation.
+
+#. On the ``Choose partitioning method`` menu, shown in figure 2, select the
+   :guilabel:`< Manually configure mounts and partitions >` menu item to
+   manually partition your hard drive.
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cmi-step5.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: Choose partitioning method
+
+      Figure 2: :guilabel:`Choose partitioning method`
+
+   This will show the current device on your system that you can partition. In
+   this example, shown in figure 3, :file:`/dev/sda` is available but
+   currently does not have any partitions defined.
+
+#. Select the :guilabel:`< Partition /dev/sda >` menu item and press
+   :kbd:`Enter` to begin the process of modifying this disk.
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cmi-step6.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: Choose a drive to partition using cgdisk tool
+
+      Figure 3: :guilabel:`Choose a drive to partition using cgdisk tool`
+
+   The :command:`cgdisk` application will start and display the current
+   settings for :file:`/dev/sda` as shown in figure 4.
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cgd-1.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: cgdisk
+
+      Figure 4: :guilabel:`cgdisk`
+
+Linux Partition setup
+*********************
+
+In order to properly set up the |CL| partitioning scheme, we will be creating
+three partitions using the :command:`cgdisk` utility in the following order:
+
+  #. EFI boot partition
+  #. Linux swap partition
+  #. Linux root partition
+
+For a complete understanding of these partitions, you can review the
+`Linux partitioning scheme`_ information found on https://wiki.archilinux.org.
+
+Create EFI boot partition
+=========================
+
+#. With the current free space highlighted in the :command:`cgdisk` utility,
+   you can either select the :guilabel:`[ New ]` and press :kbd:`Enter` or
+   just press the :kbd:`N` key to begin the process of defining a new
+   partition.
+
+   You will be prompted to enter the first sector. Press the :kbd:`Enter` key
+   to accept the default value that is shown in the application.
+
+   .. note::
+      In this example, the first sector starts at 2048. For more information
+      about alignment using the cgdisk tool, see
+      `Rod Smith's Partitioning Advice about alignment`_.
+
+#. The program will then ask for the size of the partition. For this example,
+   enter ``512M`` and press :kbd:`Enter` to create a partition that is 512MB
+   in size. This is shown in figure 5:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cgd-2.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: cgdisk - New
+
+      Figure 5: :guilabel:`cgdisk - New partition`
+
+#. The next step in creating the new partition is to define the type of
+   partition it is. The :command:`cgdisk` utility has pre-defined partition
+   types that can be displayed by pressing the :kbd:`L` key at this prompt to
+   show the hex codes you can use. These codes are used to set the correct
+   :abbr:`GUID (Globally unique identifier)`for *GPT partition types*. This is
+   shown in figure 6:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cgd-3.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: cgdisk - hex codes for partition types
+
+      Figure 6: :guilabel:`cgdisk - hex codes for partition types`
+
+   The codes that you are interested in using for your three partitions are:
+
+   * ef00 - EFI System
+   * 8200 - Linux swap
+   * 8300 - Linux filesystem
+
+#. Since we are currently creating the EFI boot partition, enter ``ef00`` as
+   the hexcode for this partition and press :kbd:`Enter`.
+
+#. The final field to enter is the partition name. enter ``boot`` and press
+   :kbd:`Enter` to finish setting up the EFI boot partition. You will see that
+   the first partition will be displayed as a 512MiB partition type of
+   ``EFI System`` and a partition name of ``boot`` as shown in figure 7:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cgd-5.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: cgdisk - boot partition defined
+
+      Figure 7: :guilabel:`cgdisk - boot partition defined`
+
+Create Linux swap partition
+***************************
+
+You are now ready to create the Linux swap partition. You will notice in
+figure 7 that there are 2 areas defined as free space. The first area at the
+top of the list, the 1007.0 KiB free space, is due to starting the previously
+defined EFI boot partition at sector 2048. This is discussed
+in `Rod Smith's Partitioning advice about alignment`_.
+
+#. Move your cursor to highlight the larger free space of 334.8 GiB at the
+   bottom of the partition list before you begin to create the Linux swap
+   partition. This is shown in figure 8:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cgd-6.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: cgdisk - free space selection
+
+      Figure 8: :guilabel:`cgdisk - free space selection`
+
+#. To create the Linux swap partition, with the largest free space highlighted,
+   select the :guilabel:`[ New ]` command or press the :kbd:`N` key and enter
+   the following values for the Linux swap partition:
+
+   .. code-block:: console
+
+      First sector:  press :kbd:`Enter` to select the default value
+      Size in sectors:  4G
+      Hex code or GUID:  8200
+      Enter new partition name:  swap
+
+    Your :command:`cgdisk` partition list should now look like figure 9.
+
+    .. figure:: figures/cgd-8.png
+       :scale: 50 %
+       :alt: cgdisk - swap partition defined
+
+       Figure 9: :guilabel:`cgdisk - swap partition defined`
+
+Create Linux filesystem partition
+*********************************
+
+The final partition that you will create is the Linux filesystem partition to
+be used as the root mount point for you |CL| installation.
+
+#. Highlight the largest free space entry at the bottom of the list and select
+   the :guilabel:`[ New ]` option or press the :kbd:`N` key and enter the
+   following values to create the Linux filesystem partition:
+
+   .. code-block:: console
+
+      First sector:  press :kbd:`Enter` to select the default value
+      Size in sectors:  press :kbd:`Enter` to select the default value, which
+                        will be the remainder of available space on the disk
+      Hex code or GUID:  8300
+      Enter new partition name:  root
+
+   With all the partitions now defined, you should see a list similar to what
+   is shown in figure 10:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cgd-9.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: cgdisk - defined partitions
+
+      Figure 10: :guilabel:`cgdisk - defined partitions`
+
+#. If you are satisfied that the partition scheme is correct, you will need to
+   write this GPT to the hard drive. Select the :guilabel:`[ Write ]` command
+   or press the :kbd:`W` key and you will be prompted with:
+
+   .. code-block:: console
+
+      Are you sure you want to write the partition table to disk? (yes or no)
+
+#. Enter ``yes`` and press :kbd:`Enter` to write this data to the hard drive
+   and then select the :guilabel:`[ Quit ]` command or press :kbd:`Q` to exit
+   the :command:`cgdisk` utility and return to the |CL| manual installation
+   process.
+
+   You will see the partitions that you just created as shown in figure 11 and
+   ready for the next step in the |CL| installer setup process.
+
+#. Move your cursor to the :guilabel:`< Next >` field and press :kbd:`Enter`.
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cmi-step6-done.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: defined partitions
+
+      Figure 11: :guilabel:`defined partitions`
+
+Set mount points
+****************
+
+The ``Set mount points`` menu will set the mount points that the |CL|
+installer will use for your |CL| installation and is shown in figure 12.
+
+.. figure:: figures/cmi-step7-start.png
+   :scale: 50 %
+   :alt: Set mount points
+
+   Figure 12: :guilabel:`Set mount points`
+
+In this menu you will need to set the mount points for the boot and root
+partitions and select to format them.
+
+#. Highlight the EFI System partition type
+   entry and press the :kbd:`Enter` key to edit this item. The
+   ``Set mount point of sda1`` menu will be shown and you will need to enter
+   the following information to set the mount to the :file:`/boot` directory
+   entry as shown in figure 13:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cmi-step7-boot.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: Set mount point of sda1
+
+      Figure 13: :guilabel:`Set mount point of sda1`
+
+#. Do the same for the Linux filesystem partition type by highlighting the
+   :guilabel:`sda3` menu entry and entering the information shown in figure 14
+   to set the :file:`/` root directory:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cmi-step7-root.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: Set mount point of sda3
+
+      Figure 14: :guilabel:`Set mount point of sda3`
+
+   The final :guilabel:`Set mount points` menu item will look like figure 15:
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cmi-step7-done.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: Set mount point completed
+
+      Figure 15: :guilabel:`Set mount point completed`
+
+#. Move your cursor to the :guilabel:`< Next >` field and press :kbd:`Enter`
+   to proceed to the :guilabel:`Warning!` menu to accept your changes as shown
+   in figure 16. highlight the :guilabel:`< Yes >` field and press
+   :kbd:`Enter` to accept these changes and move on to the next step of the
+   |CL| manual install process.
+
+   .. figure:: figures/cmi7of13.png
+      :scale: 50 %
+      :alt: Warning
+
+      Figure 16: :guilabel:`Warning`
+
+   This completes the process of manually setting up your hard drive
+   partitions and you can now :ref:`continue with the Clear Linux manual install<choose-target-device>`.
+
+.. _`GPT fdisk tutorial`:
+   http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/
+
+.. _`Rod Smith's Partitioning Advice about alignment`:
+   http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/advice.html#alignment
+
+.. _`information about swupd`:
+   https://clearlinux.org/features/software-update
+
+.. _`Linux partitioning scheme`:
+   https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/partitioning#Partition_scheme