Drive Full Error! (PBG3 233)

[Andrew Stout]

>From: "Thomas J. Buhr" <worldwide_counterpoint@fastmail.fm>
>>  a done deal but not quite. The PBG3 is presently configered with 3
>>  partitions, 1 on the internal 2GB drive (for the Mac OS 8.5) and 2 3GB
>>  partitions on an expansion bay 6GB drive. One of these 3GB partitions
>>  is empty and available to YDL.
>
>Can you see the empty 3GB partition on the MacOS desktop?
>If so, from the YDL point of view, you have no space to install YDL.
>The space you intend to install YDL is already configured for MacOS
>and not available to YDL.
>First, you need to delete the empty MacOS partition, then create
>at least two partitions (/ and swap) to install YDL, which you can
>not see from MacOS.
>You do not need to change any part of your current MacOS partitions
>which are vital for your system.

To expand:  The YDL installer disk partitioner is really bitchy:  it 
won't let you install YDL on a partition it didn't create itself. 
This is supposedly to keep you from wiping out other stuff 
accidentally, but I say, if you're up to tackling linux, you can 
probably keep your partitions straight with the proper warnings. 
Also, it will crash if you try to delete a partition using the YDL 
partitioner (which it will allow you to do, even though that's where 
you're most likely to kill stuff you didn't want to) and then create 
a new partition for YDL.
Here's what to do to install YDL on this partition without zapping 
the stuff on the other partitions, and without using a real disk 
partitioner such as perldisk (which you probably don't have).
1. I recommend using the text installer.  The graphical one is more 
stable than it used to be, but just to be safe.  I have the same 
machine (PBG3 233) and I've had more success with the text installer.
2. Select Custom installation.  Don't worry, it's not as hard as it sounds.
3. Proceed through the installation in the normal, recommended way 
until you get to the disk partitioning step.
4. Find the 3Gb partition you've set aside for linux--make sure you 
pick the right one, of course, because you're about to wipe out 
everything on that partition.
5. select this partition, and delete it.  It should now say something 
like "unallocated" or "free".
6. save this partitioning.
7.  QUIT.  Get out of the installer!  This is why you chose custom 
mode.  You now want to exit the installer and reboot.  Boot back into 
MacOS, just for a breather and to make sure you really did zap the 
right partion.
8. Now, run the YDL installer again.  This time when you get to the 
partition step, those 3Gb will be unallocated and free to be 
partitioned for YDL.  Create the partitions you want for linux out of 
this free space:
   a. You don't really need a bootloader partition.  You're gonna be 
using BootX, and even if somebody does come up with a bootloader that 
needs it's own partion, it sounds like you want a dual-boot system, 
so you won't want it anyway.
   b.  You do want swap space.  How much RAM do you have?  I've souped 
my PBG3 up with 288Mb RAM, and I gave it a 512Mb swap space.  But I'm 
working with a 20Gb internal hard drive (shelled out a lot of $ for 
that last fall...).  Anyway, make some swap space...128Mb, maybe? 
Depends how much storage you're willing to sacrifice.
   c.  If you know what you're doing you can make separate partitions 
for /home, /usr, /var, et cetera.  I didn't know enough to do this, 
so I just made one big partition for /.
9.  Proceed with installation as normal.

Good luck, hope this helps,
Andrew "finally! somebody I can help, instead need people to help me!" Stout