Mint-10 RC Gparted Problems

[Bruce R]

Using linuxmint-9-gnome-dvd-i386.iso in a Live session one can use its GParted 0.5.1 to initialise (Device, Create Partition Table...) and then create a 5.5GiB primary, bootable fat32 partition, plus an extended partition containing a fat32 logical drive, all on an '8GB' or '16GB' key.
By then using Linux Live USB Creator version 2.6 (final) and that ISO file, one can create persistent LinuxMint-9 on those USB keys, that works very well with its extra data storage.

But then using linuxmint-10-rc-i386.iso in a Live session, its Gparted 0.6.2 insists upon inserting 1 MiB of unallocated space in front of any created partitions, which eventually results in 'persistent Mint-10 on a USB key' not working properly and being unable to Take Screenshots to document those problems.

However, if LinuxMint-9's Gparted is instead used to prepare the USB key, the then created persistent LinuxMint-10 RC key works quite well, solving a lot of problems and even allowing Screenshots to be taken.
So, I don't know if it's possible, but please consider reverting to LinuxMint-9's version of Gparted for LinuxMint-10 formal release.

[Bruce R (bm007a0030)]

Assuming that 'Triaged' means ignoring 'the effected few' in favour of 'the uneffected many', here is a work-around for 'the effected few', which effectively replaces Mint-10's GParted 0.6.2 with Mint-9's GParted 0.5.1.

In an installed LinuxMint-9, use Synaptic to completely Remove 'gparted', ReStart and then use Synaptic to Add back 'gparted'. It's then possible to run Administration, APTonCD and select just Gparted in order to 'Burn' or create an ISO file that contains just 'gparted_0.5.1-1ubuntu3_i386.deb', which should be saved to an accessible drive.

Then, after installing the new LinuxMint-10, use Synaptic to Completely Remove 'gparted' and double-click on the saved DEB file, Close the 'later version is available' message and 'Install Package' which will install LinuxMint-9's version of GParted.

(This version then doesn't insert 1MiB of unallocated space that can cause problems and which I understand has been created to meet the demands of the new SSD drives that can be used instead of hard drives.)

If you want to retain this old version of GParted and not have it replaced by later versions, then use Administration, Update Manager, Edit, Preferences, Ignored packages to Add 'gparted'.

[Curtis Gedak (gedakc)]

It is possible that the problem you experienced is related to the partition alignment.

In GParted 0.5.9 and lower, the default was to align partitions to the nearest cylinder.
In GParted 0.6.0 and higher, the default is to align partitions to the nearest full MiB.

You could try choosing "Align to Cylinder" to see if this resolves the problem you are experiencing.

[Bruce R (bm007a0030)]

@Curtis Gedak
Thank You So very Much - that was the tip that I really needed !

Since GParted can only create or edit from a Live session, I think that implies already having an appropriate version on that Live disc, but I am now investigating whether having it as part of a persistent LiveUSB stick provides greater flexibility, like already incorporating the GParted Manual !

[Bruce R (bm007a0030)]

Yes, that was the definitive answer, with GParted's default no longer being 'Round to cylinders' when 'Create new Partition' is selected in a Live session, the default now being 'Align to: MiB', for reasons given in the latest GParted Manual, and as explained by the attached JPEG image extract.

So, if creating persistent LinuxMint-10 on a USB stick using LiLi 2.6 (Final), first prepare it with a LinuxMint-10 Live disc session, using its GParted to Create Partitions with 'Align to: Cylinder' selected.

(I shall let other Forum members know about this, as well as Patrick Verner, to avoid similar problems with his recent versions of PartedMagic.)

So, thanks again to Curtis Gedak.

[Clement Lefebvre (clementlefebvre)]

"Assuming that 'Triaged' means [...]"

--> When the implementation of a solution or a deeper analysis of the problem needs to go upstream we mark the bug as affecting the upstream project and mark our side of the bug as "triaged". This is the status we use on Launchpad for upstream bugs. In that case, it looks like it's the intended behaviour of the new gparted so I assume the upstream devs will soon close this bug. Now, maybe you know that and you were expecting us to revert to the latest version of gparted for the stable release of Mint 10, which we decided not to. There's no need to feel bad about it, we don't ignore anyone here, there's limited resources and we try to make an impact where we can make a difference, when we're more comfortable in following upstream decisions, please don't take it against us. We exceptionally deviate from base-related decisions that are made upstream, but only in exceptional circumstances, and usually pre-RC to ensure we get the maximum feedback on it.

[Bruce R (bm007a0030)]

@Clement Lefebvre - Thank you for taking time out from your incredibly productive activities to explain.

However, as you will see from other entries, I had simply failed to appreciate that GParted's default settings had been changed from the 'no problems' settings used in the superb LinuxMint-9.
Thanks to Curtis Gedak's intervention, I downloaded his latest GParted Manual, found the not too obvious 'Specifying Partition Alignment' entry and spent ten hours checking it all out on two different rigs with two different makes of USB stick, and also checked out Patrick Verner's PartedMagic 5.6 whose GParted suffered from the same new default setting, that case not being helped by the absence of a 'Help, Contents' hypertext Manual as has been included with LinuxMint-10 RC.

In wonderful hindsight it might have been better to make the new GParted's default setting 'Cylinder' rather than 'MiB', with an on-screen note that said 'use MiB setting for SSD drives', but it's not a perfect world. I am just glad to have got to the bottom of this little mystery and be able to pass on some practical advice !

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

Since this change in gparted is fully intentional I'm invaliding the task against gparted. If Mint has problems caused by the 1mb alignment, then that needs fixed. It also seems to me that the status of the Mint task should not be Triaged, since it has not been assigned to a package and given an importance level, but that's up to the Mint guys.

[Bruce R (bm007a0030)]

Agreed, because an even earlier version of Gparted, as included within an 'obsolete' LinuxMint7 CD, version 0.4.3 with default 'Align to Cylinder' is what is actually needed to uniquely prepare USBkeys for persistent USBkey creation using subsequent and different versions of StartUp Disk Creator.
For example, LinuxMint 9's creator is then needed for persistent LinuxMint-9, -10 or -12 USBkeys, whilst LinuxMint-11's creator is needed for persistent LinuxMint-11, PinguyOS11.04, Ubuntu 11.10 or Ubuntu 12.04 USBkeys. I think that I've got that right and don't ask me why. I just use 'wot works' to explore those distribution releases on several different rigs.
Also please note that if the USBkey is prepared with LinuxMint-7's Gparted along the lines of the attached screen shot, its DATA partition makes it function as a conventional Windows USB DATA key, with the Linux bootable partition being hidden from view, making it a great data transfer tool. (crazy)