User's Manual

108 Appendix E:An Introduction to Disk Partitions
As this figure implies, there is a difference between primary and logical partitions -- there can only
be four primary partitions, but there is no fixed limit to the number of logical partitions that can ex-
ist. (However, in reality, it is probably not a good idea to try to define and use more than 12 logical
partitions on a single disk drive.)
Now that we have discussed partitions in general, let us see how to use this knowledge to install Red
Hat Linux.
E.1.4 Making Room For Red Hat Linux
There are three possible scenarios you may face when attempting to repartition your hard disk:
• Unpartitioned free space is available
• An unused partition is available
• Free space in an actively used partition is available
Let’s look at each scenario in order.
Note
Please keep in mind that the following illustrations are simplified in the in-
terest of clarity and do not reflect the exact partition layout that you will
encounter when actually installing Red Hat Linux.
Using Unpartitioned Free Space
In this situation, the partitions already defined do not span the entire hard disk, leaving unallocated
space that is not part of any defined partition. Figure E–8, Disk Drive with Unpartitioned Free Space
shows what this might look like.