Installation guide

Note
Keep in mind that the following illustrations are simplified in the interest of clarity
and do not reflect the exact partition layout that you encounter when actually in-
stalling Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
1.4.1. Using Unpartitioned Free Space
In this situation, the partitions already defined do not span the entire hard disk, leaving unalloc-
ated space that is not part of any defined partition. Figure 25.8, “Disk Drive with Unpartitioned
Free Space”, shows what this might look like.
Figure 25.8. Disk Drive with Unpartitioned Free Space
In Figure 25.8, “Disk Drive with Unpartitioned Free Space”, 1 represents an undefined partition
with unallocated space and 2 represents a defined partition with allocated space.
If you think about it, an unused hard disk also falls into this category. The only difference is that
all the space is not part of any defined partition.
In any case, you can create the necessary partitions from the unused space. Unfortunately, this
scenario, although very simple, is not very likely (unless you have just purchased a new disk
just for Red Hat Enterprise Linux). Most pre-installed operating systems are configured to take
up all available space on a disk drive (refer to Section 1.4.3, “Using Free Space from an Active
Partition”).
Next, we will discuss a slightly more common situation.
1.4.2. Using Space from an Unused Partition
In this case, maybe you have one or more partitions that you do not use any longer. Perhaps
you have dabbled with another operating system in the past, and the partition(s) you dedicated
to it never seem to be used anymore. Figure 25.9, “Disk Drive With an Unused Partition”, illus-
trates such a situation.
1.4. Making Room For Red Hat Enterprise Linux
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