Re: [gentoo-user] SSD partitioning and migration

[Paul Hartman]

On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 4:22 PM, luis jure <ljc@××××××××××××.uy> wrote:
>
>
> hello list,

Hi!

> i want to migrate my system, currently in a HD, to a new SSD. i thought it
> would be easy, but i decided to read a little before partitioning the disk
> (my first SDD) and now i'm really confused...
>
> i intend to have only two partitions in the SSD: one for / and the other
> for /home. i have another HD for storage, where i'm going to put swap.

Sounds like a good plan. I used the same strategy here.

> apparently it's better to use a GPT partitioning. are there any catches i
> should take into account? what about grub, can i just install it later on
> the ssd?

GPT is not required, if you use MBR it should work just as well. If
you use GPT you must enable GUID partition table support in your
kernel and ensure your boot loader supports it.

> thanks for any comment or pointers, i found so many different "guides"
> saying different things that i'm really confused.

Here are the basic steps I used for doing the same thing:

1. partition SSD (start sector at a multiple of 1MB to ensure proper alignment)
2. format new partitions using discard-capable filesystem like ext4, xfs, btrfs
3. mount them in a temporary mount point
4. rsync your filesystem from old drive to new drive
5. edit /etc/fstab on the new drive to use the new mount points
6. edit boot loader config to point to correct drive
7. install boot loader on new drive if it becomes your new boot device
8. (optionally) swap drive cables so the new drive shows up first if
it is your new boot device

Depending on whether you use UUID, labels, or device names you may not
need to change names or swap cables in your computer so drives show up
in the correct order.

Good luck :)