Solved Drive Format and Swapfiles?

[Gainer]

My Local Machine is a Mini PC with has a 500GB drive and 16GB RAM and came with Ubuntu installed.

Things on my "I Do Not" list:

• Dual Booting
• VM's
• Play Games
• Play movies like mp4 etc.
• and... Not storing any User Data on the OS drive. Data files that may be created by apps like Temp files will be left to their default locations.

OS Drive Formatting:
According to the Linux Mint Installation Guide, during install I will be given the opportunity to make some choices. If I choose to install "something else", I will have the...

• Choice: Erase Everything - Yes
• Choice: Formatting - ext4
• Choice: Partitioning - 1 unless SwapFile is considered a partition, then 2
• Choice: SwapFile- Yes?, Size? and is it considered a partition?

I have read (maybe too much) about Linux SwapFile.
What the recommended size of SwapFile and/or
During installation, LM22 it will create a (default) 2GB file or Not. No clear answer either way.
Recommend to be same size as RAM
Double the size of RAM
or etc, etc, etc.

What seems to affect my computer proformance (LM22) the most is Amazon Prime Video. Amazon (site) moves along while browsing/shopping. Also selecting Prime (Home) & browsing for a movie, all good. Select a movie to Play... might get there in a couple of minutes. IF it plays it will be interrupted by spooling. Will a large Swapfile help this? like 4GB or more?

All the rest of tasks/apps I use I have tested on my Thumb Drive and preform well. Efficiency should increase when I am using LM22 on this local machine.

Size vs available room is not a problem with at least 400GB's beyond the OS and apps (and/or apps I may want to install later).
-----------------
Data stored on external USB Drives of various sizes from 32GB to 2TB
Data Drive Format: NTSF
Must have Read/Write/Share access to User Data Files in Linux and Windows.

ie data files .ods & .odt and other formats need to be read/write/share for both platforms. I use LibreOffice on both Linux Mint22 and Windows 11.

I have one program that is Windows Only. This the only reason I will keep one windows machine off-line. I may use it less than 1% of the time but it is a "Must Have". I have used it for approx two decades. I have know the developers and owners the entire time and there are no plans to add a Linux version. Their efforts are a cloud version (which looks real good and I am doing some testing for them). I prefer not to use cloud based for various reasons of which one of the least is my unrelable internet. I do have very fast FiberOptic - if/when I have service. Another reason would be, intrrupting a movie is one thing, but losing connection to a database that MUST be open during production cannot be tolerated. I still am going for 100% no Microsoft. I'll be happy at 99% for a wile more.

Thank you for your comments, recommendations and observations.

 

[Condobloke]

I run 32GB of ram. No swap on my main PC

Works for me

If I am installing on another machine, I simply allow the installer to make the decision re swap. Saves all that reading and trying to decide between a million differing opinions.

Again...it works.

 

[Fanboi]

What seems to affect my computer proformance (LM22) the most is Amazon Prime Video. Amazon (site) moves along while browsing/shopping. Also selecting Prime (Home) & browsing for a movie, all good. Select a movie to Play... might get there in a couple of minutes. IF it plays it will be interrupted by spooling. Will a large Swapfile help this? like 4GB or more?

I think this is why...

I prefer not to use cloud based for various reasons of which one of the least is my unrelable internet.

I'd look into that internet issue first. 90% likely to be the cause.
I could stream at 1080p on a 4GB ~9yo laptop just fine. I'm sure you could stream on even less -- consider the media boxes built with low spec SBCs. I doubt it's swap, put it that way.
But it depends on your browser and Amazon's behavior. See, generally there's a certain level of reading ahead of time that's cached to disk when playing content. Maybe Amazon restricts this because of fear of "the pirates" (which is funny because most stuff goes up the day it's streamed, some is even leaked before launch).

I have one program that is Windows Only. This the only reason I will keep one windows machine off-line. I may use it less than 1% of the time but it is a "Must Have". I have used it for approx two decades. I have know the developers and owners the entire time and there are no plans to add a Linux version.

Have you tried running this program on WINE? If it's old, it'll probably work, especially if it's not a game. Otherwise just use a virtual machine. Honestly, dual-booting is not worth it. It's a PITA at best. If this software is that old, it'll likely run on Win7, too and that'll take up very little space on a virtual HDD. There are plenty ways to share data between guest and host, too, and none of them are super technical. I used to network share, now I just use a mounted image, because I seldom even use a VM these days.

My Local Machine is a Mini PC with has a 500GB drive and 16GB RAM and came with Ubuntu installed.

OS Drive Formatting:
According to the Linux Mint Installation Guide, during install I will be given the opportunity to make some choices. If I choose to install "something else", I will have the...

• Choice: Erase Everything - Yes
• Choice: Formatting - ext4
• Choice: Partitioning - 1 unless SwapFile is considered a partition, then 2
• Choice: SwapFile- Yes?, Size? and is it considered a partition?

I have read (maybe too much) about Linux SwapFile.
What the recommended size of SwapFile and/or
During installation, LM22 it will create a (default) 2GB file or Not. No clear answer either way.
Recommend to be same size as RAM
Double the size of RAM
or etc, etc, etc.

Recommended "double your RAM" starts to lose my favour at 16GB RAM and up. 32GB swap for a desktop is insane. The only benefit you'll get is if you hibernate your machine and your RAM's chocked full. I usually go with 8GB swap, regardless of my RAM size. The reason is I use a partition, not a swapfile, so in case I ever need a large amount, it's there as there is software that insists on more swap, but it's not what you'd be running on a home PC.

 

[Trenix25]

I have 16 GB of physical RAM on my Linux box and watch Amazon Prime Video movies and don't have the buffering problem, but then I often have a solid Internet connection. I would guess that the buffering problem is related to your network, not about having sufficient RAM.

How much swap space you need really depends on your personal needs. I would recommend a swap partition over a swap file. You can use /usr/bin/dd to create a swap file by using dd if=/dev/zero of=/.swap bs=4M count=whatever status=progress and then you will have a swap file of 4 MiB times count. Then use mkswap /.swap to prepare it for use. Then use /usr/sbin/swapon /.swap or whatever you want to call it. The swap file or swap partition will use an extra 4096 bytes of space for management so make sure to add that in.

I use an 8192 MiB swap partition. You can set vm.swappiness in /etc/sysctl.conf to fine tune system swap performance. I set up the 8 GiB swap partition when I was using a laptop that had 4 GiB of physical RAM, though only 3 of those were actually acessible.

Try using /usr/bin/top to see how much memory your system is using. It will need some for buffer space, and will use a lot for cache space. Look for available memory in the lower right corner of the stats at the top of the screen. That tells you just how much you have left. You should have at least 1 GiB or so to keep things working. Your "free" memory will normally stay kind of low because it will be used for the system cache. The cache size will change depending on the needs of your system.

Signed,

Matthew Campbell

 

[Gainer]

I think this is why...
I'd look into that internet issue first. 90% likely to be the cause.

Thank you for all you feedback. During my tests I monitor my internet feed very closley on this machine AND thru other machines on the network.

I apologize, I'm afraid I was not as clear as I should have been. Unreliable FiberOptic Internet... sorry I was not describing Vairable Quality. IF/WHEN I have connection, I receive what I'm paying for, my full 100down 30up - fantastic - or it's nothing. No Internet is not very common for me, but I cannot depend on it here at this location like I was able to before I moved here.

Before, for more than three decades I was about 30 miles from Microsoft and would have to cut the FiberOptics cable to loose Internet connection (or electricty). I moved 1600 miles away, remote, isolated, FiberOptics... when it's good it's really good or nothing. Electricty... ? But here no city lights, no traffic noise, no traffic and really nice neighbors - somewhere.

Amazon Prime... after I click on the PLAY button, it is the only time I have any problems with any delay of any kind. Any other site, or any other part of Amazon is not affected at all.

I have even loaded my browser down with 8 or more windows open with many tabs running. YouTube all playing some tutorials, open a session on Amazon, Walmart, work on documents and spreadsheets and send/receive email, etc.

As long as I have connection it all works fine and speedtests show I'm getting a bit more than I'm paying for, typically 110/35 steady. WiFi and Cat6. Click the Play Button in Amazon and it will grind down and eventually end up at the "stop playing or wait" message.

I've pretty much eliminated my Internet connection as the problem. I'm taking my search to find the problem/solution in a different direction. I will post my findings.

Maybe Amazon restricts this because of...

I'm beginning to think it's not Amazon as "Play" works almost instantly in Windows11 with half as much RAM. Same browsers, set the same preferences.

I use a partition, not a swapfile, so in case I ever need a large amount, it's there as there is software that insists on more swap, but it's not what you'd be running on a home PC.

To be clear, you are suggesting a Partition of 8GB dedicated to a SwapFile. And/Or, larger than 8GB is OK as long as the Swapfile in in the Partiton dedicated to that task? OK. "but it's not what you'd be running on a home PC". I'm not sure I understand, can you clairify for a noobie? Am I also to assume that "Erase everything" and formatting ext4 is understood to be OK - Prefered ?

NTFS for dedicates User Data Drive?

Have you tried running this program on WINE?

Tried Wine... didn't care for it... not everything worked correctly and I like GUI. I'm probably the few that prefer the GUI. Windows (including Win11Pro) and Linux Mint Cinnamon.

Took me for ever to go from DOS 3.0 to Windows 95 or even use a mouse. I didn't choose Linux because I didn't like Windows... love the GUI. I just do not care for Microsofts' direction the last couple of years. After 40 plus years - DOS 1.0 till Win11 I did Tech Support - end now by Christmas 2024.

I have three (3) Windows programs I have used for decades and really do not want to give up. I have tested two (2) using Bottles ( like Bottles GUI ) and seem to work fine through testing. We will see when in production. The third one mentioned before will not work in Wine/Bottles. As I mentioned I will not use DualBoot or VM's.

 

[Gainer]

I have 16 GB of physical RAM on my Linux box and watch Amazon Prime Video movies and don't have the buffering problem, but then I often have a solid Internet connection. I would guess that the buffering problem is related to your network, not about having sufficient RAM.

I apologize, I'm afraid I was not as clear as I should have been. Unreliable FiberOptic Internet... sorry I was not describing Vairable Quality. IF/WHEN I have connection, I receive what I'm paying for, my full 100down 30up - fantastic - or it's nothing. No Internet is not very common for me, but I cannot depend on it here at this location like I was able to before I moved here. (more above)

How much swap space you need really depends on your personal needs. I would recommend a swap partition over a swap file.

I have no idea what I need. I'll be running LM22 and some of the default installed apps. Maybe Bottles with two small Windows Apps.

Try using /usr/bin/top to see how much memory your system is using.

It looks like I am using 2.27GB RAM

IF I am going to use a Swap Partition or a Swapfile (or is it a Partition with a Swapfile in it?) - I would like to create it when I install LM22 on the local machine. 8GB's on a 500GB drive doesn't seem like a lot of room compaired to proformance.

Look for available memory in the lower right corner

13,444GB

Thank you!

 

[Gainer]

Thank you - almost sounds too simple

I run 32GB of ram. No swap on my main PC

Works for me

If I am installing on another machine, I simply allow the installer to make the decision re swap. Saves all that reading and trying to decide between a million differing opinions.

Again...it works.

I am going to buy another Mini PC of the same and try different setups. The buffering when using Amazon Prime is the only slow down on this system and only after I click "Play" (see my orginal thread) and more return comments above mentioning why I do not think it is my Internet connection.

 

[Condobloke]

In my experience, buffering is related to either lack of ram or lousy internet connection....possibly even both

 

[Condobloke]

from @wizardfromoz .....

You only need swap if

You want to hibernate
You have less than 4GB RAM
You want to edit videos
You want to edit/make music
You want to make extensive use of Google Earth
You find you have a need for it.
Ubuntu stopped requiring a swap partition at install with Bionic Beaver 2016. Mint followed suit. Following that, installers stopped asking you if you wanted a swap partition.

Mint already ships with a roughly 1 GiB swap file built in.

MX and Debian do the same but using zswap or zram.

and from Jarret B (Staff)

https://www.linux.org/threads/lfcs-working-with-swap-memory.51109/

if this were me, I would concentrate on your connection.....get it sorted and that will take that part of the guesswork out

Then, if you still have buffering etc....Are there too many machines using that same connection ?

And if that is sorted, RAM would be the obvious goto answer....although I would be having a chat with the suppliers of the PC's

Buffering should not happen with 16GB of ram, playing a video with nothing else happening. I note that you are streaming from Amazon. That could bring its own share of problems with it.

I play tv shows/movies constantly......the majority have a .mkx format......I do not download that format deliberately....I download them and they play. Thats it
If I were to download a movie from another source, it would likely download in .mp4 format....and again it would play just like all the rest do.
Your connection. give it a speed test

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

Mine looks like the below:

and the official blurb from speedtest.net is below

Yes, having thought about what I wrote, I would definitely sort out your connection first

Is there anything installed that ensures security on your connection that in ordinary circumstances would not be present ?

I am thinking in terms of something similar to an AV...they slow things down greatly......perhaps for a router/modem etc....I really have no idea what I am talking about here, but you have gone to a lot of trouble re your connections security. With windows running, that is a very wise move.

With Linux....not so necessary. The only security device I have here, is Linux with a firewall .....and me.

I am rambling. Take an axe to that connection...see what falls out

 

[bob466]

Modern Linux Distros now come with a 2GB swap file and that's all you need...the days of creating swap partitions and root partitions are long gone.

My Tower has 16GB of Ram and as you can see...swap in not used...I never use more than half.

When you install Linux Mint...you choose...Erase Disk and Install Linux Mint.
By doing this...the Mint installer will install Mint to the whole Drive...I have a 500GB SSD...as shown here...

The small green partition is the Boot Partition and the rest is the Root Partition. This is the easy and best way to do it and you'll never have problems...hope this helps.

 

[Trenix25]

You can use as much swap space as you want. There really is no such thing as too much swap space available, provided your hard drive and computer can handle it. I would point out that using swap memory will be considerably slower than using physical RAM so you should keep that in mind. If you are doing something that requires a huge amount of physical RAM then you should probably get more physical RAM. I would suggest a good 16 GiB, given that you have 16 GiB of physical RAM, plus the 4096 bytes for management. Hopefully then you'll never need to use it all. It's ok to have too much, but can be a bummer when you have too little. Setting up partitions happens first before writing your new file systems. Changing partition sizes can be a real headache so it's best to set it right to begin with. I added another 16 GiB swap file as /.swap to my system because I wanted to run an AI model, but later found out that it still requires actual RAM to work so it didn't help.

Signed,

Matthew Campbell

 

[Gainer]

I going to try and respond to all of the above that seems to be revelant, needs comment or to clairify, and reduce duplications. I will try to make each answer as brief as possible but wrapping context around a simple can get verbose... sorry.

Thank you for your comments, input and feedback.

from @wizardfromoz ....

You only need swap if

You want to hibernate
You have less than 4GB RAM
You want to edit videos
You want to edit/make music
You want to make extensive use of Google Earth
You find you have a need for it.
Ubuntu stopped requiring a swap partition at install with Bionic Beaver 2016. Mint followed suit. Following that, installers stopped asking you if you wanted a swap partition.

I don't do any of the above added to the list of my "I do not" in my opening thread. So maybe just let LM22 do its thing and I'll work withthe defauld 1GB Swapfile for now.

and from Jarret B (Staff)

https://www.linux.org/threads/lfcs-working-with-swap-memory.51109/

Yup covered that. @Jarret B sure writes good docs. I am too newbie to understand all of that but I did pay a bit more attention in an effort to understand. I do speed-read a lot - understanding what I can but referencing for the future. My head kind of just works that way.

When you install Linux Mint...you choose...Erase Disk and Install Linux Mint.
By doing this...the Mint installer will install Mint to the whole Drive...I have a 500GB SSD...as shown

Since my local machine also has 500GB SSD and 16GB RAM I'll most likely start out.

Yes, having thought about what I wrote, I would definitely sort out your connection first

Is there anything installed that ensures security on your connection that in ordinary circumstances would not be present ?

I am thinking in terms of something similar to an AV...they slow things down greatly......perhaps for a router/modem etc....

"Is there anything installed that ensures security on your connection that in ordinary circumstances would not be present ?" No, have not (will not) use an AV, etc for decades. Firewall ON (to defaults) Other tools/programs like SpyBot.... etc are run manually launched during off-production.


Internet Quality:

I apologize, I'm afraid I was not as clear as I should have been. Unreliable FiberOptic Internet... sorry I was not describing Vairable Quality. IF/WHEN I have connection, I receive what I'm paying for, my full 100down 20up - fantastic - or it's nothing.

My Internet vary rarely drops below 89/down, 9/up, I am paying for 100/20 and when I have internet it typically produces better speeds than that consistantly.

At my desk/workstations I have 3 machines and 5 monitors. One of the monitors on a Windows11 Pro machine is dedicated with SpeedTest/Ookla when testing.

Ookla has been on every browser on every machine we installed - on screen or bookmarked since around 2006-07 when Mike opened shop. This gives me access to SpeedTest at a moments notice. 29 years in the NW with Microsoft, EsumSoft and Ookla in the "neighborhood" we became used to "perfect" Internet and electricty. In the NW we may have lost power where we were once every couple of years, here in the SW a couple of time a year. Enough to install battery backup at every station.

So fantastic when connected. My grump here is the Internet goes out once or twice a month for up about 10 minutes. Working with our ISP we found about 95% of Internet outages can be attributed to them. Considering Elon... and converting to solar.

From the pole to the router, wire has been certified and all equipment replaced in the last 14 months. WiFi and Cat6 all test good at every station. Ram in the "troubled machine" Pass - and after OS loaded and Internet in use there is 11,200GB RAM available out of the 16GB.

Load ---- Test
Currently 6 local machines. Common for the test is Firefox - all same settings & preferences that have been used for at least three years with successful results. The two Linux machines were identical 500GB SSD & 16GB RAM - average available with no swap was 11GB RAM available. Windows machines similar with 250 to 500GB SSD & 12 to16GB RAM
1 Ubuntu
1 LM22
4 Windows machines. (10 & 11)Pro
All have been in production for 5-9 years.
All are up to date. OS, Firmware, Software/Apps
All do not show any system errors or software errors.
Two of the Windows 10 machines are in "the other side of the house from the WiFi router. They are a consitant 82%-85% (of the paid for speeds 100/20) with no errors.

The following "tests" was either done on...

1. an individual machine, launched thru to "Play" a movie in Amazon with all others turned off
2. an Individual machine, launched thru to "Play" a movie in Amazon with all others logged in but idle.
3. all machines, launched thru to "Play" a movie in Amazon, going from one machine to the next launch a movie as fast as possible.

ReBoot as appropriate between tests

LibreOffice, Write create a document
Firefox in the two Linux machines came installed with the OS
Firefox in Windows - 1 was an installed version, three used the Firefox Portable version
Youtube was launched, same tutorial was chosen to launch
In Amazon, same movie was chosen to launch and the one random movie

I could make the test environment longer, but why? In every case, all points of the test passed with flying colors, launch speeds were great, proformances with apps and browsers were very good, YouTube played a tutorial and Amazon played a movie with no buffering including the YouTube tutorial.

EXCEPT LM22 - was proforming well but dropped to a crawl when clicking Amazon "Play". In a few minutes the typical error message ..."wait to continue or quit" and eventually timed out. Failed each of the three test. Windows machines worked as they have for the past years.

I still do not think it is Internet or RAM/Swap related. Digging further, the Firefox that was installed with/in LM22 the following was found.

• Version 128 (current 132)
• History Settings do not allow choice to a full clean at Exit
• Message on the top of the page in Settings "Updates disabled by your admnistrator"
• Manual updates only - Difficult to accomplish
• Settings in About:Config - most seem not to update/change beyond the session.
• New message about keeping Firefox History traffic for my benifit. Their choice what they consider good for me (a bit too microsoft sounding)

Have done much more research but need to post this before it needs to be put in book form.

If you made it this far - Thank you

 

[Gainer]

I would point out that using swap memory will be considerably slower than using physical RAM so you should keep that in mind

Hey - Thank you for your overview - all good points. After considering what you mentioned, I'm going with the default - 500GB OS SSD, erase the drive, will be one partition and the 1GB swapfile - if offered

Seems some folks get offered the choice, or it will do it anyhow, or no swap no matter what you choose. I will figure that out at install time and see what happens.

My original assessment of hardware needs: I do not do anything that required more than 6GB Ram but I wanted a 500GB OS Drive. Well that came at a higher price about of 10 bucks more and I had to take the 16GB RAM. I do not game, media creation/editing, and Google Earth about once a year. Heck I don't even text

So with my "I do not do" list above and the list that Wizaedfromoz above and your suggestions along with condobloke's and a few tidbits from the rest - off I go. One of the main lessons I learned over the 40+ years of IT with Microsoft... OS drive is disposable - just do not allow any User Data on it - so I can clone, replace or reinstall and move on in a pretty fast pace.

 

[Condobloke]

Use a different browser.....perhaps Brave instead of Firefox......then run your test again.

Early morning here 4.30AM...will re read again later

 

[Fanboi]

I'm beginning to think it's not Amazon as "Play" works almost instantly in Windows11 with half as much RAM. Same browsers, set the same preferences.

Could still be a browser thing. What plugins you're running, Amazon's analytics of your specs and "trust"... I mean Chrome is quite different on Windows than Linux. For example, I can only use Teams on Edge on Linux for presenting. Chrome won't behave, FF just doesn't work. Now IDK why, it could be an MS bug or it could be MS up to no good trying to push their crap onto me but that's the work machine and I only need it to work... Have you checked your DRM settings, BTW? In most Linux builds they're disabled by default.

To be clear, you are suggesting a Partition of 8GB dedicated to a SwapFile. And/Or, larger than 8GB is OK as long as the Swapfile in in the Partiton dedicated to that task? OK. "but it's not what you'd be running on a home PC". I'm not sure I understand, can you clairify for a noobie? Am I also to assume that "Erase everything" and formatting ext4 is understood to be OK - Prefered ?

I prefer my swap on its own partition. I personally use 8GB because of that. A swap file can be resized, a swap partition cannot. You don't need a large swap unless everything listed earlier, or you're running a server-type app (anything including a local database), so that answers what I meant by "it's not what you'd be running on a home PC" as in a daily machine, not a production or enterprise machines. If you want more than 8GB, I suggest you follow spec.

In short, just trust the installer for now. Choose all the defaults except maybe keeping extra for swap. By the next install, you'll have a better understanding and can allocate your partitions however best suits you -- if you need to.

 

[Aristarchus]

I doubt that OP can do anything about connection speed (need admin). But speed/connection/network security can and should be tweaked at the kernel level (including sysctl).
FF 128 is the latest ESR so probably that is what OP shop have.

To be clear, you are suggesting a Partition of 8GB dedicated to a SwapFile. And/Or, larger than 8GB is OK as long as the Swapfile in in the Partiton dedicated to that task? OK

No, this does not make any sense: you have swap partition (dedicated) or swap file (on any partition and no need for swap partition).
If you have insufficient RAM, maybe setup ZRAM.

 

[Gainer]

First and foremost Thank You! All of you for sharing your experience, knowledge and opinions on my RAM/Swap file/partition debacle. In so many ways I am my own worst enemy. Typically, if it’s a simple concept, I need to make it “difficult”. I guess it is just part of my DNA. I have learned a heap.

This may take awhile sorting this post out as the original problem became two almost separate issues.

STAFF NOTE - in fact, it did. I have carved off several posts which can be found in a separate thread here
https://www.linux.org/threads/firefox-browser-between-distros-browser-related-questions.54127/
Wizard

​

​

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#1. Since I do none of the following

• VM’s
• Dual Boot
• Play Games
• Make/Edit/Play Media (video/music/movies/pictures/etc)
• Hibernate
• Extensive use of Google Earth
• Personal wants/needs that I know of in the foreseeable future - and I certainly have more than 4GB RAM with 16GB (12-13GB available)

I most likely do not need and do not anticipate a future need for a Swapfile or separate Swap Partition.​

I’m going to start with KISS as possible and run without any Swap file or partition. I choose the ext4 format for the entire 500GB OS drive. External USB drive devices will be NTFS.​

Clouding the decision on Swap or no Swap was thinking that the performance/spooling challenges were “RAM” related, network/Internet/infrastructure related and the/a solution could be a Swapfile/Swap Partition did not pan-out (see #2)​

 

[Gainer]

personally I dislike Snap anything. So does Clem from Linux Mint. His reasoning is below

I did a lot of reading before I made my first install stick. All the pros and cons referenced about Snap steered me away from Ubuntu/Snap and towards LM. At the time, with very little understanding at all, Snap didn't seem to "fit" the Open Source concept. Got a bunch of learning to get done... Snap, Flatpak, etc. yet for another day.

With that said, I know that 99.999999% of the answers to anything is out there. It's asking the right question.

 

[Gainer]

When you install Linux Mint...you choose...Erase Disk and Install Linux Mint.

By doing this...the Mint installer will install Mint to the whole Drive...I have a 500GB SSD...as shown here...

The small green partition is the Boot Partition and the rest is the Root Partition. This is the easy and best way to do it and you'll never have problems...hope this helps.

I do like KISS... and your suggestion helps! I had to ask to "cover my bases cause I don't know what I don't know).

I'm going with "Erase Disk...." option like you said (and a couple of others) . As far as "you'll never have problems..."??? HA! I can create enough of my own by accident.

"Me hopes me grammar aint bad" . Dude... I'm OK with ya-ll grammer, it's your Rottweiler accent that's hard on my Westie ears