Re: single partition worst-case scenarios

[Andreas Leitner <nozone@sbox.tugraz.at>]

On Tue, 2001-10-23 at 12:28, Aurelio Turco wrote:
> 
> If I install Debian on a single partition,
> what is the worst that can happen,
> in the following two cases (the two most
> cited justifications for having multiple
> partitions):
> 
>   1: A runaway root process fills up the disk.
>       (Will I not be able to get in as root and
>         kill the offending process?)

Even if you have several partitions, a root process should be able to
access all of them. So there should be no difference if you have only
one partition or several.

>   2: The filesystem becomes damaged.
>       (Will I not be able run from a rescue floppy
>         and repair the damage from there?)

Yep. But chances are high, that even if you have several partitions and
one get's damaged, you still won't be able to boot.

And with only one partition, you still can insert the install disk,
enter the shell and try to repair (fsck) the partition.

regards,
Andreas