Is it possible to partition an SSD into 2 partitions and be able to re-install Lakka to a dedicated partition without wiping the second partition? I’m looking at setting aside 2-5 GB for the Lakka OS and then use the remaining disk for roms.
I have not seen partitioning tools in Lakka, you need a Linux distro, like Ubuntu, boot from a pendrive and do the partitions.
GParted can be used to partition the disk but I’m not sure whether Lakka (during installation) allows you to format (wipe) a single partition as it looks like the whole disk would be formatted.
There has been a few times where I have needed to start from scratch but needed to move the roms off first and then copy back once Lakka had been installed. Having Lakka deal with the partition would make the job a lot easier and quicker.
Lakka does not allow you to create partitions. You can create partitions just by booting Ubuntu (or almost any distro) when you set up the disk, in the installation interface, no need to get to Gparted. Yes, it is very convenient to have it separate, it is the philosophy of Linux to separate the home, but I’m not sure it works, Lakka is intended to work on a full disk.
The reason I ask is because the live version of Lakka creates this environment on USB. LAKKA and LAKKA_DISK. This would be ideal as you also have the configuration on a separate partition. I’ll need to get hold of a spare device to confirm.
That additional partition is not created by Lakka, it is created by the program you use to copy the image to the flash drive. It takes the extra empty space and places it as a drive.
In Linux you can create the partitions you need, I have no experience in Lakka but it is a Linux distro, it should work, although, I have read that you can’t, that it formats and uses the whole disk.
True. It is more of how the image is restored but still proves that Lakka can work this way which I feel would be better if you needed to re-install Lakka without having to loose your configuration and roms.
Having tested on a spare laptop, unfortunately Lakka didn’t boot (stuck on the Lakka logo) but it did seem that the partitions were still intact even though it said it would use the whole disk during installation.
You can not compare a live version, with an installation.
Actually I have not said that you can not, it is Linux and that you can, but it seems that Lakka, by configuration, does not support multiple partitions and has no tools for partitioning.
It seems that it is not compatible with the installation on a partitioned disk, what may be possible is to first install Lakka on a disk without partitions, and then, start a live and with Gparted, make a partition.
By comparison, I’m only saying that the installed version could be made to work like the live version. This wouldn’t be a change that a user could make but the developer could make this happen if they wanted too.
From my test, the Lakka installation said that it would wipe the whole drive where in fact, it left both partitions intact. Unfortunately, Lakka never booted so was unable to place any roms on the second partition to test. Partitioning afterwards would probably work but I would need to take a backup prior to re-installing (just in case). I think I will need to do this with my live (main) setup.