Easiest is to let the installer do it the way it wants to, which will probably, I have not installed Ubuntu for a couple of versions, be a single partition. For most purposes there is nothing wrong with a single partition.

There can be advantages to multiple partitions, but it depends on what you are doing. I decided on a separate /home partition so that in an emergency, such as I had two days ago, I can re-install the operating system, Debian in this instance, without losing my data or personal configurations.

I allow 8 GB for /, swap according to memory size, the rest is /home. With a plain Ubuntu desktop you could probably drop the / partition down to 6 GB or even 4, but unless space is a problem allow more space than is strictly required. The link above goes into detail about splitting it down further if you must, but home desktop installs really don’t need that.

If the partition/setup swap/formatting thing could get more user friendly and make recommendations and such, Ubuntu installation could be done by anyone.

I had to search all over the internet to figure out what the best way to set up the partitions was, and in the end I had to guess!!!

It should give you an example that would be most usable and ask you if that’s okay. You should NOT have to search all over the internet if you don’t know what the right size for your partitions would be best.
IMHO

And do register for a forum or four, people are keen to help. These are comments on an article, go to the forum – see the blue bar at the top of the page – to ask questions.

Don’t bother about the partitions, let the Ubuntu installer sort that out. As a beginner accept all the defaults. The Ubuntu people have taken pains to simplify the installation as much as possible. Last time I installed it for my daughter there was very little for me to do. Do read up about the installation first so you know what to expect, you will find a detailed account on the Documentation site – linked from ubuntu.com/support. There are quite a lot of steps to get there so here is the URL – https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall

As for forums, try http://ubuntuforums.org/ – you will find under Main Categories on the right “Installation & Upgrades, where you may find answers to your questions. NOTE – to ask a question you need to register (upper left corner).

If you need more software than comes with the CD or DVD, don’t do it the Windows way, read up on how to do it the Linux way, which is different, easier, and better.

If you are confused, just ask here, but you should start a new “thread” rather than use this one which is about a different problem.

Thanks for all the tips and help, but as an extreme new Ubuntu user (forth day!), I find something I can’t understand every time I make an attempt to locate help. Everyone (so far) assumes *SOME* knowledge, and either steps are left out or there are undefined, and very unknown words or there are apparently sensitive parts shown but not explained. As example, I went to our town library and I very accidentally met four young men who were also looking for an Ubuntu “How-to” book. They felt exactly the same. Worse, each of us had been to the Ubuntu forum and none of us could figure out how to even leave a message asking for help on the forum. It seems everyone can tell you how to make partitions in Ubuntu, but no one tells you how to install Ubuntu into those partitions so the swap file winds up in one, /home in another, / where it belongs,and if there are more, I don’t know what they are. Someone just told me that you click on that tiny little four pixel triangle to go into a forum. With zero experience, how do you know? That’s pretty small and I have never seen one before.

I’m not at all complaining, and I sincerely appreciate every gem of knowledge I get, but could I ask two things? First, is there a place I can go to find actual beginner help? and secondly, please remember when you provide something for a beginner, please work really hard to be complete. I have no idea how to do anything mentioned in this site, nor in any of the responses. Too new, and it’s all Greek to me.

My thanks to each of you for all you did to assist (really!) and in time I’m sure I will get it, but WOW is it tough at first. The guys in the library, finding there was no book, were flatly disgusted. They had tried to install Ubuntu for three days and couldn’t get it working. They assured me they would NEVER look at Ubuntu again. Hard to blame them when it’s all so foreign–except to those who understand it. I brought a new member to my sailing club who felt like that afterwards and never came again. It happens a lot. People don’t have much patience these days.

I’m sure Ubuntu silently looses many new followers because of this. I wrote to the people who write the Ubuntu help, and they will not respond or are just taking their time. In my tiny east Texas town, the cows outnumber computers 10 to 1, and the five of us may be the only ones even looking at Ubuntu. Now we are one. Please help me encourage polite and complete assistance for beginning Ubuntu users so this great and FREE underdog Ubuntu can gather the teeth to bite Microsoft in the butt!

Thanks again, and keep it coming…

maybe try this in terminal:

sudo apt-get autoremove

&

sudo apt-get autoclean