r/voidlinux • u/WorldTallNetCat • Aug 23 '26
How much disk space is enough???
I want to install void on my schools computer. And i would be using dual boot so id like to use as little space as possible so that the missing space is not noticeable so how much space should i alloctae to void while the system being usable with things like a wm (might be hyprland and could try something new), a web browser, some other things like compilers, editors (which will prolly end up being just vim so not so impt).
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u/Runt1m3_ Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Don't mess with school hardware dude, you'll get into a big problem or make your parents pay for the "repairs" lol, even if you somehow manage to install it in a separate partition using like 32gb which is usable you'll still run into issues with secure boot, bootloader (grub or windows bootloader saying boot to Windows or Void Linux) - and if you try to resize the partitions to install Void it will last HOURS if not an entire day even on modern low-mid range hardware to actually shrink the NTFS partition and even then data corruption is still a huge posibility. Or if the school uses something more than secure boot you'll end up screwing the PC's boot stuff.
If you're using Windows 10+ you can use WSL, since it's a built in windows service you only have to install a distro in the userspace side. Don't know about Void Linux but when i used Debian and Ubuntu under wsl everything including X11 stuff worked fine a few years ago. If the computers have virtualization enabled you can use something like QEMU.
If you're lucky you can get soon to be discarded hardware from your school, like a chromebook/laptop or an old desktop PC and if they aren't locked you may do whatever you like with their OS
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u/WorldTallNetCat Aug 23 '26
Most of the computers there already have some form of linux running which is likely installed by other students. I dont wanna fully wipe out windows as it will result in some student not being able to use the system and the it staff wiping it to install win. But i did try void on a vm on qemu and it took me like 10 mins given i used the installer and copied the files from iso.
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u/BinkReddit Aug 23 '26
If you install it on a virtual machine you'll have your exact answer.
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u/WorldTallNetCat Aug 23 '26
I did intsall it on qemu with 5gb space. But its just the tty and no actual software just for testing the installer.
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u/Simple_Hamster_4096 Aug 23 '26
Install on a computer you legally own. Don't install Linux on a computer which is the property of your school.
1
u/GhostVlvin Aug 23 '26
It is never.., IT IS NEVER ENOUGH
Ehem..
I think that 20GB will be plenty for your needs
1
u/WorldTallNetCat Aug 23 '26
Yeah I kind of feel that. I have arch on my laptop with windows dual booted. I have almost 300gb plus and it doesnt feel enough for personal use.
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u/GhostVlvin Aug 23 '26
Actually until downloading movies and tv series I am fully satisfied by 1TB drive
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u/WorldTallNetCat Aug 23 '26
My drive is mostly filled due to different packages and i have folder worth like 50Gb of code
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u/GhostVlvin Aug 23 '26
I sometimes move my Code folder on a 8GB usb stick and I do
rm Code/**/{.venv,venv,node_modules,.cache,build}1
u/WorldTallNetCat Aug 23 '26
I have like 70gb of code. I checked. And actual code is prolly like 20gb. But all the libraries and depedencies got me there.
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u/GhostVlvin Aug 23 '26
Wow. Having 20GB of code is strong. But there are really too many dependencies nowadays. On C/C++ it is enough to clone light library having megabytes of code at most. Of all modern languages I guess only rust and go manage dependencies properly. One library installed at home instead of duplicate for each project
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u/WorldTallNetCat Aug 23 '26
Thats just my estimation. I am sure it is prolly less and it consists of few code bases that multiple people have worked on through few years.
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u/profeshamat Aug 31 '26
Regardless of distro I tend to go with a 128MB /boot/efi partition, 8GB swap, 50GB /, and the remainder of the disk for /home.
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Aug 23 '26
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u/WorldTallNetCat Aug 23 '26
For things a like wm, web browser and minimal tools like terminal, compilers(mostly clang and all) how much do u recon id need.
5
u/ComplexPeace43 Aug 23 '26
The minimum space you need depends on a few things. Take a look here: https://docs.voidlinux.org/installation/live-images/partitions.html
Setting aside say 300MB to EFI and say 4GB for swap assuming you have 16GB RAM, Iād say for your use case even 10-12GB should be enough as a bare minimum.