Manual Partition Installation Guide

Installing TeaLinuxOS with manual partitioning gives you full control over how your disk is structured.
This method is ideal for advanced users who want to:

  • Separate system and user data (e.g. create a custom /home partition)
  • Use different file systems such as BTRFS or XFS
  • Set up LVM, encryption, or specific partition layouts

Manual Partition Preview

Steps for Manual Partitioning

  1. Boot from the Installation Media
    Insert your TeaLinuxOS USB/DVD and boot your computer.
    Choose the option to start the installation.

  2. Choose Installation Type: Manual Partitioning
    On the partitioning screen, select the Manual option.

    Manual Partition Selection

  3. Disk and Partition Setup
    You will see a list of available disks and existing partitions. From this screen, you can:

    • Create new partitions (e.g. /, /home, swap)
    • Choose mount points
    • Set file system types (e.g. EXT4, BTRFS)
    • Resize or delete partitions

Partition Table Behavior

  • If a partition table already exists, a new one will follow the same type:

    • MBR → MBR
    • GPT → GPT

  • If no partition table exists (common in virtual machines), a new GPT table will be created by default.

Firmware and Mount Point Requirements

UEFI Systems (Requires GPT)

  • /boot/efi – at least 512 MiB (FAT32)
  • / – at least 20 GiB

⚠️ Without /boot/efi, UEFI-based systems will fail to boot.

Legacy BIOS Systems (MBR or GPT)

  • / – at least 20 GiB

EFI partition is not required for BIOS installations.

SWAP Configuration

  • If no dedicated swap partition is created, TeaLinuxOS uses dynamic swap (zram) by default.
  • You may still manually create a traditional swap partition if you prefer manual control.

💡 For most users, dynamic swap is sufficient and saves disk space.

Review and Confirm

Before proceeding, review all partition and mount point configurations.
Only the selected partitions will be formatted — unless you clicked “New Partition Table”, in which case all partitions on the disk will be removed.

Final Step: Continue Installation

Once confirmed, the installer will move to the next steps such as timezone selection, user account setup, and finishing the installation process.