Installing Ubuntu with a Separate /HOME Partition

Having a separate /home partition makes restoring your Ubuntu desktop and/or upgrading to a newer release a lot easier.
Most experienced Linux users will usually include a separate /home partition during the installation of their operating systems, (it is possible to add a /home partition at a later time, though slightly more complicated).

Ubuntu is a Linux based OS, so a separate /home partition is easily included during the installation process.
Below are the steps necessary for a new installation from the "partitioning" steps onward. (There are plenty of other "Install Ubuntu" how-to's" floating around out there, (e.g. - YouTube link at the right), so I'll only show the steps required at the partitioning stage).

Put the Ubuntu installation CD in the CD-Drive, restart the computer, (if the computer doesn't automatically boot from CD, a Boot-Menu can be accessed by holding down the F12 key while the computer boots - if that doesn't work, temporarily change the boot-order in the computer's BIOS - here's a link to a page listing the most common keys used to access the BIOS - usually it's F1, F2, F3, F10, or Delete), then follow the direction to begin the installation process.

When the installer reaches the partitioning stage, you'll see a window like the image on the left.
Select the option to "Specify partitions manually (advanced)", then click "Forward".

The next window you arrive at will show all current partitions on the hard-disk - if there are any - their size, location on the disk, and file-system types.

There are several different scenarios possible at this point. Chances are your computer already has, or had, Windows installed on the hard-disk and there are pre-existing NTFS partitions. If you're keeping Windows and want to have a dual-boot set-up, select the right-most Windows partition, (generally, that's the last partition on the list), and select "Change" from the menu at the bottom. A pop-up window will appear showing the partition's properties. Don't change anything other than the size shown at the top, (usually in megabytes). You'll need to free up at least 6 gigabytes of space - that's 6000 megabytes - and preferably a bit more than that – I usually aim for a minimum of 7 - 10 gigabytes. Now click "Forward/OK.

If you're not keeping Windows, delete the existing partitions by highlighting a partition in the list, then clicking "delete" in the menu. (Under some circumstances, existing partitions will be mounted at boot and you'll have to unmount them before you can manipulate them. You can do this by selecting a partition from the list, right-clicking to bring up a dialog and selecting "unmount" from the menu).

Next, set up the 3 partitions for Ubuntu: The first will be root (/), the second can be the SWAP partition, and the third as the home (/home) partition.

Once you've finished deleting or resizing existing partitions, select the available "Free Space" in the window, then "New" from the menu at the bottom. A pop-up dialog window will open. Depending on the amount space you've made available, make this first partition a minimum of 4 gigabytes, (4000 magabytes), 5 gigs if you've got the room, making sure you keep enough space available for your SWAP and /home directories.

SWAP should, at a minimum, be the same as the amount of installed RAM, and /home will be whatever remains once root (/) and SWAP have been taken care of, (NOTE: On laptops, swap needs to be 1.5 times the amount of installed RAM for sleep and hibernate to function properly).
Select "Beginning" for the location, then click on the "Use as" drop-down menu and select either Ext3, or Ext4. – (Ext4 is a newer file-system type that offers slight performance gains, whereas Ext3 is tried-and-true – you choose).

Next, select the mount-point. From the drop-down menu select /. That's the one with just a simple forward-slash. Not /boot, or /var, just /.
Then go ahead and click "OK".

Now repeat the above steps for SWAP, ( with SWAP there's no mount-point), and /home – as I've mentioned, make your SWAP partition 1-1.5 times the amount of installed RAM – for new-comers there's always a temptation to make a huge SWAP partition – Don't! It's wasted space. (Ubuntu will even run without SWAP, but you'll get a warning about stability).

When done, select "OK" again, then finally "Forward". A final partitioning screen will open showing what changes are going to be made. READ IT! Make sure you've got /, SWAP and /home partitions, and, if you're trying to keep Windows for a dual-boot, those partitions should be listed as well, (Windows partitions are labeled as type:NTFS).

And you're off. The installer will now write the changes to disk, copy the files from the CD to the Hard-drive and set up GRUB. When complete, you'll be prompted to restart.
You now have a working Ubuntu 10.04 installation with a separate /home partition.

If you muck up your desktop you can re-install Ubuntu following the same procedures outlined above, with the exception that during the partitioning steps you select "Change" instead of "New" from the menus, thereby keeping the existing partitions, and in the popup dialogs you'll find an extra option to "Format" the partition, which, for your /home partition, you'll select NOT to Format, (make sure the checkbox is unchecked) – All your documents and data will be in your /home folder when the installation completes, and you'll have a factory-fresh desktop.

Send me a note or make a comment if you notice something that needs improving, and definitely let me know if you ran into problems.

If you do run into problems, or feel you want to chat with someone about it all before proceeding, try the Ubuntu-Forums. Create an account and post your question. The folks there are very helpful and you'll receive a reply to any questions you might have very quickly.