/usr/lib on a seperate partition

UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users
1

I want to move /usr/lib on a seperate partition.
( is is now all at / )

I know how to copy data and update fstab but...

At boot time, the mepis distro already needs stuff from /usr/lib but it is not mounted yet. So i get error before /usr/lib is mounted.

Does this mean you cannot move /usr/lib to its own partition?

2

i don't think you should move your /usr/lib directory to another partition other than the one it is at.. i could point out few possible reasons for the error. some how you changed the path of execution to the directory itself, the path is not set globally.. or you have not configured the boot process properly.. also look for a possible mount error as in maybe /usr/lib is mounted but does not have the right fs.
heres a site with a structured map of the filesystem heirarchy starting with root and working through boot down to the basic files found in /usr and var ... and so on (/usr/lib will be in there!).. it should give you a better idea on how to go about correcting the error without having to move the partion and will probably calrify why you shouldn't do this since you could malfunction something else..
http://www.pathname.com/
moxxx68
ps . hope this helps

edit:
if you are to move your directory for space or lack of rather than move the whole directory to another partition.. create a directory in the other partion and link it (soft link)... that way you don't have to muck about with the built-in functions of the /usr environment..

3

Yes , i want to move /usr/lib to free space on the partition where it is now at. But i don't understand your softlink idea, can you explain a little more.

I still have mount even with a softlink or am i wrong

4

create space on a partition store your added or extra info in there and create a soft-link to the partition.. you may want to put the bulk of the data you don't need in there and mount the directory ro :
ex./ ............................................./mydir->/*/*/*/*mydir
ln -s mydir /mnt/mountpoint/dirctory/mydir
ln -s /lib/ /usr/lib

5

use rsync to move the directory to the new partition.

Under mnt, mkdir temp
Mount the new partition as, example: mount /dev/hda9 /mnt/temp
now, use rsync to copy the /usr/lib directory to the newly created folder
rsync -a /usr/lib /mnt/temp

Then add the new parition info to /etc/fstab for example:
/dev/hda9 /usr/lib xfs defaults 1 1

Now you _may_ want to temporarily change the /usr/lib folder to /usr/lib-OLD, just dont delete it.
To do this, you may have to boot to a rescueCD.

Why move /usr/lib? If your running out of space, it might be due to your home directory, if it is also mounted under /
It might be far better to just move it. Or just stick your entire /usr on a seperate partition.
I keep;
/ /boot /home /usr on separate partitions these days. and /var on its own under *BSD. I used to split them even more so, but ended up wasting more space than anything.