swaping sda2

[mike22]

Hi there,

I'm trying to install backtrack 3 on my laptop. I followed the advice on how to install backtrack 3 final from this link: hxxp://forums.remote-exploit.org/showthread.php?t=14751&page=11
I have three partitions. Sda1 is 68gb, sda2 is 2-3 gb, and sda 4 is 2-3 gb. When I try to swap sda2 I get this error:

bt ~ # mkswap /dev/sda2
mkswap: error: swap area needs to be at least 40kB
Usage: mkswap [-c] [-v0|-v1] [-pPAGESZ] [-L label] /dev/name [blocks]

Any help plz?

Thanks.

[Thorn]

Did you first set the type to 82 (Linux swap)?

[mike22]

Did you first set the type to 82 (Linux swap)?

I set them to linux swap. Now here is my problem

bt ~ # mkswap /dev/sda3
Setting up swapspace version 1, size = 2500481 kB
no label, UUID=ec2ac444-bf91-420c-a70a-c56d3973d0b2

[Thorn]

What tool did you use to make the partitions?

[mike22]

I used gparted to partition my hardrive.

[Barry]

I set them to linux swap. Now here is my problem

bt ~ # mkswap /dev/sda3
Setting up swapspace version 1, size = 2500481 kB
no label, UUID=ec2ac444-bf91-420c-a70a-c56d3973d0b2

I don't think that's really a problem. It's just telling you it set up swap on sda3. The UUID is the drives Universally Unique Identifier. UUIDs are better for machines with lots of drive changes(usb and whatnot) as the UUID never changes, but the mount id (sda, hda, whatever) may change.

I don't think backtrack used uuids, did you use ubuntu or a newer debian machine?

[Thorn]

I used gparted to partition my hardrive.

"Well, there's your problem!"
- Mythbusters

I'd suggest using fdisk, and using that to set the types. Then use mkfs and mkswap to make the appropriate file structures.

Edit: Barry is right though. It doesn't really look to be an error message. You can probably proceed with the install.

[mike22]

I proceeded with the installation. Now I get this message:

bt ~ # mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/backtrack/
/dev/sda3 looks like swapspace - not mounted
mount: you must specify the filesystem type
bt ~ #

Thanks for the help btw.

[Thorn]

I proceeded with the installation. Now I get this message:

bt ~ # mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/backtrack/
/dev/sda3 looks like swapspace - not mounted
mount: you must specify the filesystem type
bt ~ #

Thanks for the help btw.

Huh? You don't want to mount a swap partition!

Swap space should be recognized by the system during the install and used as needed.

[mike22]

Huh? You don't want to mount a swap partition!

Swap space should be recognized by the system during the install and used as needed.

Sorry I'm a little confused. Instead of following the direction to install backtrack 3 from this thread http://forums.remote-exploit.org/showthread.php?t=14751
I decided to install from this link
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

The only problem with following the later direction, is will it really erase all my information on my drive?

Is there a difference between the two instruction or will they both erase my drive?