This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. Setting up Linux Mint with Custom LVM and Luks Linux Mint with Custom LVM on LUKS Overview The current Linux Mint installer doesn't support custom partitions when setting up a new machine with LUKS encryption using LVM. I prefer having a separate partition for my home directory and a backup partition for Timeshift, so that reinstalling or fixing issues won't overwrite my home directory. I found several approaches to achieve this. One method involves setting up partitions first and then using the installer to select them, but this requires extensive post-installation configuration to get boot working with the encrypted drive. I discovered this blog which explains how to repartition your drive after installation. Combined with my guide on setting up hibernation, I created this documentation to help remember how to install a fresh copy of Linux Mint with LVM and LUKS. Tested on: Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon Partition Layout For this guide, I'm working with a 1TB drive that will be split into the following logical volumes: Root - 100GB (system files and applications) Swap - 32GB (for hibernation support) Home - 700GB (user files and documents) Backup - 100GB (Timeshift snapshots) Unallocated - ~68GB (reserved for future expansion) This setup ensures that system snapshots and user data remain separate, making system recovery much easier. Installation Guide Step 1: Initial Linux Mint Installation Start the Linux Mint installation process as normal: Boot from your Linux Mint installation media Follow the installation wizard (language, keyboard layout, etc.) When you reach the Installation type screen: Select "Erase disk and install Linux Mint" Click "Advanced features" Enable both options: ✓ Use LVM with the new Linux Mint installation ✓ Encrypt the new Linux Mint installation for security Click Continue Enter a strong encryption password when prompted Complete the rest of the installation (timezone, user account, etc.) When installation finishes, do NOT click "Restart Now" - we'll repartition first Important: Do NOT reboot after installation completes. We need to repartition before the first boot. Step 2: Access Root Terminal After installation finishes, open a terminal and switch to root: sudo -i This gives you administrative privileges needed for disk operations. Step 3: Check Current Disk Layout View your current partition structure: lsblk -f This displays your filesystem layout. You should see your encrypted volume group (typically vgmint ) with a large root partition consuming most of the space. Step 4: Resize Root Partition Shrink the root partition from its default size (nearly full disk) to 100GB: lvresize -L 100 G --resizefs vgmint/root What this does: -L 100G sets the logical volume size to exactly 100GB --resizefs automatically resizes the filesystem to match This frees up ~900GB for our other partitions Step 5: Resize Swap Partition The default swap is usually small (a few GB). We need to increase it to 32GB for hibernation: lvresize --verbose -L +32G /dev/mapper/vgmint-swap_1 What this does: -L +32G adds 32GB to the current swap size --verbose shows detailed progress information This ensures enough swap space for RAM contents during hibernation Note: For hibernation to work, swap should be at least equal to your RAM size. Adjust accordingly. Step 6: Create Home Partition Create a new logical volume for your home directory: lvcreate -L 700 G vgmint -n home What this does: -L 700G creates a 700GB logical volume vgmint is the volume group name -n home names the new volume "home" Step 7: Create Backup Partition Create a logical volume for Timeshift backups: lvcreate -L 100 G vgmint - n backup What this does: Creates a dedicated 100GB space for system snapshots Keeps backups separate from user data Prevents backups from filling up your home partition Step 8: Format New Partitions Format both new partitions with the ext4 filesystem: mkfs .ext4 /dev/vgmint/backup mkfs .ext4 /dev/vgmint/home What this does: Creates ext4 filesystems on both logical volumes ext4 is the standard Linux filesystem with good performance and reliability Step 9: Mount Partitions Create mount points and mount your partitions: mkdir /mnt/ {root,home} mount /dev/ vgmint /root /m nt /root/ mount /dev/ vgmint /home /m nt /home/ What this does: Creates temporary directories to access the filesystems Mounts root and home so we can configure them Step 10: Move Home Directory Contents Move the existing home directory contents from the root partition to the new home partition: mv /mnt/ root /home/ * /mnt/ home / What this does: Transfers all user files and directories from the old location to the new home partition Preserves your user account settings and any files created during installation Without this step, your home directory would be empty on first boot Step 11: Update fstab Add the home partition to the system's fstab file so it mount
