/dev/sda1 5.5G 428M 4.9G 9% /target
/dev/sda5 276M 34M 229M 13% /target/boot
/dev/sda10 153G 204M 145G 1% /target/home
/dev/sda8 184M 5.6M 169M 4% /target/tmp
/dev/sda7 56G 2.7G 50G 6% /target/usr
/dev/sda9 1.1G 576M 404M 59% /target/var
If you are doing partitioning, make sure your /var has more than 576M of space, this was the space used during Mint 12 installation, also your /usr must be more than 2.7G. If your / is less than 5.8G Mint installation will complain and will not proceed.
cyruslab 
How much is recommened for the OS and programs? I have 400gb free but don’t know if I should give Mint 4gb, 40gb, or all 400gb.
that actually depends on how you are using Linux Mint. I would suggest before you actually partition the hdd, install on a VM with 20GB and see if this satisfy your daily usage.
I’m trying it out for the first time and am loading it on a netbook to try out during my trip. Since I leave tonight I don’t have time to play with a virtual machine. Its on a 60gb partition now, which should be plenty while I’m experimenting with it to see how well it does what I need it to. I already know it won’t have iTunes, Dropbox, or Outlook, but it still might fit into some of my workflows.