Increasing partition size from windows

[dodecar]

Delighted as new user and wanting to increase space,I downloaded Gparted but was unable to move/merge windows partition to PCLOS. How should I go about this ,in the simplest manner? Thanks.

[Old-Polack]

Delighted as new user and wanting to increase space,I downloaded Gparted but was unable to move/merge windows partition to PCLOS. How should I go about this ,in the simplest manner? Thanks.

Being as the above statement doesn't really make much sense, could you try to clarify what it is that you wish to accomplish?

[Bald Brick]

Delighted as new user and wanting to increase space,I downloaded Gparted but was unable to move/merge windows partition to PCLOS. How should I go about this ,in the simplest manner? Thanks.

So you have one or several Windows partitions and one or several Linux partitions. Now you want to use some or all of the space taken up by one or several of your Windows partitions in PCLinuxOS?

You could start by running the command fdisk -l as root in a terminal and posting the output. Posting the output of blkid wouldn't hurt either. Most probably GParted can do what you want it to do.

[Xenaflux]

was unable to move/merge windows partition to PCLOS.

move/merge windows partition to pclos ?   ?

is it <move to> or <merge with> ?

[dodecar]

[root@localhost ~]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 100.0 GB, 100030242816 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 12161 cylinders, total 195371568 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x375a8313

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1              63    10233404     5116671   12  Compaq diagnostics
/dev/sda2   *    10233405   102285854    46026225    c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sda3       102287358   126688589    12200616    5  Extended
/dev/sda4       126693376   177405951    25356288    c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sda5       125564103   126688589      562243+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6       102287360   123486207    10599424   83  Linux
/dev/sda7       123488256   125562879     1037312   82  Linux swap / Solaris

Partition table entries are not in disk order

Disk /dev/sdb: 3965 MB, 3965190144 bytes
49 heads, 48 sectors/track, 3292 cylinders, total 7744512 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1            8192     7744511     3868160    b  W95 FAT32
[root@localhost ~]#
[root@localhost ~]# blkid
/dev/sda6: UUID="c712bc4c-0e8d-4948-b6e1-e2507849f88c" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda2: LABEL="ACER" UUID="72AB-AB39" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sda4: UUID="2590-0FF8" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sda5: UUID="f1b53940-2429-43e1-a327-bdc36931bdcc" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda7: UUID="602a1180-6f82-4e5f-a54a-6b012f30a3ef" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda1: LABEL="PQSERVICE" UUID="16D9-B5D2" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sdb1: LABEL="`M-^X#M-^VM-l!M-kM-^?M-srd" UUID="3230-3934" TYPE="vfat"
[root@localhost ~]#
 Thank you for your help BB. My problem is that Gparted doesn't seem to want to change the partition it is operating on ,ie PCLOS.  I'm a newbie so forgive my slowness ,but I do know a great OS when I've found it.

[dodecar]

Thanks Xenaflux, I am trying to increase my PCLOS partition by reducing my windows ones. Whether this is merging or moving I do not know. What I do know is that I prefer Pclos to Windows!

[Bald Brick]

Getting a picture of your setup requires some concentration as the partition table entries aren't in disk order. Old-Polack has numerous times told us how to correct this, but actually everything will work even if you don't fix it. It is a bit confusing though.

Then you have two almost adjacent swap partitions (with a small amount of unallocated space in between). Why? I'd merge them into one to keep everything tidy. But this is also a secondary problem.

The important thing is that you have two Windows partitions with an extended partition in between. This extended partition contains three logical partitions: your normal Linux partition and your two Linux swap partitions. So the question is: do you want to reduce the size of the first Windows partition and give the space to Linux? Or do you want to take the space from your second Windows partition? Both is possible.

There are two complications though. First, the Linux partition is inside an extended partition, so depending on which partition editor you use, you may have to change the size not only of the Linux partition but also of the extended partition holding it. And secondly the swap partitions come between your Linux partition and your second Windows partition. We may have to get them out of the way.

But the important question remains: which one of your Windows partitions do you want to reduce in size?

[dodecar]

I didn't want to touch the larger windows C partition. I had thought to take space from drive D which I've emptied of everything. Thanks for your help BB. Should I order a live disc?.

[Bald Brick]

I didn't want to touch the larger windows C partition. I had thought to take space from drive D which I've emptied of everything. Thanks for your help BB. Should I order a live disc?.

Well, you don't necessarily have to order one. You could download any PCLinuxOS iso and burn one. But you do need a bootable CD, DVD or pendrive -- or something equivalent. You can't change the size of a partition that is in use, so booting from a live CD would be a good start.

Do you want to move all of the space on sda4 (your Windows drive D) to Linux, or just a part of it?
 

[dodecar]

Thought about ninety per cent of it ! Don't know if you've any thoughts about this BB? Anyway I've taken your advise and ordered a live partition disc. If I mess that up ,I'll come a calling! Thanks for your help again,it's a great system with great support.

[Bald Brick]

Thought about ninety per cent of it ! Don't know if you've any thoughts about this BB?

I don't. It depends on how much space you need in Windows. Many people also use a Windows partition for sharing data between Linux and Windows. Linux can handle Windows filesystems; Windows is less good at handling Linux filesystems (although you can train it...  )

Anyway I've taken your advise and ordered a live partition disc.

Actually that was not my advice. I was just trying to say that if you want to move around your partitions or change their sizes you should boot from a live CD (or a live DVD, or a live something) as you can't change the size of a partition that is in use. I hope the live partition disk you ordered is a GParted disk. (All partition editors are not equal, and a vanilla live PCLinuxOS CD might be all you need.)

If I mess that up ,I'll come a calling! Thanks for your help again,it's a great system with great support.

Anyway, to do what you want you should:

1) Boot from a live CD and start GParted.
2) Unmount your "D" partition (sda4) if it's mounted (which it probably isn't).
3) Reduce the size of it so that you free up space at the beginning of the partition, not the end. This is something all partition editors can't handle without data loss. GParted is quite good at it, but the operation does take a long time. (Freeing up space at the end of a partition is much faster, but that space wouldn't be of much use.)
4) Increase the size of sda3 (your extended partition) so that it takes up the space you just freed from sda4.
5) Temporarily remove your swap partitions.
6) Increase the size of your Linux partition within your extended partition, but leave enough unallocated space for a new swap partition.
7) Create a swap partition in the unallocated space. (You don't need two on the same drive, Particularly not two adjacent ones.)
8 ) Edit /etc/fstab and /boot/grub/menu.lst on sda so that your new swap partition is recognized by the system.

[dodecar]

OK, I'll give it a go . It was a Gparted cd I ordered as I was impress by it ,working from PCLOS. Thanks for your clear and knowledgeable advice .I shall listen to Sibelius tomorrow!

[Xenaflux]

Anyway, to do what you want you should:

1) Boot from a live CD and start GParted.

This could be understood as : PClinuxOS ( or other distro )

PCLinuxOS LiveCD does not have Gparted installed....me thinks,

as I usually install it after a full update of new install

Don't know about other distros....Just try I guess !

[Bald Brick]

Anyway, to do what you want you should:

1) Boot from a live CD and start GParted.

This could be understood as : PClinuxOS ( or other distro )

PCLinuxOS LiveCD does not have Gparted installed....me thinks,

You're probably right. I thought it was there by default as I couldn't remember installing it. My bad.

But by now the question is moot: dodecar has ordered a live GParted CD.

as I usually install it after a full update of new install

Don't know about other distros....Just try I guess !

[Xenaflux]

What I would like to know from dodecar is the following

--why do you want to keep win95 ?
--why did you order a CD ?
.....can you not download ?
.....can you not burn ? ( in case you can download )
.....Where do you live ? country-state ? Maybe I can send you a few DVD with various " things "

Xena