Installed Ubuntu twice
 

Dear All,

I have installed the Ubuntu OS in my system; but the partition created for this OS was 2.5 GB, I felt it was very low to work. so I have tried to increase the memory in that particular partition, by booting the system with the Ubuntu bootup CD, Unknowingly I have installed the Ubuntu again. so I have got another partition with 18.5 GB.

Now I have two partitions with Ubuntu OS, how to merge these two partition and make use it for single Operating system(Ubuntu)?

Thanks,
Senthil S

Welcome to LQ!!

You cannot "merge" partitions---you can only delete, add, or re-size. Please post the complete partition list for the drive, and how you are using them. (e.g. do you have another OS installed, or maybe Windows?) You can open a terminal and enter "sudo fdisk -l" (that's an ell, not a one.) and post the results here.

Senthil S

If your new to Linux, your first encounter w/ it's partition tools can be scary. So I'm going to describe a way to fix your problems w/ a 3rd party partitioning application. So let's get started. You need to download Bootit NG and either burn it to a CD, put it on a floppy or SD card if your bios allows you to boot from one.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/boo...generation.htm

Screenshots!
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/boo...eration-ss.htm

Instruction Videos!
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/index.htm

Now reboot into Bootit (making sure the device/CD/floppy is first in order of bios, if it fails to boot on first try).

1. When Bootit menu screen comes up, choose "Cancel" (you don't need to install this to do what you need done).

2. It'll direct you to it's Desktop and hopefully your mouse will be enabled to make it easier. You'll see an icon to the left that says "Partition Work" (if not, use tab key to cycle thru choices). Click on that one!

3. All your drives and partitions will show up (make note of where your two Ubuntu installs are beforehand). Depending on which one you want to keep (ref the size) you can simply delete the partition you don't want.

4. After deleting it, you'll have an empty space there. You can then change the size of the partition either before or after the space left by the delete if you click "Resize" while that partition is hi-lighted.

5. You can also slide and reduce the size of partitions easily with this tool.

So lets say you wanted to keep that first install. Even though it's small, you can resize it to take the empty space left by the deleting of your second install (if you installed them side by side). You're Done!

Now this isn't going to fix your Boot Loader. But only one install in it, is going to work now. You can fix that, after you learn more about the linux tools. This will at least get you into a larger partition and delete the one you don't want. Once you reboot after removing the disc/floppy/SD card (since you haven't fooled w/ the MBR), you will have the same boot list. Then once booted back into Ubuntu you should be able find the boot editor, to delete the one you don't have anymore. I use Gentoo and Sabayon Linux, so this is all the futher I can instruct you.

(ok just notice a mod has answered since I was a little slow posting after logging in)
You can either choose to wait for an answer from someone who knows Ubuntu from the inside out or give this a try. I have used Linux and Bootit NG for well over 12yrs and it is a remarkable tool that can restore deleted or lost partitions, format and reorder both drives and partitions along with more than I could ever explain here. Hopefully it can help you out! :D

Monark

You don't need to spend $35 on a partition editor. You can use your Ubuntu live CD, or if you're feeling extravagant you can download and burn the open source GParted Live, or System Rescue CD.

Let's assume you are going to use your Ubuntu Live CD. Boot it up, then go into System>Administration>Partition Editor. GParted will boot up and show you the partitions on your hard drive(s) (you can switch between drives using a button on the top right). You will see your 2.5 GB partition, your 18 GB partition, and your linux-swap partition, and also a table listing them with some further info to help identify which is which.

Now:
-Get rid of your 2.5 GB partition - right click on it and select 'delete'.
-Then expand your 18 GB partition to use the extra space - right click and select Resize/Move, then increase the size to max. available.
-Then click the big 'apply' button.

Simple, right? No need to fork out $35 (unless of course you want to). Gparted is on pretty much every live linux CD out there.

Or forget about partitioning at all, remove the contents of the smaller partition, and use it to store some data.