LinuxQuestions.org
Help answer threads with 0 replies.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Non-*NIX Forums > General
User Name
Password
General This forum is for non-technical general discussion which can include both Linux and non-Linux topics. Have fun!

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 04-26-2009, 07:38 AM   #1
ungua
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: bergen, norway
Distribution: OpenSuSe (SuSe 10.1), Win XP Pro
Posts: 539

Rep: Reputation: 30
extending existing windows-partition and changing os on linux partition


i tried ubuntu 8 for a while now and am not as satisfied as i was with opensuse 11. so when i first find the time to do that i want to switch ubuntu for opensuse, and at the same time i want to extent my windows-partition. i use this to store my data, since linux can both read and write ntfs now, so i don't need that much space in linux. how do i repartition without harming my data in the existing windows-part of my harddisc? can i do that while installing opensuse, and do i need to "uninstall" ubuntu or can i just remove it in one step while installing opensuse?

best regards & thanks
ungua
 
Old 04-26-2009, 07:49 AM   #2
jhwilliams
Senior Member
 
Registered: Apr 2007
Location: Portland, OR
Distribution: Debian, Android, LFS
Posts: 1,168

Rep: Reputation: 211Reputation: 211Reputation: 211
If *I* were doing this, I would:

* boot from a live cd with gparted (Like the Parted Magic "OS")
* Use gparted to resize the windows partition however you like (deleting the old linux partition in the process.)
* Boot the SuSE disc and proceed reinstalling that.

You can install Parted Magic to a USB key if you like, I believe, to save a CD-R! (Who has those lying around anyway?)

Incidentally, Bergen is an absolutely beautiful city. I got to spend a few days there last winter.
 
Old 04-27-2009, 05:35 AM   #3
ungua
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: bergen, norway
Distribution: OpenSuSe (SuSe 10.1), Win XP Pro
Posts: 539

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
Thumbs up

thank you very much!

i totally agree on bergen being beautiful - i am not a native myself, but enjoy very much living here.
 
Old 05-03-2009, 12:29 PM   #4
ungua
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: bergen, norway
Distribution: OpenSuSe (SuSe 10.1), Win XP Pro
Posts: 539

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
gparted almost worked as it was supposed to. i extended the ntfs-partition i use for windows in the partition programme, but unfortunately nothing happened to it. is this a known problem? the linux partition in ext3 worked well.

best regards
ungua
 
Old 05-03-2009, 12:41 PM   #5
linus72
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2009
Location: Gordonsville-AKA Mayberry-Virginia
Distribution: Slack14.2/Many
Posts: 5,573

Rep: Reputation: 470Reputation: 470Reputation: 470Reputation: 470Reputation: 470
What steps did you use to resize?

When I resize a partition I use a livecd(ubuntu/parted,etc), and I do only one operation at a time-ie, I delete the partition that will become part of the other, press "apply".
Then I resize the partition, "apply".
I have noticed with Gparted,etc that if you try to do sequential operations at once it has problems-least for me.

Also, make sure to backup windows and do a good defrag before installing linux.
 
Old 05-04-2009, 02:58 AM   #6
ungua
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: bergen, norway
Distribution: OpenSuSe (SuSe 10.1), Win XP Pro
Posts: 539

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
that might have been the problem - i did several steps at once. there is no space to defrag on my windows partition, that's part of the reason behind extending it. is the chance of losing data very high? since i have installed opensuse during the weekend already, i hope i can just confirm a change of the ntfs-partition?

best regards
ungua

edit: an analog "screenshot" of the gparted window. now i see there is a column stating "unused".

Last edited by ungua; 05-04-2009 at 05:08 AM.
 
Old 05-04-2009, 07:59 AM   #7
pierre2
Member
 
Registered: May 2009
Location: Perth, AU
Distribution: LinuxMint
Posts: 388
Blog Entries: 9

Rep: Reputation: 88
you don't un-install any version of linux - just overwrite the partition with the new version.
& shrink down the lnx partition, apply, & expand the M$ partition, apply again.
as stated above.
 
Old 05-04-2009, 11:56 AM   #8
ungua
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: bergen, norway
Distribution: OpenSuSe (SuSe 10.1), Win XP Pro
Posts: 539

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
what uninstall? you have read the other posts?

best regards & thanks anyway
ungua
 
Old 05-05-2009, 11:01 AM   #9
ungua
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: bergen, norway
Distribution: OpenSuSe (SuSe 10.1), Win XP Pro
Posts: 539

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
Exclamation

now i think i am in some serious trouble. here is what happened:

1) during the installation of opensuse i removed the option to mount two partitions, root and home, and had everything on one ext3-partition. i could not use all of the available 31.49gb, but could only choose round numbers - i ended up with 31gb.

2) when i had a look at the extended windows-partition, i found out i'd rather ask you guys one more time before i change anything. that is because the partition is supposed to be 263gb big in gparted [screenshot], but contains only 244gb in windows [screenshot] (partition > check as a possible solution?).

3) i extended the ext3-partition flagged "boot, lba" and containing opensuse to 31.49gb. after a restart i was stunned to see the machine telling me "error - no operating system".

4) with a friend's "ultimate boot cd" i ran fixmbr, fixboot and chkdsk in a hope to recover what has been lost. i ended up with making the windows partition my boot-partition. at the same time, chkdsk told me that "the volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems" [screenshot]. does this indicate a physical error?

now i'd like to get linux back to work. but i really don't dare doing anything. my friend recommended "easybcd", but does opensuse come with a recovery option for messed up bootloaders and the like? i'd probably start trying to save some data i, being stupid, "backed up" on the linux partition. hope a live-cd works for that.

best regards & big thanks in advance!
ungua

edit: i move around, deleted and backed up some 65gb from my windows-partition to do a defragmentation of it earlier today.

Last edited by ungua; 05-05-2009 at 11:03 AM.
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Run an existing Windows Partition in Linux?? wedgea18 Linux - Software 2 11-17-2006 12:59 AM
Windows Reinstallation With Existing Linux partition soulxcavtor General 3 06-11-2006 09:44 PM
changing the size of an existing swap partition toolmania1 Linux - Newbie 5 06-16-2005 07:20 PM
Extending a partition with RH Linux? xmdms Linux - Enterprise 2 11-25-2004 09:08 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Non-*NIX Forums > General

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:42 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration