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Old 03-09-2017, 09:00 PM   #1
paxolin
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Gparted to resize & move partition


I’ve use Gparted once before to increase the size of my Linux partition. This time I want to reduce that size and (I assume) move it to allow for resizing my Windows partition (that needs increasing in size).
It’s probably easier if I refer to the attached images.

gparted1 shows sda6 (my Linux partition) I want to shrink and move, so that there’s a continuous free space at the end of sda5 (my Windows data partition), between that and sda6.
See gparted4 showing how I want to end up with the partitions rearranged.

gparted2 shows how I tried to configure sda6 by reducing the partition size and setting some space preceding it.
Doing that causes the warning as shown in gparted3. I assume I take that seriously?
If I only resize but don’t try to move Linux (sda6) Gparted puts the unallocated space at the end of sda6, between that and the Linux swap partition.
I’ve read the Gparted faq as indicated in the warning message. It looks very complicated, even if I discover whether I use GRUB or GRUB2?

I haven’t done anything yet, hopefully awaiting advice from other users here.

If I reduce my Linux partition, how can I end up with enough space immediately preceding it to allow extending my Windows partition?
From the way I read it, I can’t moved the Linux partition to where I want?
Or have I missed the point somewhere?

I was initially working on the assumption that after reducing the Linux partition I would have unallocated space between that and the Windows partition, which I thought I’d use Partition Master in Windows to extend it.
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Old 03-09-2017, 09:11 PM   #2
syg00
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All warnings should be taken seriously.

In this case it is pretty easy to fix as the linked article shows. If you are using Mint 18 then you are using grub2. My advice would be to proceed - you might be lucky and everything "just works", else you'll need to follow the article.
 
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Old 03-09-2017, 09:24 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by syg00 View Post
All warnings should be taken seriously.

In this case it is pretty easy to fix as the linked article shows. If you are using Mint 18 then you are using grub2. My advice would be to proceed - you might be lucky and everything "just works", else you'll need to follow the article.
Agree with syg00. GParted always provides this warning when making certain important changes. I have used it extensively and rarely run into a boot problem afterwards. If you do, as mentioned, it can be fixed.

So I would also go ahead and deal with any problems should they occur. There is no other way to make room for your sda5 partition.

Just for my understanding, you are using this sda5 ntfs partition for data that is available to both the linux and Windows systems, right ? The Windows system boots from the other (primary) ntfs partition called "Gateway" at sda2 ? ... just curious.

Last edited by Rickkkk; 03-09-2017 at 09:26 PM.
 
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Old 03-09-2017, 09:27 PM   #4
hydrurga
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Personally, I would go with it and, if my machine didn't boot up into Linux, throw Boot Repair Disk at it (booting off a DVD/CD/USB media).

I would also go your planned route and use Partition Master or similar in Windows afterwards to resize the Windows partition (and filesystem).

However, even if you do all that, and it works, sda5 will still be pretty crammed full. You would just be kicking the can down the road if you're going to be amassing files at that rate. If I were you, I would consider getting a larger hard disk or adding another disk into your machine setup if possible.
 
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Old 03-09-2017, 09:54 PM   #5
paxolin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickkkk View Post
Agree with syg00. GParted always provides this warning when making certain important changes. I have used it extensively and rarely run into a boot problem afterwards. If you do, as mentioned, it can be fixed.

So I would also go ahead and deal with any problems should they occur. There is no other way to make room for your sda5 partition.

Just for my understanding, you are using this sda5 ntfs partition for data that is available to both the linux and Windows systems, right ? The Windows system boots from the other (primary) ntfs partition called "Gateway" at sda2 ? ... just curious.
Yes, the Windows primary partition is Gateway. For years, even before I ventured into Linux I always separated my data in that Data partition. Then if I had to re-install Windows at some point, I could do that and wouldn't lose the data.
 
Old 03-09-2017, 09:58 PM   #6
rknichols
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If you are booting via GRUB installed in the MBR you should be fine. Partition sda5 is a non-issue. It is neither a Linux nor Windows boot partition, and it can be moved freely. Partition sda6 is your Linux boot partition. Moving that is potentially a problem, but the default installation of GRUB in the MBR embeds the position-critical portion of the boot loader in the empty space between the MBR and the start of partition 1. You can run "fdisk -l /dev/sda" and verify that partition 1 starts at sector 2048, which allows plenty of space for that boot loader.

The worst that can happen (assuming no glitch that crashes the machine with the move/resize partially done) is that you would have to boot from Linux installation or boot repair media and reinstall the boot loader.
 
Old 03-09-2017, 10:02 PM   #7
paxolin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hydrurga View Post
Personally, I would go with it and, if my machine didn't boot up into Linux, throw Boot Repair Disk at it (booting off a DVD/CD/USB media).

I would also go your planned route and use Partition Master or similar in Windows afterwards to resize the Windows partition (and filesystem).

However, even if you do all that, and it works, sda5 will still be pretty crammed full. You would just be kicking the can down the road if you're going to be amassing files at that rate. If I were you, I would consider getting a larger hard disk or adding another disk into your machine setup if possible.
Morning (for me anyway),
Ideally I would like to have a larger hard disk, but finances don't permit at the moment.
At what distance might I have to stand from the PC if I throw the Boot Repair Disk at it? Ha ha!

Last edited by paxolin; 03-09-2017 at 10:06 PM.
 
Old 03-10-2017, 12:11 AM   #8
hydrurga
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paxolin View Post
Morning (for me anyway),
Ideally I would like to have a larger hard disk, but finances don't permit at the moment.
At what distance might I have to stand from the PC if I throw the Boot Repair Disk at it? Ha ha!
At least 2 cubits.
 
Old 03-10-2017, 02:27 AM   #9
paxolin
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Mission successfully accomplished. Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
Old 03-10-2017, 02:30 AM   #10
paxolin
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Originally Posted by hydrurga View Post
At least 2 cubits.
Those pesky imperial measurements. How long is a cubit? I always thought it was ten minutes.
I see in reality it's the distance from the tip of the middle finger to the base of the elbow. So those guys really did know their a*** from their elbow.

Last edited by paxolin; 03-10-2017 at 02:31 AM.
 
  


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