How can i use the remaining space in bootable disk?

Azhar.iq · 01-09-2017, 03:00 PM

Hello everyone,

I recently installed a new Linux based OS on my laptop by making a bootable disk. Since i didnot had any memory sticks with me so i used a 200 GB external harddisk as bootable disk to install.

After successful installation, when i connect my external harddisk (bootable hd) to my laptop, i am not able to use it for storage. Only solution that i have found is to format it and then use it as external storage.

Is there any way i could use my external harddisk for storage without formatting it???

TheEzekielProject · 01-09-2017, 03:12 PM

For clarification, are you saying you used an external hdd to make a live usb from which to install an OS on your laptop and you are trying to use the unused space on the external hdd for storage without killing your live usb installation?
If not, why don't you want to format the external hdd?

Azhar.iq · 01-09-2017, 03:14 PM

Just out of curiosity. I would like to retain my live usb and use the remaining space for storage, if its possible.

TheEzekielProject · 01-09-2017, 03:22 PM

I would google search for "live usb with persistence". Should get you going in the right direction. There are many tutorials

Azhar.iq · 01-09-2017, 03:30 PM

But that would mean i am using Live Usb and storing data (if i understood that correctly). What i want (if possible) is to use my external hdd which has a bootable image copied to it, to be used as external storage device (all the while retaining the external hdd ability to be a bootable media).

TheEzekielProject · 01-09-2017, 03:44 PM

Yes, I understand what you're saying. I have done this before only it was on a usb flashdrive rather than hdd. I was able to boot from the usb as well as plug the usb into an already running system and mount the persistent partition as just a regular storage partition and copy files to/from it.

ondoho · 01-09-2017, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azhar.iq

Since i didnot had any memory sticks with me so i used a 200 GB external harddisk as bootable disk to install.

After successful installation, when i connect my external harddisk (bootable hd) to my laptop, i am not able to use it for storage. Only solution that i have found is to format it and then use it as external storage.

Is there any way i could use my external harddisk for storage without formatting it???

no.
you explained it well, so the answer is simple:
NO.

dolphin_oracle · 01-09-2017, 03:51 PM

how did you make your hard drive into a bootable image? dd?

Azhar.iq · 01-09-2017, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolphin_oracle

how did you make your hard drive into a bootable image? dd?

YES

dolphin_oracle · 01-09-2017, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azhar.iq

YES

Ok, so what you did was take your large hard drive and turn the entire thing into a read-only filesystem, of whatever size the iso was that you used.

tools like unetbootin or the live-usb-maker tool in mx/antiX (or other similar tools) deconstruct the iso and install onto media in a way that allows the space to be written to again.

Azhar.iq · 01-09-2017, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolphin_oracle

Ok, so what you did was take your large hard drive and turn the entire thing into a read-only filesystem, of whatever size the iso was that you used.

tools like unetbootin or the live-usb-maker tool in mx/antiX (or other similar tools) deconstruct the iso and install onto media in a way that allows the space to be written to again.

Thanks, will try.

yancek · 01-09-2017, 06:29 PM

It would have been a lot simpler, if you wanted to use additional space on the drive for storage, to install Grub2 on the external and create a grub.cfg file manually from the many examples available. You could then simply copy the iso (or multiple iso's) to that partition and boot it/them from Grub leaving the rest of the drive to be partitioned as you wanted.

BW-userx · 01-10-2017, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azhar.iq

Hello everyone,

I recently installed a new Linux based OS on my laptop by making a bootable disk. Since i didnot had any memory sticks with me so i used a 200 GB external harddisk as bootable disk to install.

After successful installation, when i connect my external harddisk (bootable hd) to my laptop, i am not able to use it for storage. Only solution that i have found is to format it and then use it as external storage.

Is there any way i could use my external harddisk for storage without formatting it???

when I do this to a USB Stick. if you open up Gparted on that drive you'll see that if you used DD to create the boot sick then it parted it out. Leaving this unused room that is apart from the dd OS into it. I take that then make it into a partiton then use it to whatever I want. here is a SD Card I did this with.

Code:

mmcblk0     179:0    0  14.5G  0 disk 
├─mmcblk0p2 179:2    0   1.4M  0 part 
└─mmcblk0p1 179:1    0  14.5G  0 part [SWAP]

it is still a bootable SD Card when I need it, and a SWAP drive too two things in one.