How do i partition debians hard drive and recover it for more space

scribesyd · 05-12-2012, 04:23 AM

I want to dual boot 2 operating systems, debian 6 is my current edition but unfortunately i had option partition drive when installing, i failed to do so as result i cannot unmount hard drive as that's kinda unlogical in gparted.

I have 200gig free and in toal 250gig, but all that's gone to debian since i was more eager trying to install os with out later on realising the head aches it would follow on later on.

So here i am.

First i wish back up all my debian stuff, then partition it by 2 virtual drives, but since im still learning im unsure how to do all that.

I installed part image from repository but unsure if that's for command or program.

So can any one help.

Doc CPU · 05-12-2012, 04:51 AM

Hi there,

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribesyd

I want to dual boot 2 operating systems, debian 6 is my current edition but unfortunately i had option partition drive when installing, i failed to do so as result i cannot unmount hard drive as that's kinda unlogical in gparted.

so now you have one partition spanning the entire drive? Yea, that's a catch-22: To modify a partition, you have to unmount it first - but you can't unmount the partition that has the running OS on it.

The simple solution is: Boot your system from a Live CD (or USB). Almost any Linux based variant will do.
From inside this Live System, you can run GParted and shrink the partition on your built-in drive. Don't be concerned when this process takes an awful lot of time - I would expect way beyond an hour.
But beware: Always make sure you have a valid backup of your data before you tamper with it!
Very probably, the desired operation succeeds without data loss, but there's always some risk. So be prepared for the worst.

[X] Doc CPU

scribesyd · 05-12-2012, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc CPU

Hi there,

so now you have one partition spanning the entire drive? Yea, that's a catch-22: To modify a partition, you have to unmount it first - but you can't unmount the partition that has the running OS on it.

The simple solution is: Boot your system from a Live CD (or USB). Almost any Linux based variant will do.
From inside this Live System, you can run GParted and shrink the partition on your built-in drive. Don't be concerned when this process takes an awful lot of time - I would expect way beyond an hour.
But beware: Always make sure you have a valid backup of your data before you tamper with it!
Very probably, the desired operation succeeds without data loss, but there's always some risk. So be prepared for the worst.

[X] Doc CPU

Yeo that's gonna suck.

Well turns out puppy slacko linux partitioned my hard drive, unbelievable i say, when i use debian and try to edit my posts on linux questions it makes infinite loop pain in arse, but puppy works flawlessly, it allowed me access all my files while in ram.

I even used puppy at work, it's just insane things you can obtain from it. since it's undetectable wow.

Any hows i worked it out with out backing up debian or waiting 1 hour.

If any body says puppy linux sucks in future ill send my penguins on them lol

Ok i take it back the partitions taking a long time divide lol.

djsoundfx · 05-12-2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribesyd

Yeo that's gonna suck. what's best way back up on debian?, whats best.

You have a TON of options for backing up a *nix system... Here are some ways that I do things...
1. Tar ball your system with something like this (just be sure to unmount or exclude any Windows/external drives otherwise you'll tar them too!):

Code:

 tar cvpzf backup.tgz --exclude=/proc --exclude=/lost+found --exclude=/backup.tgz --exclude=/mnt --exclude=/sys

2. Use a product like clonezilla(free) or ghost(commerical) to create a backup image of the data (this is nice way to do things).
3. Use dd to create an image of the drive (this is often slower but is more thorough than a tar ball)

Code:

 dd if=/dev/hda conv=sync,noerror bs=64K | gzip -c  > /mnt/sda1/hda.img.gz

Then Restore:
1. Tarball

Code:

tar xvpfz backup.tgz -C /

2. Clonezilla/Ghost (follow the menus)
3. Using dd:

Code:

 gunzip -c /mnt/sda1/hda.img.gz | dd of=/dev/hda conv=sync,noerror bs=64K

I would say that given what you're trying to do the best method is a tarball as its kind of an "oh s**t, my resize attempt ate my data" restore where as dd and clonezilla are more of a "baremetal" or my hard drive died restore.

djsoundfx · 05-12-2012, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribesyd

Yeo that's gonna suck.

Well turns out puppy slacko linux partitioned my hard drive, unbelievable i say, when i use debian and try to edit my posts on linux questions it makes infinite loop pain in arse, but puppy works flawlessly, it allowed me access all my files while in ram.

I even used puppy at work, it's just insane things you can obtain from it. since it's undetectable wow.

Any hows i worked it out with out backing up debian or waiting 1 hour.

If any body says puppy linux sucks in future ill send my penguins on them lol

Haha, well I'm glad this worked out, you can use my above post for future reference then.

scribesyd · 05-12-2012, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djsoundfx

Haha, well I'm glad this worked out, you can use my above post for future reference then.

Omg linux questions is like library i cannot keep up with lol but i do love temporary memory commands, it lists what you type just in case your brain forgets and i must admit minute i see command i know what it is but cannot recall doing it, but with windows command you need remeber or write it down major pain in arse.

P.s

how do you search for your old threads by (op) or creator in linux questions just in case i need follow up stuff i forgot

Since i cannot give you candy i'll give you a "i recommend reply"

I highly recommend people make puppy linux boot disk it's awesome just hate when people rubbish it

It's saved me more times then any os.

djsoundfx · 05-12-2012, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribesyd

Omg linux questions is like library i cannot keep up with lol but i do love temporary memory commands, it lists what you type just in case your brain forgets and i must admit minute i see command i know what it is but cannot recall doing it, but with windows command you need remeber or write it down major pain in arse.

Yeah most definitely this site is great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribesyd

how do you search for your old threads by (op) or creator in linux questions just in case i need follow up stuff i forgot

If you click the search button on the top bar there it will come up with a drop down menu. From there click Advanced Search (just under the search forum's box), then you'll have the option to search by username. You also can track YOUR threads from the link that says "My LQ" and you can add other peoples threads by subscribing to them. Click around a bit I'm sure you can find the rest of the features you'd be interested in

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribesyd

I highly recommend people make puppy linux boot disk it's awesome just hate when people rubbish it

It's saved me more times then any os.

I have nothing against puppy, its a nice light weight distro but there are other options too. When I do recovery I use any lightweight distro that is nearby. Especially to do emergency data recovery I've used everything from gentoo(minimal), puppy, siltaz, even ubuntu. When choosing a distro for use like this you just have to consider what you're working with, not all kernels come out of the box with support for NTFS (the native windows file system these days).

scribesyd · 05-13-2012, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djsoundfx

Yeah most definitely this site is great.

If you click the search button on the top bar there it will come up with a drop down menu. From there click Advanced Search (just under the search forum's box), then you'll have the option to search by username. You also can track YOUR threads from the link that says "My LQ" and you can add other peoples threads by subscribing to them. Click around a bit I'm sure you can find the rest of the features you'd be interested in

I have nothing against puppy, its a nice light weight distro but there are other options too. When I do recovery I use any lightweight distro that is nearby. Especially to do emergency data recovery I've used everything from gentoo(minimal), puppy, siltaz, even ubuntu. When choosing a distro for use like this you just have to consider what you're working with, not all kernels come out of the box with support for NTFS (the native windows file system these days).

Oh boy, i seriously !@#$ up.

Previously installed debian mounted ready for hurricane,now it's more like hurricane hit my hard drive as i partitioned it.
All i wanted to do was have dual boot at install menu on start up. oh yeah i certainly got what i wished for no doubt.

Now when ever i boot stupid windows takes over and when i boot back into puppy linux it still tells me i have hidden drive partitioned that windows cannot see as it's ex2 file. i think stupid windows has ruined my grub installer.

Can i like copy mbr file in puppy as i know it's designed at building grub loader into my usb hard drive.

I have the original installer on usb, that's debian i mean.

All my files are intact. i partitioned 240 gig 160gig for windows 80gig for debian, the 80 gigs in stasis.

Man i need upgrade my pc to 1tb

Urgent help please