How to resize Linux partitions using GParted

by Ross McKillop on November 4, 2008

Linux

Sometimes you want to change your partition layout after you’ve been using your system for awhile. One great too for this job is GParted. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to resize partitions using the GParted Live CD.

  1. Once you download it and burn it to a disc, just boot from it and you should see a screen like this:


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  2. I prefer to run GParted with Safe Graphic Settings. Just use the up and down arrows to select the mode you want.


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  3. When prompted to select your keymap, most users will just press Enter and keep the default.


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  4. Next you see some information about how to reconfigure the graphical environment.


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  5. Then the live system starts.


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  6. I prefer to run GParted in a lower screen resolution. Right-click anywhere on the desktop background and select Fluxbox Menu -> Exit X.


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  7. At the command prompt type sudo Forcevideo and press Enter.


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  8. I usually choose 800×600 and 16 bit color.


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  9. That’s a little better. Notice how GParted shows a graphical representation of the partitions on your hard disk.


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  10. In this example I’m going to shrink my main Linux partition to make my Swap partition larger. Start by right-clicking on /dev/hda1 and selecting Resize/Move.


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  11. You can drag the arrows at the right or left of the partition to resize it, or just type the values you want in the boxes below. In this example I chose to shrink the partition by 261 MB.


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  12. Click Resize/Move and you are back at the main GParted screen. Notice the information in the lower pane of the window showing the pending operation.


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  13. Next, Right-click on the /dev/hda2 extended partition and select Resize/Move.


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  14. This window is very similar to the earlier one.


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  15. I dragged the left edge of the partition all the way to the left in order to consume all the free space, then clicked Resize/Move.


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  16. Next, right-click on /dev/hda5, the linux-swap partition and select Resize/Move.


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  17. By now this should look familiar.


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  18. I again dragged the left edge of the partition all the way to the left in order to consume all the free space, then clicked Resize/Move.


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  19. Review the three pending operations in the bottom pane of the window. If they are correct, click Apply.


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  20. This is your last chance to bail out. If you’re sure, click Apply.


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  21. When you see this window, go for coffee. It’s probably going to take a while.


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  22. Once GParted is finished, close it, shutdown the live image, remove the CD and boot back into your usual Linux installation.
  • luca

    Ciao,io vorrei partizionare l’hard disk ma con gparted mi appaiono delle chiavi e nn mi fa fare nessuna operazione.Usando gparted live posso risolvere?
    Inoltre nn capisco come devo masterizzare l’immagine…ho fatto un boot cd con nero ma nn so come farlo partire..premetto che ho ubuntu da 2 giorni!!!
    Grazie mille.

  • Lioness

    You are a lifesaver. i worked for 4 days trying to get the partitions right. thank you! thank you! thank you!

  • Bruce

    I have unallocated 4.66 GiB to the left (contiguous) of the partition I’m trying to enlarge but when I go to enlarge it, the screen doesn’t allow me to resize/move (greyed-out) and doesn’t show the unallocated 4.66 GiB? Is there anything special I have to do to the unallocated space – does it have to be formatted? – does it actually have to be a partition? Would provide you with a screen shot but I don’t know how.
    Any help/references would be appreciated.

    Bruce

  • luisRG

    Hola….
    Excelente tutorial…..
    Hace poco me he dado por la necesidad de actualizar mi Fedora 10 al 11 pero al parecer no tengo el espacio suficiente para realizar esta operacion ya que solo cuento con 17.1 de 19.2 GB asi que solo tengo disponibles 2 GB……
    Ahora voy a intentar con Gparted Ampliar la particion Raiz…..
    pero tengo una consulta…..
    ¿¿¿No habra problemas con los datos almacenados en las particiones???

  • Jacques Terken

    When I start Gparted, the resolution of my screen is wrong: it is as if the virtual screen is much larger than my actual screen and I only see the icons on top and a very small part of the main window. My VGA card is ATI Radeon 9100 IGP, which should be supported. While booting, I choose either Gparted Live with default settings or Gparted live with Safe graphic settings. Then in the main screen I enter Fluxbox menu and mange to select Exit X so that I can give the command sudo Forcevideo. Here it says that the driver is vega, and I enter ATI. Furthermore I can select different resolutions. Then returning to the main Gparted screen the result is always the same: the size of the virtual screen did not change and I only see the upper left part, so that I cannot interact with the main Gparted window. Any suggestion is appreciated

  • James

    А как увеличить размер криптованного с помощью dm-crypt в LUKS-формате раздела? И возможно ли это?

  • James

    How can I recize partitions in LUKS format? Is it possible?

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