How to divide a partition into two parts?

[NewinLinux]

wow thanks ! I will be waiting for your guidance. I don't want to experiment it myself and crash again.

[vickey_20]

please post the output of fdisk -l and df -h

[saivin]

Try

su -c 'gparted'

give root password. The single quotes around gparted is required. It will start the GParted program. Its graphical, so the steps are self explanatory-highlight the partition and click on 'resize' icon, give size, apply....

If it gives error like gparted is not present, install it with yast from control centre.

If you insist on using 'fdisk' wait till Vickey or somebody comes up with details...

[computerophil]

What are Gparted and Qtparted?

GParted is an easy to use graphical partitioning program. Very likely it is also on your distro. Even most LiveCD distros come with it (even the small ones like Puppy).

It looks very similar to the (windows)- Partition Magic.
This look became nearly a standard no matter if Windows intern Drive-Management (I hope this is the correct translation)

It isn't only possible to partitionate and formatate you can also just see which distributions you have, how they are formatated and how much unused space they have.
(After saving your data) you can with GParted also reduce partitions to create others.

There are a view thing you should know when you work with linux.
You may not have more than 4 primary partitions per HDD.
Usually the first (which is also bootpartition) is used for Windows if you want multiboot solution.
In the second Primary (which works as an extended Partition) there will be implemented the virtual Partitions (for data and/or linuxes)
the third Primary is used for Linux-Swap
The fourth Primary is traditionally kept free for Solaris.

Linux counts hda1 to hda4 for the Primaries and starts with hda5 for the virtual Partitions.
So often you don't have a hda4 even if you have hda5 and hda6.


Linux doesn't have problems with FAT and NTFS but Windows does have problems with ext3 and so on.
That's way a datapartition should be ntfs so you have access from both OSs.

If you know this you will see GParted is a full graphical program very simple to use.


But whenever you don't understand something with linux please feel free to ask - therefor there is the forum.

I know Dos-Fdisk but I don't know if this is similar to the fdisk used in Knoppix.
GParted is much more powerfull and on the other hand much easier to use.

[NewinLinux]

Hi friends,
I tried giving the GParted command, but it seems it is not present in my computer. I am going to download it and try.

Will it be safe if I delete the partition /home using fdisk and then make a smaller partition and mount it on /home ? Then I can make one more partition from the free space available. Is it safe to do so?

[computerophil]

Hi friends,
I tried giving the GParted command, but it seems it is not present in my computer. I am going to download it and try.

GParted is no command it is a programm - best you look up into your menu. (Maybe under utilities).

[vickey_20]

parted command may work in your distribution . And post the o/p of fdisk -l and df -h so that I can guide you how to do manual partition.

[zadnik18]

I also recomend using the g-parted distro. Just download the iso and burn it to a disk and boot from it. Once it boots the partition editor should start. Then, it's as simple as selecting the partition to resize, dragging the side over, and making a new partition with the newly aquired space.

I just did this with my laptop about a week ago.

-zad

[computerophil]

I also recomend using the g-parted distro. Just download the iso and burn it to a disk and boot from it. Once it boots the partition editor should start. Then, it's as simple as selecting the partition to resize, dragging the side over, and making a new partition with the newly aquired space.

I just did this with my laptop about a week ago.

-zad

I think that will not be necessary GParted is included in most Distros.

[Jonathan183]

Resize partitions from a live CD. Trying to resize a live filesystem may be possible but is not recommended. In any case backup data - although partition resize usually works there are sometimes problems.