Partition problem

[joneall]

I do not remember how I got into this mess, but I did.

I have a 1TB disk partitioned like this:

/dev/sdb1    ext4             61.03 GiB
/dev/sdb2    linuxswap         3.81 GiB       
/dev/sdb3    ext4            200.01 GiB
unalloc                        7.87 MIB
/dev/sdb4    extended        209.62 GiB  
/dev/sdb5    ext4             80.81 GiB
/dev/sdb6    ntfs            128.91 GiB
unalloc                       457.04GiB

I cannot figure out to get tabs to work on forum posts, so the above is unaligned. But sdb5 and sdb6 are within the extended parition sdb4, whereas the unallocated region is outside it. I have no idea why the extended partition does not go all the way to the end of the disk. But the result is that I cannot put anything in the last 457 GiB. i right-click in the KDE partition editor, it tells me there are already 4 partitions on the drive, which is true. If I right click on sdb4. I can only look at its properties and cannot resize it.

This is crazy! sdb6 is a system disk and sdb5 has thouands of mp3 files on it. I do not really want to lose either.

Help, please. What choices do I have?

[mr_raider]

KDE partition editor has a lot of issues. Try using gparted from a liveCD.

[oshunluvr]

You can't resize a mounted partition. I wish I could give you some solution but I haven't tried to resize an extended partition in a long time. In fact, I have 5 drives on my system and not one extended part. It looks like maybe you removed a partition in the past and for some reason when the extended partition was created, it didn't fill the space.

If you unmount sdb5 and 6 it should allow you to expand sda4.

If Kparttiion manager still won't do it, try a Gparted live cd

BTW: Messing about with partitions can always lead t data loss. You might want to backup if you can.

[oshunluvr]

Also, with that mess you might have some other issues. Post the output of

sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb

and then the output of this set of commands:

sudo parted /dev/sdb
print free

then type quit to exit parted.

[joneall]

I think it was due to the KDE part editor. I managed to extend the logical parition with no trouble in gparted and now all is fine. Except that the order of the partitions is a mess:

$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0004f953

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 2048 127999999 63998976 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 128000000 135999487 3999744 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3 136006290 555447374 209720542+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdb4 555463501 1953525167 699030833+ 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 724727808 995063807 135168000 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sdb6 555463503 724724279 84630388+ 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order

That is the least one can say! (Wish I could figure out how to format these outputs differently, indented, e.g. Don't see any format buttons around.)

$ sudo parted /dev/sdb
GNU Parted 2.3
Using /dev/sdb
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) print free
Model: ATA Hitachi HDS72101 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
32.3kB 1049kB 1016kB Free Space
1 1049kB 65.5GB 65.5GB primary ext4 boot
2 65.5GB 69.6GB 4096MB primary linux-swap(v1)
69.6GB 69.6GB 3483kB Free Space
3 69.6GB 284GB 215GB primary ext4
284GB 284GB 8257kB Free Space
4 284GB 1000GB 716GB extended
6 284GB 371GB 86.7GB logical ext4
5 371GB 509GB 138GB logical ntfs
509GB 1000GB 491GB Free Space

(parted) quit

Maybe this is an instance where UUIDs are more useful. But I like to be able to see which disk is where without having to look at the links (which I can never find, anyway),

Is there any way to rename those partitions without having to redo the fstab files on my 3 Linux system? (I doubt it...)

Still don't understand why Linux does not list the swap space under the df command. It's not using it. It used to.

Thanks for your help.

(Btw, I always have backups.)

[oshunluvr]

"free" will list your swap usage. To improve the format of your posts, try enclosing the cut-n-paste from the console with the CODE tags (the hash or pound sign button). I believe CODE defaults to mono-spaced font so the lists look more readable. Like this:

GNU Parted 2.3Using /dev/sda
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) print                                                            
Model: ATA WDC WD5000AAKS-0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos


Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system     Flags
 1      1049kB  17.2GB  17.2GB  primary  linux-swap(v1)
 2      17.2GB  25.8GB  8590MB  primary  ext4            boot
 3      25.8GB  500GB   474GB   primary  ext4


(parted) q

fdisk can easily fix partition order if you really care to. Go to the expert menu and fix the order. The commands are "x" "f", Then do a "w" to save the changes and reboot.

As far as fstab and grub, unless you edited it manually, it should already be using UUIDs for mounting so the numbering won't matter. You should check though, before rebooting.

I am getting the impression you're just a little "anal" about some things. I recognize the symptoms as I am a fellow sufferer of this condition Hey, a little neatness and organization makes life much easier, right?

[joneall]

I am getting the impression you're just a little "anal" about some things. I recognize the symptoms as I am a fellow sufferer of this condition Hey, a little neatness and organization makes life much easier, right?

Hm first time I've been accused of that. I see what you mean, tho.

As for fstab, I have added lots of partitons to it. Don't know how to do it otherwise. I add separate partitions for photos and mp3 files so I don't have to worry about them when installing a new system (maybe on a new disk). Then I can add them afterwards. I also link my windows partitions; otherwise, the poor things would never be accessed.

The / partition and, for some reason I do not understand, a floppy (fd0) are the original vestiges, coded with UUID.

Thanks for everybody's assistance.

[oshunluvr]

Mostly wondering if you used UUIDs or dev names. Either work, but if you re-order the partitions and use device names, edit your fstab before rebooting.