Resize root partition from empty space behind | Arch Linux Community | Page 1

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 3:07 PM

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When I first installed Arch, I ran GRUB to dual-boot alongside Windows, but now I've decided to abandon that and would like to expand my storage on my Arch partition. I found on forums that gparted would be the easiest way, however my Windows partition (now empty) is before my Arch partition, which is something neither fdisk nor gparted can do. I'm almost certain my only option is to delete my partition then create a new one, but I wanted to check 2 things:

If there's possibly an easier way
How would I go about backing up my data? Is there a tool that can do the work for me? If not, what files/directories do I need to save?

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Also a bonus, I'm pretty sure I have random stuff from years ago bloating my current partition, so if you guys could recommend some tools to inspect/clean my storage that would be great

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:29 PM

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I’m pretty sure gparted can expand to the left. What’s the issue?

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@gleaming spoke

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:30 PM

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It doesn't let me

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:31 PM

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What do you get when you try

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Is there an error?

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:31 PM

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This is what shows up when I click "Resize/Move" on gparted

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:32 PM

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Try moving it to the left and then expanding it to the right

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:33 PM

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good idea

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:33 PM

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gleaming spoke This is what shows up when I click "Resize/Move" on gparted

Also the numbers there don’t match up with the original screenshot

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:34 PM

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void orchid Also the numbers there don’t match up with the original screenshot

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@void orchid I can't move it, right clicking shows me the "Resize/Move" option but I can't move it left

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:35 PM

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Weird

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I’ve heard you can use DD to clone partitions

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:35 PM

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Maybe because it's my root file?

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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gleaming spoke Maybe because it's my root file?

Oh wait are you booted into the system rm

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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yes

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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lol

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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thats it isnt it lol

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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Yea don’t do that. That may be the issue.

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Use the EndevourOS live ISO or something

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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ok so once I chroot into the system through an arch live boot what

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install gparted and same thing?

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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No don’t chroot

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:36 PM

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ohoh

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gotcha

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gotcha

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goddamn it I'm gonna have to figure out wifi again lol

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:37 PM

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Use gparted in a GUI live USB (like EndeavorOS). Don’t mount arch while you change partitions.

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:37 PM

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gleaming spoke goddamn it I'm gonna have to figure out wifi again lol

You don’t need Wi-Fi to modify partitions

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:37 PM

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Don't I need it to install gparted?

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:38 PM

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gleaming spoke Don't I need it to install gparted?

Many live ISOs already have it

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:38 PM

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EndeavourOS it is

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:38 PM

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I usually use the EOS ISO for this kind of thing

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:38 PM

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Thank you tons, I'll do this when I get home

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Is there a way to "close" this post?

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"mark as solved"?

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:39 PM

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gleaming spoke Is there a way to "close" this post?

I’ll show you how to mark it as solved when it’s actually solved

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:39 PM

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fair enough 😂

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:39 PM

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It’s not solved until you’ve booted into the system with a good partition layout

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:39 PM

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I'll be home in ~3 hours so I'll ping you

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:39 PM

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void orchid It’s not solved until you’ve booted into the system with a good partition layout

fair

void orchid Dec 11, 2023, 5:39 PM

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Ok

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make sure the partitions aren’t mounted when you modify them

gleaming spoke Dec 11, 2023, 5:40 PM

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noted

gleaming spoke Dec 12, 2023, 10:19 PM

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@void orchid it's possible the liveUSB got unplugged while I was doing it, and so now it only finds a lost+found file

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Does this mean all data is gone and I gotta start from 0?

void orchid Dec 12, 2023, 10:23 PM

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gleaming spoke Does this mean all data is gone and I gotta start from 0?

You can try to use some data recovery software for your important files, but yes

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Don’t write to the drive until you’re done recovering anything you want back

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TestDisk and PhotoRec are good

gleaming spoke Dec 12, 2023, 10:24 PM

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So booting the liveusb and using gpart to format the now "unknown" partition as ext4 and expanding it to full was a bad idea?

void orchid Dec 12, 2023, 10:24 PM

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I gtg, sorry I can’t stick around

gleaming spoke Dec 12, 2023, 10:24 PM

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void orchid I gtg, sorry I can’t stick around

Np, thank you

worldly bladeBOT Dec 12, 2023, 10:24 PM

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Ari received a thank you cookie!

void orchid Dec 12, 2023, 10:25 PM

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gleaming spoke So booting the liveusb and using gpart to format the now "unknown" partition as ...

Yes, but the data recovery software could still work

gleaming spoke Dec 12, 2023, 10:25 PM

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void orchid Yes, but the data recovery software could still work

Learning through failure, that's my favorite

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Thanks for all your help, I'll keep you posted

void orchid Dec 12, 2023, 10:26 PM

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gleaming spoke Learning through failure, that's my favorite

It’s my fault, sorry. I forgot to warn you to make backups before you did this.

gleaming spoke Dec 12, 2023, 10:26 PM

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Lol don't worry

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@void orchid I'm slowly realizing I have no idea how to use TestDisk lol

void orchid Dec 12, 2023, 10:42 PM

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Yea there’s a bit of a learning curve

gleaming spoke Dec 12, 2023, 10:44 PM

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This seems promising

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It wasn't good

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I'm assuming this has to do with it but I'm not 100% sure

gleaming spoke Dec 12, 2023, 11:18 PM

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Yeah this isn't working

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Starting over then 😂

#Resize root partition from empty space behind