Arch Linux

tricky

Member

Registered: 2009-03-31

Posts: 65

[SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

Hey,

I have noticed that my Linux partition (ext3) is getting full.
The partition is about 7GB at present (8% left in the partition -  according to Conky) and I am not sure how much it should be.
The entire HDD is about 250GB.
It has filled up over some months.
Does this mean I will have to keep extending it?..what would a sensible size be?.
Do I need to worry or will it dynamically resize?.
I have removed as much stuff I don't need as possible, still not enough.
My Desktop is Gnome.

I don't feel confident to resize my Linux partition as I have never attempted it before.
Should I just swat up on gparted?.
Any tips appreciated.

Last edited by tricky (2009-06-12 10:49:47)

Xyne

Administrator/PM

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 6,963

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

I would recommend doing a forum search for "resize partition" (you can find the search page at the top right). There are many threads in which this has been extensively discussed and there's a good chance that you will find the information you're after in one of them.

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My Arch Linux Stuff • Forum Etiquette • Community Ethos - Arch is not for everyone

tricky

Member

Registered: 2009-03-31

Posts: 65

Re: [SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

Thanks for that, I need a simple ..oh I don't know what I need.
I don't use LVM.
Whats the most common method or easiest.
Gparted?.
If I dont resize it will my system break down?.

Last edited by tricky (2009-06-11 21:10:33)

bwh1969

Member

Registered: 2008-01-05

Posts: 151

Re: [SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

Also try to figure out why it is getting so full.

Recently in ubuntu, my disk filled up.  I found out that .xsession-errors in /home/me/ was just getting huge.

I used kdirstat (found in aur) and opened directories to see what is going on.  Very useful graphical tool that gives a list of directories and files in them, and more importantly, ranks them in size.

If you are just filling up, make sure you store your files in another partition.  You could actually move your home to another partition, and there are posts on the web on how to do this.  READ up on them though.

tricky

Member

Registered: 2009-03-31

Posts: 65

Re: [SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

Thank you bwh1969,
That does help.

perbh

Member

From: Republic of Texas

Registered: 2005-03-04

Posts: 765

Re: [SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

I can only second what bwh1969 said.
I have also been in the same position - and obviously I had other filesystems with plenty of room, so I just moved over some of the more bloated directories and made a link ... something like this:

mkdir /work/sys   # /work has plenty of room
mv /var /work/sys
ln -s /work/sys/var /var

Obviously /usr will be one of your biggest (sizewise) directories, but there may be parts of /usr that is required during boot and maybe _before_ some of the other filesystems have been mounted - so my advice would be to keep /bin, /usr /sbin, /usr/sbin and /etc the way they are ...

tricky

Member

Registered: 2009-03-31

Posts: 65

Re: [SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

Thank you perbh,
That will come in useful.
I am going to Use kdirstat and move some directories.
Also gparted livecd to resize the Linux partition maybe.

tricky

Member

Registered: 2009-03-31

Posts: 65

Re: [SOLVED] Resize Linux Partition?

The gparted livecd did the trick.
Took about 1.5 hours but good stuff, not difficult at all.
Now Linux partition has 85% free.
Now just gotta detect whats eating my disc space.
Thanks again Folks.