[ale] GParted & unallocated space

Sat Sep 25 20:27:58 EDT 2010

I've shrank Windows partitions with GParted successfully -- I just make
sure I run chkdsk on M$ to make sure Bill is "happy".  If you can
successfully resize the partition and create the appropriate
"unallocated space" then I wouldn't worry about formatting that space --
I'd just install Ubuntu to the unallocated space and be done with it.
This is exactly what I did last weekend on a build for a buddy who is
dual-booting XP and 9.10 and he loves it!  So much so he can't imagine
why in the world anyone would want to use Windows when you have Linux to
choose from!!  : )

The scenario under-which I did this was:  WD 160GB HDD "System C:" 40GB
NTFS; "Storage D:" 40GB NTFS and the remainder as Unallocated Space for
Ubuntu 9.10 to install to (which it did flawlessly!)  I had attempted an
installation of 64 Studio on this box after installing XP but the whole
build got corrupt during the late phases of the install of Studio (boot
loader crapped-out).  During that installation the "Storage" drive got
repartitioned to 56GB from the original 40GB I specified so I used
GParted on the Live CD I have for 9.10 and parred it back to 40GB.  I
then nuked the ext3 partitioning from the botched 64 Studio
installation, rebooted to M$ and ran chkdsk on D: and confirmed all was
well.  Then back to my Live CD and did the installation on the
Unallocated Space.  Viola!  

Note:  I did not format the unallocated space prior to Linux
installation...I did that during the installation.

Fly low, beat the radar and may the wind at your back not be your
own....R

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Philips <briarpatch.jim at gmail.com>
Reply-to: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts - Yes! We run Linux! <ale at ale.org>
To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts - Yes! We run Linux! <ale at ale.org>
Subject: Re: [ale] GParted & unallocated space
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:25:55 -0400

I went back to Windows and tried to format the "unallocated space". It
wouldn't let me. So, I used the Windows partition tool to regrow the
Windows partition to its maximum size and reclaim that space. I then
tried to shrink that partition again, thinking I could format the empty
space as ntfs. When I went to shrink, Windows complained that tghe
partition could not be shrunk because it was corrupted and I needed to
run chkdsk to fix the problem. I ran chkdsk twice, but I s'm still not
being allowed to shrink that partition in Windows. I could shrink it
again in GParted, but I will end up again with "unallocated space" that
GParted refuses to format. This is getting to be less fun as it goes
along.

On Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 10:43 AM, justin caratzas
<justin.caratzas at gmail.com> wrote:

        I've seen people advocate with either choice for shrinking the
        windows
        partition.  I just went through a similar situation where I
        wanted to
        keep the Windows installation on a new laptop (Civ 5 ftw) and
        install
        Archlinux to occupy half of the hard drive.  Unfortunately for
        me, the
        archlinux installer didn't like the partition that windows had
        setup
        as a result of the shrinking, something about cylinder
        boundaries and
        such.  GParted wasn't working either, giving a similar message
        when I
        tried to just give archlinux the large partition to work with.
         One
        challenge was all the partitions that Lenovo had in place
        (recovery,
        installation, etc).  What I ended up having to do is manually
        partition the unallocated space in GParted, and only make the
        archlinux installer assign mount points, and it seemed fine with
        that.

        As far as the space being unformatted, I think I ran into that
        situation and got around it by formatting the partition as NTFS
        in
        windows, and then simply reformatting once GParted was able to
        see it
        upon reboot.

        -- justin

        On Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 10:14 AM, Damon L. Chesser
        <damon at damtek.com> wrote:
        > On Sat, 2010-09-25 at 09:58 -0400, Jim Philips wrote:
        >> I bought a new laptop and I'm trying to install Ubuntu on it.
        The firs
        >> time around, I ended up destroying the Windows installation
        (which I
        >> did not want to do). The second time I went in and looked for
        the
        >> "side by side" option for installing from the live CD. It
        wasn't
        >> there. So, I decided to try GParted. I shrank the nearly 475
        gigs
        >> dedicated to Windows in half. After that, I am left with 235
        gigs of
        >> unallocated space. The Ubuntu installer will neither format
        nor
        >> install to that space. Gparted won't format it either. So,
        from where
        >> I am now, there is nothing I can do with that space either
        with the
        >> Ubuntu installer or GParted. The "Format to" option is just
        grayed out
        >> in GParted. I don't remember my last install being this hard.
        >>
        >> This is a Windows 7, 64 bit laptop.
        >
        > It is desirable to "shrink" the partition from with-in
        windows.  Right
        > click on "my computer" select "manage" go down to "disk
        manager".  I
        > don't remember the exact thing to do, but from there (perhaps
        by right
        > clicking menu on the disk partition?) you can select to change
        the size
        > of the partition.  Give that a try.  I have never "seen" the
        situation
        > you are describing, however, I have broke windows 7 by NOT
        using windows
        > built in disk manager to change the size.
        >
        > HTH
        >> _______________________________________________
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        >
        > --
        > Damon
        > damon at damtek.com
        >
        > _______________________________________________
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