Hi folks, I'd like to move the second partition on a disk. I've resized the first partition, reducing its size, and now I'd like to move the second partition so that it's new start position is at the end of the first partition. Current partition info: Number Start End Size Type File system 1 32kB 40GB 40GB primary reiserfs 2 60GB 99GB 39GB primary reiserfs I would like to move the second partition like so: Number Start End Size Type File system 1 32kB 40GB 40GB primary reiserfs 2 40GB 79GB 39GB primary reiserfs Current parted 1.6.25.1 will not allow me to move a reiserfs partition. As a last resort I suppose I can backup, delete the 2nd partition, create a new partition then restore from backup but It would be nice to know of another utility that would let me move a reiserfs partition. Any suggestions? Cheers G
On 08/05/06 04:55, Graham Anderson wrote:
Hi folks,
I'd like to move the second partition on a disk. I've resized the first partition, reducing its size, and now I'd like to move the second partition so that it's new start position is at the end of the first partition.
Current partition info:
Number Start End Size Type File system 1 32kB 40GB 40GB primary reiserfs 2 60GB 99GB 39GB primary reiserfs
I would like to move the second partition like so:
Number Start End Size Type File system 1 32kB 40GB 40GB primary reiserfs 2 40GB 79GB 39GB primary reiserfs
Current parted 1.6.25.1 will not allow me to move a reiserfs partition. As a last resort I suppose I can backup, delete the 2nd partition, create a new partition then restore from backup but It would be nice to know of another utility that would let me move a reiserfs partition.
I don't know of anything that will move a Reiser partition. Given the current state of things (you have to use cfdisk, with extreme caution, making sure the new partition start point is *exactly* at the old partition start point), I won't even try to resize one.
On Monday 08 May 2006 18:31, Darryl Gregorash wrote:
I don't know of anything that will move a Reiser partition. Given the current state of things (you have to use cfdisk, with extreme caution, making sure the new partition start point is *exactly* at the old partition start point), I won't even try to resize one.
If you did find such a utility, Graham, you'd probably want to make a backup anyway, meaning half the job is done already. Then you delete the old, create the new, restore the data and you're done. It's almost not worth it, notwithstanding the technical challenges. Carl
On Monday, May 08, 2006 @ 6:01 PM, Carl Hartung wrote:
Subject: Re: [SLE] Disk/Partition management
On Monday 08 May 2006 18:31, Darryl Gregorash wrote:
I don't know of anything that will move a Reiser partition. Given the current state of things (you have to use cfdisk, with extreme caution, making sure the new partition start point is *exactly* at the old partition start point), I won't even try to resize one.
If you did find such a utility, Graham, you'd probably want to make a backup anyway, meaning half the job is done already. Then you delete the old, create the new, restore the data and you're done. It's almost not worth it, notwithstanding the technical challenges.
Carl
Exactly. Seems like the best bet would be to use a backup utility that will let you resize and move partitions during a re-install. I use a disaster recovery system that allows that, but some of the regular backup software probably(?) does also. Greg Wallace
On Monday 08 May 2006 6:31 pm, Darryl Gregorash wrote:
I don't know of anything that will move a Reiser partition. Given the current state of things (you have to use cfdisk, with extreme caution, making sure the new partition start point is *exactly* at the old partition start point), I won't even try to resize one. I have successfully resized and moved ReiserFS partitions with QTParted. There is also a utility, resize_reiserfs.
The way I do it is:
Boot a KNoppix CD or DVD.
Bring up a terminal window
su to root
make sure that swap is turned off for the physical drive you are working
with (this may not be necessary unless you are moving or resizing swap on
that drive).
then run 'qtparted /dev/hda'
I've done this a number of times. (You can search the SLE archives since I
have reported it a number of times in the past).
Again, anytime you are doing this type of operation, you run the risk of
trashing your data, so make sure you have a backup. In my case, I have
reorganized my home system a number of times. The most recent was when my
root partition was too small for one of the SUSE releases (9.3 at the time
I think). I have also use QTParted to successfully resize Windows XP NTFS
file systems at linux installfests, although both SUSE and Fedora
installers now do that reasonably well.
--
Jerry Feldman
On Tuesday 09 May 2006 09:19, Jerry Feldman wrote:
I have successfully resized and moved ReiserFS partitions with QTParted. There is also a utility, resize_reiserfs.
Hi Jerry, Thanks for the feedback. More tools in the kit bag are always nice to have... you never know when you'll need "just that one." I have to admit, though, my enthusiasm is a bit tempered by two factors: First, these tools introduce the opportunity to skip making backups, which for some people is too great a temptation to resist, particularly when they're inexperienced, too trusting and time is tight. Secondly, if one does make backups, it isn't very clear to me how much time is saved by moving/resizing versus deleting, recreating and restoring. It might be a wash but the moving/resizing process, itself, introduces another layer of complexity that IMHO increases the odds of something going amiss. That's just a "gut" reflex... maybe I'm wrong. I'll give them a try the next time I have an opportunity (after making backups.) Who knows? Maybe I'll be 'sold' into changing my ways! ;-) Thanks again! Carl
On Tuesday 09 May 2006 10:25 am, Carl Hartung wrote:
Thanks for the feedback. More tools in the kit bag are always nice to have... you never know when you'll need "just that one." I have to admit, though, my enthusiasm is a bit tempered by two factors:
First, these tools introduce the opportunity to skip making backups, which for some people is too great a temptation to resist, particularly when they're inexperienced, too trusting and time is tight. That is system management issue. If you do not make backups, you risk losing your data. It's just that simple.
Secondly, if one does make backups, it isn't very clear to me how much time is saved by moving/resizing versus deleting, recreating and restoring. It might be a wash but the moving/resizing process, itself, introduces another layer of complexity that IMHO increases the odds of something going amiss. That's just a "gut" reflex... maybe I'm wrong. In the olden days before Linus started to use Minix, we did not have these tools. While UFS did not get fragmented like a FAT file system, it could fragment when it was close to being full. The defrag technique was to backup and restore. For the most part, a backup/delete/recreate/restore has some benefits in that you can change the file system. In the case of ReiserFS you can upgrade from 3.5 to 3.6 or to 4.0. Or you can change from ReiserFS to Ext3 or JFS.
In some cases, where I needed to resize the root file system, a backup was
not a good idea. If it gets screwed up, my backup is always the install
media.
--
Jerry Feldman
On Wednesday 10 May 2006 08:39, Jerry Feldman wrote:
That is system management issue. If you do not make backups, you risk losing your data. It's just that simple.
I concur. Is it better to steer newcomers towards the 'safer' method or to 'cast caution to the winds' and leave the tools decision to them?
For the most part, a backup/delete/recreate/restore has some benefits in that you can change the file system. In the case of ReiserFS you can upgrade from 3.5 to 3.6 or to 4.0. Or you can change from ReiserFS to Ext3 or JFS.
I'd forgotten to mention this. Excellent point.
In some cases, where I needed to resize the root file system, a backup was not a good idea. If it gets screwed up, my backup is always the install media.
We definitely see eye to eye here. I keep a special directory populated with installation notes, copies of scripts and configuration files and even some of the more obscure/unique packages in case I need to "restore" the system via a fresh installation. Carl
On 09/05/06 07:19, Jerry Feldman wrote:
On Monday 08 May 2006 6:31 pm, Darryl Gregorash wrote:
I don't know of anything that will move a Reiser partition. Given the current state of things (you have to use cfdisk, with extreme caution, making sure the new partition start point is *exactly* at the old partition start point), I won't even try to resize one.
I have successfully resized and moved ReiserFS partitions with QTParted. There is also a utility, resize_reiserfs.
Resize_reiserfs is exactly the nightmare I was talking about. When I see "use cfdisk" followed closely by "Make sure you re-create it with the same starting disk cylinder as before! Otherwise, the resize operation will certainly not work, and you may lose your entire filesystem." I want to shoot the programmers :-) I am sure I must have seen you or others mention qtparted before, but nothing showed up when I went to google. Thanks for the reminder. I found that qtparted requires the progrsreiserfs package, which is said to conflict with the "official" reiserfsprogs from namesys (the namesys package seems to be called "reiserfs" in SuSE); I've also seen a lot of talk about progsreiserfs destroying filesystems. It is difficult to sort through this tangle of information, so if you have any observations they'd be appreciated.
On Tuesday 09 May 2006 12:58 pm, Darryl Gregorash wrote:
Resize_reiserfs is exactly the nightmare I was talking about. When I see "use cfdisk" followed closely by "Make sure you re-create it with the same starting disk cylinder as before! Otherwise, the resize operation will certainly not work, and you may lose your entire filesystem." I want to shoot the programmers :-)
I am sure I must have seen you or others mention qtparted before, but nothing showed up when I went to google. Thanks for the reminder.
I found that qtparted requires the progrsreiserfs package, which is said to conflict with the "official" reiserfsprogs from namesys (the namesys package seems to be called "reiserfs" in SuSE); I've also seen a lot of talk about progsreiserfs destroying filesystems. It is difficult to sort through this tangle of information, so if you have any observations they'd be appreciated. I use QTParted from a Knoppix stand-alone. While I have installed QTParted on SuSE in the past, I did not like the results. In my experience using SuSE and ReiserFS, I have not trashed a file system. I did have a corruption issue a number of years ago on 2 different systems, both have proven to be hardware related. In the case of the laptop, I have a bad memory module. In the case of the desktop, I would have HDs simply go offline. That proved to be a flaky power supply. After replacing the power supply the system remained stable until I upgraded a month or so ago. -- Jerry Feldman
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participants (5)
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Carl Hartung
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Darryl Gregorash
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Graham Anderson
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Greg Wallace
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Jerry Feldman