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I have Windows and Ubuntu in dual boot. I wanted to shrink to maximum the Windows partition to free some space for my /home partition in Ubuntu. I previously asked a question about the best method to achieve this: my previous question

(note: I don't care about not being able to boot Windows anymore, because it doesn't boot anyway.)

So I did exactly what I had been advised to do in the above thread, and everything went fine until GParted sent an error message during the resize operation of the Windows partition.

I have written down the errors and I also saved the details of the GParted fail, in the form of an html file (I don't know how to read this file but I can give it if needed).

The error appeared when the following command was being run by GParted:

ntfsresize --force --force -s[...(some numbers)]--no-action '/dev/sda5'

(/dev/sda5 is the Windows partition I want to shrink).

The errors looked like this:

Failed to open inode[...]with index: input/output error

After that, the next operation were not carried out and the GParted windows returned to the initial state.

What should I do?

Giuseppe
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1 Answers1

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Input/Output errors are usually related to a hardware problem. The issue could be caused by something as simple as a loose cable, all the way up to a failing hard disk drive.

When the error occurs, you can open a terminal prompt and enter the dmesg command. At the end of the output you should hopefully find more information about the issue.

You might also try running the gsmartcontol GUI to gain access to the smart monitoring information that is tracked by the disk drive. This software can be installed with sudo apt install gsmartcontrol on Ubuntu.

If it looks like a hardware error, you might also consider visiting the disk manufacturer web site to look for disk drive testing software. Often this software will overwrite the disk drive so be sure to have a good backup of your data before running disk test software.

Curtis Gedak
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  • So what you suggest is redoing what I did in GParted until the errors occurs, then run dmesg in the terminal? I read in the meantime that one should resize Windows partitions from within Windows. Would it be better then to repair my Windows boot first? If yes, do you know a Windows free utility I could use? – Giuseppe Jul 31 '18 at 21:26
  • You might read through the GParted FAQ sections on restoring the ability for Windows to boot. Then when Windows boots up it should automatically try to repair the file system. To check if the drive is failing you can use gsmartcontrol. The program gsmartcontrol is included in the GParted Live image. – Curtis Gedak Aug 01 '18 at 15:40