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I'm reasonably new to all this, and I have already checked for previous answers but none of them seem to fit with my GParted analysis (below), as other people's results don't really look anything like mine... Moreover, when GParted doesn't seem to allow me to resize anything by the dragging process recommended in other answers.

Essentially, my Ubuntu root hard disk (partition) is only 30GB, and I really need more space to be able to install some new software.

As you can see from the screenshot below, I have 900GB on on my Windows partition; this is completely unused, and there is nothing saved on there.

Would someone be able to briefly explain the simplest way I can transfer some of this hard disk space to my Ubuntu partition?

Many thanks in advance!

My GParted analysis

Joe Williams
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  • Your / (sda6) partition is currently in-use, thus cannot be resized; the easiest way around that is to boot & use a 'live' (eg. Ubuntu install media) to resize partitions. Even if you shrink sda3; the space won't be next to sda6, so you'd firstly have to move sda4 up, then move sda5 up so the space is next to sda6 which can then be expanded to use space. So all data on sda4 & sda5 should be fully backed up as it'll be moved. I would be tempted to create a new partition in the space (after shrinking sda3), create partition and move /home there instead of all the moves/resizes... – guiverc Aug 31 '19 at 11:43
  • Hi guiverc- thanks for your response! So if I reboot with my Ubuntu install USB, I will be able to shrink sda3 using GParted. How would I then create a new partition into which I can move my Ubuntu /home? To clarify: there is really nothing saved on my hard disk apart from software. Apologies if my questions seem overly basic, but this is quite new to me and I really need to increase my Ubuntu disk space! – Joe Williams Aug 31 '19 at 11:50
  • You might have to boot into windows first and make sure fast boot is off. Then boot into usb and shrink sda3 as much as you want(half). Make new partition in new space and you can install ubuntu to it. Backup everything you want to keep before doing anything from both windows and ubuntu. – crip659 Aug 31 '19 at 12:18
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    Possible duplicate of How to resize partitions? – Pilot6 Aug 31 '19 at 12:22
  • Hi crip659- thanks for your input as well. It seems like the consensus is that I need to shrink sda3 and make a new partition in the new space, into which I can install Ubuntu, rather than move up the newly created space to sda6. My question is therefore: how to reinstall Ubuntu on this newly created partition, if it is already installed and using sda6 for hard disk? Thanks in advance! – Joe Williams Aug 31 '19 at 12:41
  • Just install it as before, you can delete the first ubuntu after or keep it. It would make life more simple to shrink sda3 than trying to move and resize the other partitions. Just make sure of new partition label(size) when you install ubuntu. – crip659 Aug 31 '19 at 12:53
  • Be aware that resizing partitions can make a mess of any data you have on them. Windows might need to be repaired also for it to boot. Usually better to resize windows with windows tools if you care for it. – crip659 Aug 31 '19 at 13:01
  • OK thank you- so the quickest/easiest way to do this is just to start from scratch with Ubuntu, creating a new partition with GParted, installing it on that new partition, and then reinstalling all my software once that new Ubuntu is ready to go? Thanks so much – Joe Williams Aug 31 '19 at 13:04
  • You probably have to use the 'something else' option when installing. – crip659 Aug 31 '19 at 13:33
  • Hi- I've now turned off fast boot but I'm still unable to resize the sda3 partition to create a new partition into which I can install a new version of Ubuntu. Is there anything else that I can do as a workaround here? I'm really not sure what I'm meant to be doing! Thank you – Joe Williams Aug 31 '19 at 14:30
  • Use WINDOWS tools to manage ntfs partitions, and Ubuntu's gparted to manage ext4 partitions. Please see my answer. – heynnema Aug 31 '19 at 22:29

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You can't resize /dev/sda3 because gparted thinks the partition is in an unknown state... as seen by the red icon.

Boot into Windows. Run chkdsk /f C:. You'll need to reboot to do this. Also turn off FAST BOOT and HIBERNATION...

- boot into Windows
- open the Power control panel
- choose `change what the power buttons do`
- choose `change options that are unavailable`
- uncheck `fast startup`
- close the Power control panel
- open an administrative command prompt window
- type `powercfg /h off`
- type `chkdsk /f c:`
- approve to run chkdsk at next reboot
- type `chkdsk /f x:` (replacing "x" with drive letters of other **visible** NTFS partitions)
- reboot into Windows to let chkdsk run on drive C:

To resize your partitions...

NOTE: MAKE GOOD BACKUPS OF YOUR IMPORTANT WINDOWS/UBUNTU FILES FIRST!

  • resize /dev/sda3 (your C: drive) USING A WINDOWS APPLICATION like Disk Manager or a third party tool.

  • move /dev/sda4 and /dev/sda5 all the way left using the same WINDOWS app.

  • reboot Windows to assure that it still boots.

  • then boot to a Ubuntu Live DVD/USB and use gparted to move the /dev/sda6 partition left, and resize the right side of the /dev/sda6 partition to the right.

Keep these things in mind when using gparted:

  • always start the entire procedure with issuing a swapoff on any mounted swap partitions, and end the entire procedure with issuing a swapon on that same swap partition

  • a move is done by pointing the mouse pointer at the center of a partition and dragging it left/right with the hand cursor

  • a resize is done by dragging the left/right side of a partition to the left/right with the directional arrow cursor

  • if any partition can't be moved/resized graphically, you may have to manually enter the specific required numeric data (don't do this unless I instruct you to)

  • you begin any move/resize by right-clicking on the partition in the lower pane of the main window, and selecting the desired action from the popup menu, then finishing that action in the new move/resize window

heynnema
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