How to create partition on single partitioned disk

Question

I have installed ubuntu 12.04 lts I have 500 gb single partitioned hard disk on which this ubuntu is installed

now i want to create two partition but when I try using gparted it is only showing unmount option(all other options are grey) so how can i do it without losing any data

If you used LVM, then it will be "easy" (if you understand LVM). If you did not use LVM, it's dangerous because most "partioners" do not know anything about the data on your disk and they will just cut it in half as required to create your partitions. At least that's how it was before. Maybe gparted does a good job on that... — Alexis Wilke, Feb 11 '14 at 19:00
is local volume manager is more effective than gparted in his job??? — user247166, Feb 11 '14 at 19:12
LVM knows how to handle existing data so it won't lose data (although it is somewhat complicated to use, but I think there is a GUI for it.) Either way, if you have data you do not want to lose, as mentioned by Rmano, you should back it up. — Alexis Wilke, Feb 11 '14 at 19:18
You normally decide to use LVM when you install your system. Retrofitting it is quite complex. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lvm and https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/serverguide/advanced-installation.html (scroll down to find LVM). It is quite advanced material; it is not just a program you install. — Rmano, Feb 11 '14 at 20:25

Rmano · Answer 1 · 2014-02-11T19:08:35.720

3

You can't repartition a partition which is in use. So

1) backup your data (1);

2) repartition your disk with gparted starting the system with a LiveUSB or LiveDVD (there is a gparted LiveCD somewhere around).

(1) In theory the resizing of a modern ext4 partition should be safe and without data loss. But when doing such kind of highly potentially disruptive operations, a backup is fundamental.(2)

(2) well... I have daily backup even when I do almost nothing. YMMV...

edited Feb 11 '14 at 19:08

answered Feb 11 '14 at 18:57

Rmano

31,947

is there any data loss or ubuntu os corruption during the whole process??? – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 18:59
1

there may be 1 percent chance of data loss. – Avinash Raj Feb 11 '14 at 19:00
there is gparted software livecd available...so is it able to do the job?? – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 19:02
1

yes both the gparted live cd and ubuntu live cd will does the job. – Avinash Raj Feb 11 '14 at 19:07

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 11 '14 at 18:57

1

You can resize your single HDD partition only through Gparted live disk or Ubuntu live disk.

answered Feb 11 '14 at 18:57

Avinash Raj

78,556

hey i have downloaded gparted live disk through mozilla...but it has been saved in root folder by default..now that root folder is inaccessible..so how can i access this?? – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 19:08
post the output of sudo ls /root. – Avinash Raj Feb 11 '14 at 19:12
Desktop gparted-live-0.17.0-4-i486.iso – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 19:15
saying that command not found.. – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 19:19
sudo cp /root/gparted-live-0.17.0-4-i486.iso ~/Desktop – Avinash Raj Feb 11 '14 at 19:22
post the error after running the above command. – Avinash Raj Feb 11 '14 at 19:22
or try these two commands sudo -i and cp gparted-live-0.17.0-4-i486.iso ~/Desktop – Avinash Raj Feb 11 '14 at 19:24
ya now it worked...thnks – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 19:25
of course but after successful partition.. – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 19:30
now its there but i am unable to burn it nor able to copy it to usb drive...it's saying permission denied – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 19:40
even now root is the owner of that file..so its showing permission denied – user247166 Feb 11 '14 at 20:02
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu or, better... http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+to+create+a+bootable+USB+%20on+Ubuntu# ;-) – Rmano Feb 11 '14 at 20:29
try this command sudo chmod 777 ~/Desktop/gparted-live-0.17.0-4-i486.iso.Now you can be able to copy. – Avinash Raj Feb 12 '14 at 03:30

How to create partition on single partitioned disk

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