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WaJa avatar Ubuntu

Extending OS partition that is not the sda1

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WaJa

I have found two existing posts here that answer the first part of my question:

Increase partition size on which Ubuntu is installed? and Resize Disk Partition on Remote VM Server

However both of them assume my Linux is installed in the sda1, which, from what I can tell , makes its cylinder much earlier than if it were the sda4 (I didn't even know this cylinder thing was a thing). This is my current situation with this SSD:

/dev/sda1 - ntfs - 73mb / 58gb (storage I was using for my windows, but is currently empty)

/dev/sda2 - fat32 - 216mb / 244mb (SWAP)

/dev/sda3 - linux-swap - 0b / 7.45gb (I'm not sure how this even happened or if it even does anything)

/dev/sda4 - ext4 - 40gb / 45gb (Ubuntu OS)

This computer has another SSD with W10 LTSC in it, which is why I have a (or I guess two?) SWAP partitions. That's a whole different problem, so nevermind that too much.

As you might've noticed, I had no idea what I was doing when I first installed Ubuntu and I still don't, quite honestly. My problem is that I am running low on space for my Ubuntu, and I'd like to convert that empty ntfs storage to ext4 (I assume) and integrate it into my OS. Now, if I go by those previous questions posted above, I'd have to make note of the cylinder in which my OS starts at and ends, so that I can "eat up" the new ext4 partition that has nothing in it. However, my OS cylinder comes after everything else in my SSD so I'm not even sure if that method would work. I even looked up how to change my sda4 to sda1, but that's apparently a very risky thing to do, and since I'm fully aware of how little I understand, I chose to not go for it and instead ask here for help before I lose everything I have on this computer.

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crip659 avatar
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crip659
Matigo's suggestion is good for your system. /home does not need to be with the OS, it can be on it's own partition or even on another disk. Separating /home from OS would probably be the easiest way for you to get more space. For you to start expanding or moving partitions around is not for beginners or even for people who have some experience. Having back ups is always recommended for important data.
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oldfred avatar
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oldfred
You should have backups for both Windows & Ubuntu data. More info on moving /home to a new partition, whether another drive or same drive. To move /home uses rsync- Be sure to use parameters to preserve ownership & permissions https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Partitioning/Home/Moving & https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2455822&p=14010437#post14010437
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in flag
matigo
The simplest option may be to format that NTFS partition as Ext4 and use it for your `/home` directory. That would free up some space on the OS partition
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crip659 avatar
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crip659
sda 2 is most likely your UEFI(booting) partition, does not like to be moved or changed, bad things happen. What size is the whole disk? Showing a bit over 100GBs. If empty space to right of sda 4 can use that without much problems, or use matigo's suggestion, google/search for moving /home.
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user10489 avatar
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user10489
Or buy another disk?
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WaJa avatar
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WaJa
@matigo I thought as much, but that wouldn't be *as* convenient as just having it merged with my OS paritition. It can be my last resort, I suppose.
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WaJa avatar
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WaJa
@crip659 The whole disk is 120 gb, give or take. I rounded the numbers in my OP, but that's pretty much it. But the thing is that my sda4 extends to the very end of the whole disk, from what I can tell, in terms of "cylinders", that is.
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WaJa avatar
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WaJa
@user10489 Why? It doesn't address what I'm trying to do here.
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user10489 avatar
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user10489
Misread the size of the first partition. But it's still a really small disk. Also, partitions don't have to be in the same order as their cylinder offsets, they just usually are.
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