How to resize hard drive partitions in Ubuntu from the console

A partition is the name assigned to each of the divisions on a single physical storage device. For example, to illustrate, if you have multiple partitions, it is as if you have several hard drives on a single physical hard drive and each would have its own file system and operation different from the others.

You can use these partitions for various things. For example you can only use them for archive important data with security measures, you could also make backup copies of your files and use them to install different operating systems.

In operating systems like Linux it will allow you to structure the disk into partitions for all the different files used by this system. And that's not all, you can also resize these partitions on your hard drive and even install an operating system on an external hard drive.

In this article we will show you how to easily resize hard drive partitions in Ubuntu from your console. This time we will use the Ubuntu 13.04 operating system to perform all procedures.

How to resize hard drive partitions?

While having the Linux system offers you many benefits, the truth is that one of its drawbacks is that unlike Windows, it cannot resize partitions on a hard drive or system you are using. This occurs because it is necessary to perform this type of procedure unmount the volume and resize it. Also there are differences between disk partitions.

Let's say it's a disadvantage of Linux, since to do this same procedure in Windows you just have to go to its native disk management tool and from there you can resize the volume even if you are using the same drive where the Microsoft operating system is. hosted.

Unlike Linux, it will not be necessary to unmount the drive volume and you will be able to perform the procedure in a few minutes.

If you are here it is because you will be doing this procedure using Linux, but as it is different from Windows you need to do it from a Live CD or Ubuntu Live USB. In this article we will show you how to do it from Live USB on Ubuntu version 13.04 as mentioned above.

The first step you need to follow is to reboot the system and boot it with Ubuntu 13.04 Live USB, this process can be programmed directly from the Bios by selecting the USB device. Once the system is booted with Live USB, you need to open the Yumi program.

Installed previously, select the Linux Distributions option from its main screen and then the option to try Ubuntu 13.04 but without installing it on the hard drive. Once the Ubuntu desktop can be seen on the screen, you need to follow these new steps that we will give you below.

What are the steps to follow to resize partitions?

Once the system has booted from the Live Distro, you need to go to Dash and type the following: gparted

Now you have to click on the icon and a window which is the main one of gparted should automatically appear on the screen, this is the one that will allow you to manage your hard drives.

You need to select the Linux partition which has EXT format, you need to place the cursor on it and right click and in the displayed options choose the option Resize / Move.

You will be able to see a new window open where you will need to change the partition you have selected but without harming the Ubuntu 13.04 operating system which will be hosted there.

In order to resize the Linux partition, you have to go directly into the configuration and type in the text box the amount of space you want on the partition or by moving the top bar left or right until you get the desired space size.

When you have finished this procedure and you have the desired size or dimension, you need to click on the Resize / Move option again and the process will begin.

It will take at least a couple of hours before it is ready. And this will be the whole procedure that you will perform, you can already count on your partition Linux downsized. While it may seem a little complicated, the truth is that when you start the process you will see that it is not difficult at all.