Chapter 4. Getting started with partitions

Procedure

1. Start the interactive parted shell:

   # parted block-device

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2. Determine if there already is a partition table on the device:

   (parted) print

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   If the device already contains partitions, they will be deleted in the following steps.

3. Create the new partition table:

   (parted) mklabel table-type

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   • Replace table-type with with the intended partition table type:

     • msdos for MBR

     • gpt for GPT

       For example to create a GPT table on the disk, use:

       (parted) mklabel gpt

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       The changes start applying after you enter this command.

4. View the partition table to confirm that it is created:

   (parted) print

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5. Exit the parted shell:

   (parted) quit

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Procedure

1. Start the parted utility. For example, the following output lists the device /dev/sda:

   # parted /dev/sda

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2. View the partition table:

   (parted) print
   
   Model: ATA SAMSUNG MZNLN256 (scsi)
   Disk /dev/sda: 256GB
   Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
   Partition Table: msdos
   Disk Flags:
   
   Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system  Flags
    1      1049kB  269MB   268MB   primary   xfs          boot
    2      269MB   34.6GB  34.4GB  primary
    3      34.6GB  45.4GB  10.7GB  primary
    4      45.4GB  256GB   211GB   extended
    5      45.4GB  256GB   211GB   logical

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3. Optional: Switch to the device you want to examine next:

   (parted) select block-device

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   For a detailed description of the print command output, see the following:

   Model: ATA SAMSUNG MZNLN256 (scsi)

   The disk type, manufacturer, model number, and interface.

   Disk /dev/sda: 256GB

   The file path to the block device and the storage capacity.

   Partition Table: msdos

   The disk label type.

   Number

   The partition number. For example, the partition with minor number 1 corresponds to /dev/sda1.

   Start and End

   The location on the device where the partition starts and ends.

   Type

   Valid types are metadata, free, primary, extended, or logical.

   File system

   The file system type. If the File system field of a device shows no value, this means that its file system type is unknown. The parted utility cannot recognize the file system on encrypted devices.

   Flags

   Lists the flags set for the partition. The most commonly used flags are boot, root, swap, hidden, raid, lvm, or lba. For a complete list of flags, see parted(8) man page on your system.

Procedure

1. Start the parted utility:

   # parted block-device

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2. View the current partition table to determine if there is enough free space:

   (parted) print

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   • Resize the partition in case there is not enough free space.

   • From the partition table, determine:

     • The start and end points of the new partition.
     • On MBR, what partition type it should be.

3. Create the new partition:

   For MS-DOS:

   (parted) mkpart part-type fs-type start end

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   For GPT:

   (parted) mkpart part-name fs-type start end

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   • Replace part-type with primary, logical, or extended. This applies only to the MBR partition table.
   • Replace name with an arbitrary partition name. This is required for GPT partition tables.
   • Replace fs-type with xfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, fat16, fat32, hfs, hfs+, linux-swap, ntfs, or reiserfs. The fs-type parameter is optional. Note that the parted utility does not create the file system on the partition.

   • Replace start and end with the sizes that determine the starting and ending points of the partition, counting from the beginning of the disk. You can use size suffixes, such as 512MiB, 20GiB, or 1.5TiB. The default size is in megabytes.

     For example, to create a primary partition from 1024 MiB until 2048 MiB on an MBR table, use:

     (parted) mkpart primary 1024MiB 2048MiB

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     The changes start applying after you enter the command.

4. View the partition table to confirm that the created partition is in the partition table with the correct partition type, file system type, and size:

   (parted) print

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5. Exit the parted shell:

   (parted) quit

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6. Verify that the kernel recognizes the new partition:

   # cat /proc/partitions

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Procedure

1. Start the interactive fdisk shell:

   # fdisk block-device

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2. View the current partition table to determine the minor partition number:

   Command (m for help): print

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   You can see the current partition type in the Type column and its corresponding type ID in the Id column.

3. Enter the partition type command and select a partition by using its minor number:

   Command (m for help): type
   Partition number (1-3, default 3): 2

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4. Optional: Display the partition types:

   • For disks with an MBR partition table:

     Hex code or alias (type L to list all codes): L

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   • For disks with a GPT partition table:

     Partition type or alias (type L to list all): L

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5. Set the partition type:

   • For disks with an MBR partition table:

     Hex code or alias (type L to list all codes): 8e

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   • For disks with a GPT partition table:

     Partition type or alias (type L to list all): 44

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6. Write your changes and exit the fdisk shell:

   Command (m for help): write
   The partition table has been altered.
   Syncing disks.

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Procedure

1. Start the parted utility:

   # parted block-device

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2. View the current partition table:

   (parted) print

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   From the partition table, determine:

   • The minor number of the partition.

   • The location of the existing partition and its new ending point after resizing.

     Important

     When resizing a partition, ensure there is enough unallocated space between the end of the partition being resized and either the beginning of the next partition, or the end of the disk if it is the last partition. If there is not sufficient space, parted will return an error. However, it is best to verify the available space before attempting to resize to avoid partition overlap.

3. Resize the partition:

   (parted) resizepart 1 2GiB

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   • Replace 1 with the minor number of the partition that you are resizing.
   • Replace 2 with the size that determines the new ending point of the resized partition, counting from the beginning of the disk. You can use size suffixes, such as 512MiB, 20GiB, or 1.5TiB. The default size is in megabytes.

4. View the partition table to confirm that the resized partition is in the partition table with the correct size:

   (parted) print

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5. Exit the parted shell:

   (parted) quit

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6. Verify that the kernel registers the new partition:

   # cat /proc/partitions

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7. Optional: If you extended the partition, extend the file system on it as well.

Procedure

1. Start the interactive parted shell:

   # parted block-device

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   • Replace block-device with the path to the device where you want to remove a partition: for example, /dev/sda.

2. View the current partition table to determine the minor number of the partition to remove:

   (parted) print

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3. Remove the partition:

   (parted) rm partition-number

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   • Replace partition-number with the partition number you want to remove.

   The changes start applying as soon as you enter this command.

4. Verify that you have removed the partition from the partition table:

   (parted) print

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5. Exit the parted shell:

   (parted) quit

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6. Verify that the kernel registers that the partition is removed:

   # cat /proc/partitions

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7. Remove the partition from the /etc/fstab file, if it is present. Find the line that declares the removed partition, and remove it from the file.

8. Regenerate mount units so that your system registers the new /etc/fstab configuration:

   # systemctl daemon-reload

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   Important

   To remove a partition mentioned in /proc/cmdline or that is part of an LVM, see Configuring and managing logical volumes, and the dracut(8) and grubby (8) man pages on your system.