Information and Recommendations: Repartition

[Paul Howarth]

Mike McCarty wrote:
> I have a slightly confusing (to me) situation.
> 
> # mount
> 
> [snip]
> 
> /dev/sda1 on /mnt/usb type ext3 (rw,nosuid,nodev,user=jmccarty)
> 
> # grep sda1 /etc/fstab
> /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb auto    noauto,user,exec 0 0
> 
> # fdisk -l /dev/sda1
> 
> 
> Disk /dev/sda1: 82.3 GB, 82335020544 bytes
> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 10009 cylinders
> Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
> 
> 
> Disk /dev/sda1 doesn't contain a valid partition table
> 
> 
> Question 1: If there is no valid partition table, then how did I do
> a mount?

Disks have partition tables, partitions don't. You probably meant:

# fdisk -l /dev/sda

> Now, concerning repartitioning. I installed FC2 last October on
> a Compaq Presario. It is now a dual-boot system with Windows XP
> bootloader managing a secondary boot to GRUB which manages
> the Linux boot. Placing GRUB into the MBR is not an option on
> this machine, as it causes F10 auto-recovery to begin.
> 
> I used resizentfs and parted when I did the install, intending
> to make XP and Linux have about 20G apiece on this 40G drive.
> But I flubbed something, and Linux now has only 7G. It looks
> like this:
> 
> # fdisk -l /dev/hda
> 
> 
> Disk /dev/hda: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
> 16 heads, 63 sectors/track, 77545 cylinders
> Units = cylinders of 1008 * 512 = 516096 bytes
> 
> 
>    Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
> /dev/hda1               1        8625     4346968+   b  W95 FAT32
> Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
> /dev/hda2   *        8626       60915    26354160    7  HPFS/NTFS
> Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
> /dev/hda3           60916       61118      102312   83  Linux
> Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
> /dev/hda4           61119       77545     8279208    f  W95 Ext'd (LBA)
> Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary.
> /dev/hda5           61119       76505     7755016+  83  Linux
> /dev/hda6           76506       77545      524128+  82  Linux swap
> 
> # mount
> /dev/hda5 on / type ext3 (rw)
> /dev/hda3 on /boot type ext3 (rw)
> 
> I believe that /dev/hda1 is the "Compaq Recovery" partition,
> /dev/hda2 is the Windows XP boot, /dev/hda5 and /hdev/hda6
> are the logical volumes I created inside /dev/hda4.

These are "logical partitions", not "logical volumes" - there is a 
difference.

> Is there any simple way of doing another resize/parted which
> can make this setup more like what I originally intended, or
> am I basically SOL? (IOW, re-install time?)

You could shrink hda2 to 15G or so, expand hda4 to include the recivered 
space, move hda5 to the start of hda4 and then size it to include the 
extra space up to the start of hda6. But I'd be inclined just to 
reinstall personally.

> If re-install is needed, what is the recommended new partition
> layout? (I realize that the answer here is partially a matter
> of taste.)

Indeed it is. Also a matter of what your requirements are.

Paul.