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The time has come: how do I safely resize the C: partition and move Linux to that disk? (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/linux4noobs
15 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It may be too much to ask but here it goes:

I have temporarily installed LMDE6 on an HDD where I had a bit of free space, worked with it, experienced Steam with Proton and now I am convinced: I want to move to Linux from Windows for good.

Have another disk, an SSD in which most of the space is taken up by the Windows C: partition. Would like to move Linux there after shrinking the Windows partition a bit more than what it currently occupies now.

I have tried to do this with Paragon on Windows, but after restarting no change can be seen, despite no error being presented. Tried from Linux with GParted but all attempts end up with an error when running ntfsresize.

So

  1. What do I use to do this and how do I do it safely? 2.How do I move the content of my current Linux partition (less than 50 GBs) to that disk keeping the bootloader and everything else working? And what filesystem is best to use?

Thank you in advance for your help!

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

Okay. Let's first start with the obvious : any attempt to change partitions may result in data loss. Before starting, backup everything you can't afford to lose.

Now, the reason it might fail is because Windows tend to enter some kind of hibernation state, rather than truly shutdown.

You first need to disable fast boot. To disable Fast Boot in Windows, press the Windows Key + R, type "powercfg.cpl" and hit Enter. In the Power Options window, click "Choose what the power buttons do," then uncheck "Turn on fast startup" under Shutdown settings. If that doesn't work, follow any instruction online to disable it.

Now, when shutting down Windows, hold the shift button when you click on shutdown. It might take a long time to shutdown, that is to be expected (might take anytime between 1 to 10min). Do not panic, do not force shutdown.

Now you can open Gparted. Please note that data loss is possible when touching the partition table. This is your reminder to backup. Resize your partition and hope for the best.

EDIT : Mind you that moving a Linux partition to another Linux partition is always bound to fail if you don't know how to change GRUB config files (+ maybe other cfg). If you don't know how, or you are unsure, don't attempt it.

Your best course of action would be to reinstall a new Linux distro on the newly created partition, then moving your old files. Don't reuse a home partition if one is already present, it is bound to fail miserably.

If you're unsure which FileSystem to use, go with the default one your installer comes with.

EDIT 2 : Seeing the planned partition table, don't shrink Windows to 300Gb when 275Gb is already used. It might lead to errors and data loss. When resizing, it is best to have a free space corresponding to minimum 10% of your SSD capacity (in this case 50 Gb) to minimise errors.

Either resize to 325Gb or lose some Windows disk space.

[–] Colloidal 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Reusing your /home is exactly the kind of thing having a separate mount point for it is for. I've done it without issue. Lately i haven't distro hopped, but back in the day, even between distros, but I don't recommend that. Some apps may balk at a config built for a different version, which would require you to find and delete the offending config.

I'm curious as to your experience and what led you to recommend against it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

My assumption is that OP likes linux and is not well versed in the terminal and config files. (i.e. by using GParted rather than fdisk or parted)

Between incompatible config files, particularly your DE config files, reusing home is a bad idea when you might break something and can't fix it in a few minutes.

If you create a new user with its own separate home folder, then reusing /home is not a problem as it will not use the same config files.

If you have the same username, then failure is more prevalent than success, even for seasoned users. The hassle is not worth it anyway. In my case, I backup config files and reuse them as necessary.

[–] Colloidal 3 points 3 weeks ago

Thank you, that's a valid concern.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Thank you for the thorough explanation.

I guess making a backup of the C: partition is a bit more complicated than just copying the data somewhere (which I anyway have lo space for anywhere), but just for my knowledge, is there a Linux software you would use to do that?

Given this situation I guess I need to wait until I can scavenge another SSD just for Linux and restart from zero there.

On my MB I have 2 slots for M.2 NVMe drives available. Could I use any of those without any problem or is there any hardware recommendation?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

You don't need to make a copy of everything on the C: drive, only your personal stuff. You can easily reinstall any program if something goes south.

You can even make a copy of your files on your other HDD, if you have free space.

If you want to simply copy data, using the file manager is sufficient. If you want to copy the drive 'as is' then the command dd is your best option. You can find tutorials online. Just don't mix if and of and you're good to go.

You can buy a compatible NVME drive and it shall work without any problems. As with any drive, a good one will last longer, but any compatible drive is good. You can buy from Kingston, WD, Samsung, ...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I know this is days later, but having your personal, irreplaceable files backed up to external is just going to be a great practice to keep anyway. If your OS is your home, your external is your homeowner's insurance. Periodically update your backups. Timeshift is a great restore tool, but you should not rely solely on it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The partitions where I have my OS contain just that. All programs and media/data are not there.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, it's a good way to do it. I still rather use external. That way if anything corrupts my internal drives or my GPU plug lights on fire (like the horror stories I've been hearing about some of the newer GPUs) then at least my personal files are saved and completely separate.

As a bonus, I have it in a fireproof safe. Hopefully its insulated enough where it won't heat the drive up too much if I ever had a fire in my apartment.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

I had good results using the windows 11 disk management snap in to shrink my windows system partition while it was booted, may be worth a try.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This may be old advice, but I've always heard never resize down. It can work if you're lucky and there's no data in the space you're shrinking, but if there is data there, it'll often fail.

If the hdd is the same size or bigger than your ssd, I'd recommend cloning the ssd to the hdd. This will wipe your hdd, but should keep windows fine. Then do a clean install of linux on the ssd.

[–] Colloidal 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I do it all the time. Gparted works like a charm. I always do backups first, but never needed.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

What do you use to create the backups?

[–] Colloidal 5 points 3 weeks ago

7zip. Just compress the important files to an external HD. Your c:\users\user and if there's files you saved elsewhere that you don't want to lose, those.

It's got to be dead simple to create and restore. If you do have an incremental backup solution in place, by all means use it. But if not, don't go trying it now.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Great question. I'm in a similar boat. I set up to dual boot and I haven't been back in months. I guess I'll copy my /home to an external drive and start over half of my data is on 20 year old spinning metal, so I should take the opportunity to get some new drives.