136 lines
7.1 KiB
HTML
136 lines
7.1 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3O//DTD W3 HTML 2.0//EN">
|
|
<!Converted with LaTeX2HTML 95.1 (Fri Jan 20 1995) by Nikos Drakos (nikos@cbl.leeds.ac.uk), CBLU, University of Leeds >
|
|
<HEAD>
|
|
<TITLE>2.2.4 Repartitioning your drives</TITLE>
|
|
</HEAD>
|
|
<BODY>
|
|
<meta name="description" value="2.2.4 Repartitioning your drives">
|
|
<meta name="keywords" value="gs">
|
|
<meta name="resource-type" value="document">
|
|
<meta name="distribution" value="global">
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BR> <HR><A NAME=tex2html2571 HREF="node70.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="next" SRC="next_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2569 HREF="node65.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="up" SRC="up_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2565 HREF="node68.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="previous" SRC="previous_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2573 HREF="node1.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2574 HREF="node250.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="index" SRC="index_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
|
|
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME=tex2html2572 HREF="node70.html">2.3 Installing the Linux </A>
|
|
<B>Up:</B> <A NAME=tex2html2570 HREF="node65.html">2.2 Preparing to Install </A>
|
|
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME=tex2html2566 HREF="node68.html">2.2.3 Linux partition requirements</A>
|
|
<BR> <HR> <P>
|
|
<H2><A NAME=SECTION00424000000000000000>2.2.4 Repartitioning your drives</A></H2>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME=secinstalllinuxpreprepartition> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=secinstallpreprepartition> </A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME=1054> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=1055> </A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
In this section, we'll describe how to resize your current partitions
|
|
(if any) to make space for Linux. If you are installing Linux on a
|
|
``clean'' hard drive, you can skip this section and proceed to
|
|
Section <A HREF="node70.html#secinstallinstallingtop">2.3</A>, below.
|
|
<P>
|
|
The usual way to resize an existing partition is to delete it (thus destroying
|
|
all of the data on that partition) and recreate it. Before repartitioning
|
|
your drives, <em>backup your system</em>. After resizing the partitions, you
|
|
can reinstall your original software from the backup.
|
|
However, there are several programs available
|
|
for MS-DOS which are able to resize partitions nondestructively. One of
|
|
these is known as ``<tt>FIPS</tt>'', and can be found on many Linux FTP
|
|
sites.
|
|
<A NAME=1100> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=1101> </A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
Also, keep in mind that because you'll be shrinking your original
|
|
partitions, you may not have space to reinstall everything. In this case,
|
|
you need to delete enough unwanted software to allow the rest to fit on
|
|
the smaller partitions.
|
|
<P>
|
|
The program used to repartition is known as <tt>fdisk</tt>. Each operating
|
|
system has its own analogue of this program; for example, under
|
|
MS-DOS, it
|
|
is invoked with the <tt>FDISK</tt> command. You should consult your documentation
|
|
for whatever operating systems you are currently running for information
|
|
on repartitioning. Here, we'll discuss how to resize
|
|
partitions for MS-DOS using <tt>FDISK</tt>, but this information should be easily
|
|
extrapolated to other operating systems.
|
|
<A NAME=1102> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=1103> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=1104> </A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<em>Please</em> consult the documentation for your current operating systems
|
|
before repartitioning your drive. This section is meant to be a general
|
|
overview of the process; there are many subtleties that we do not cover here.
|
|
You can lose all of the software on your system if you do not
|
|
repartition the drive correctly.
|
|
<P>
|
|
A warning: Do not modify or create partitions for any other operating systems
|
|
(including Linux) using <tt>FDISK</tt> under MS-DOS. You should
|
|
only modify partitions for a particular operating system with the version of
|
|
<tt>fdisk</tt> included with that operating system; for example, you will create
|
|
Linux partitions using a version of <tt>fdisk</tt> for Linux. Later, in
|
|
Section <A HREF="node73.html#secinstalllinuxfdisk">2.3.3</A>, we describe how to create
|
|
Linux partitions, but for now we are concerned with resizing your current
|
|
ones.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Let's say that you have a single hard drive on your system, currently
|
|
devoted entirely to MS-DOS. Hence, your drive consists of a single
|
|
MS-DOS partition, commonly known as ``<tt>C:</tt>''. Because this repartitioning
|
|
method will destroy the data on that partition, you need to create a bootable
|
|
MS-DOS ``system disk'' which contains everything necessary to run <tt>FDISK</tt>
|
|
and restore the software from backup after the repartitioning is complete.
|
|
<A NAME=1105> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=1075> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=1106> </A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
In many cases, you can use the MS-DOS installation disks for this purpose.
|
|
However, if you need to create your own system disk, format a floppy with the
|
|
command
|
|
<P><TT> FORMAT /s A:
|
|
<P></TT>
|
|
Copy onto this floppy all of the necessary MS-DOS utilities (usually most
|
|
of the software in the directory <tt><code>\</code>DOS</tt> on your drive),
|
|
as well as the programs <tt>FORMAT.COM</tt> and <tt>FDISK.EXE</tt>. You should now
|
|
be able to boot this floppy, and run the command
|
|
<P><TT> FDISK C:
|
|
<P></TT>
|
|
to start up <tt>FDISK</tt>.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Use of <tt>FDISK</tt> should be self-explanatory, but consult the MS-DOS
|
|
documentation for details. When you start <tt>FDISK</tt>, use the menu
|
|
option to display the partition table, and <em>write down</em> the
|
|
information displayed there. It is important to keep a record of your
|
|
original setup in case you want to back out of the Linux installation.
|
|
<P>
|
|
To delete an existing partition, choose the <tt>FDISK</tt> menu option
|
|
``<tt>Delete an MS-DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive</tt>''.
|
|
Specify the type of partition that you wish to delete (primary, extended, or
|
|
logical) and the number of the partition. Verify all of the warnings. Poof!
|
|
<P>
|
|
To create a new (smaller) partition for MS-DOS, just choose the <tt>FDISK</tt>
|
|
option ``<tt>Create an MS-DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive</tt>''. Specify
|
|
the type of partition (primary, extended, or logical), and the size of the
|
|
partition to create (specified in megabytes). <tt>FDISK</tt> should
|
|
create the partition and you're ready to roll.
|
|
<P>
|
|
After you're done using <tt>FDISK</tt>, you should exit the program and reformat
|
|
any new partitions. For example, if you resized the first DOS partition on
|
|
your drive (<tt>C:</tt>) you should run the command
|
|
<P><TT> FORMAT /s C:
|
|
<P></TT>
|
|
You may now reinstall your original software from backup.
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME=1097> </A>
|
|
<A NAME=1098> </A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME=1099> </A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BR> <HR><A NAME=tex2html2571 HREF="node70.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="next" SRC="next_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2569 HREF="node65.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="up" SRC="up_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2565 HREF="node68.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="previous" SRC="previous_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2573 HREF="node1.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <A NAME=tex2html2574 HREF="node250.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="index" SRC="index_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
|
|
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME=tex2html2572 HREF="node70.html">2.3 Installing the Linux </A>
|
|
<B>Up:</B> <A NAME=tex2html2570 HREF="node65.html">2.2 Preparing to Install </A>
|
|
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME=tex2html2566 HREF="node68.html">2.2.3 Linux partition requirements</A>
|
|
<BR> <HR> <P>
|
|
<BR> <HR>
|
|
<P><ADDRESS>
|
|
<I>Matt Welsh <BR>
|
|
mdw@sunsite.unc.edu</I>
|
|
</ADDRESS>
|
|
</BODY>
|