Scheduled Maintenance: We are aware of an issue with Google, AOL, and Yahoo services as email providers which are blocking new registrations. We are trying to fix the issue and we have several internal and external support tickets in process to resolve the issue. Please see: viewtopic.php?t=158230

 

 

 

partitioning not allowed [SOLVED]

New to Debian (Or Linux in general)? Ask your questions here!
Post Reply
Message
Author
solarwarrior
Posts: 2
Joined: 2018-04-11 09:26

partitioning not allowed [SOLVED]

#1 Post by solarwarrior »

Thanks to all who took the time and trouble to try to help me out.

"I have recently installed Debian testing 9 and used the option "use entire disk". Now I wish to install LMDE2 alongside it but all partitioning attempts fail. Comes up why error msg but does not specify what the error is. In all the distros I have installed alongside one and another this is the first time I have been prevented from partitioning. Is this because I used the whole disk, or is it peculiar to the "testing" nature of the distro. Any suggestions for a solution gratefully received. I have not found a satisfactory answer in the manuals. Thanks in advance."

I did solve the problem but in a different way. I followed the guide offered by jibberjabber "How to create a new partition....." using Debian but I think I may have counted from the wrong end as Debian did not work afterwards. So I reinstalled LMDE on that but crashed it trying to change DE. So reinstalled Debian on existing Debian partition, then downloaded gparted and resized LMDE partition as Deb bootloader was installed on that. Formatted new partition and reinstalled LMDE on that. Now have two working distros which was original aim. They say doing is learning and that is true but help is always invaluable. Once again thank you all.
Last edited by solarwarrior on 2018-04-13 07:40, edited 4 times in total.
"The only dumb question is a question you don't ask."(Paul McCready, inventor)

p.H
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
Posts: 3049
Joined: 2017-09-17 07:12
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 132 times

Re: partitioning not allowed

#2 Post by p.H »

Debian 9 "Stretch" is stable, not testing.

What is the current partitioning ?
If all the disk space is allocated into partitions, or the partition scheme is DOS/MBR and 4 primary partitions have been created without an extended partition, then you cannot create new partitions.

dcihon
Posts: 279
Joined: 2012-09-23 16:18
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: partitioning not allowed

#3 Post by dcihon »

Can we start with showing what you have:
sudo fdisk -l

jibberjabber
Posts: 162
Joined: 2016-01-10 16:58

Re: partitioning not allowed

#4 Post by jibberjabber »

Is this because I used the whole disk, ----
Yes, 1 partition , that takes up the entire (whole) disk, well the entire disk is being used, Where would you put another partition ?
So, apply a tiny amount of logic,...If you resize the partition that takes up the entire disk, make it smaller,.... Wow, amazing, now there is some unused space, where you can make a new partition.
I have not found a satisfactory answer in the manuals.
I find this hard to believe, the first time I started resizing and creating new partitions, it was the "manuals", and some of the many tutorials available, I found when I did a simple search:
How to create a new partition when the entire disk is being used on Debian
One hint, keep in mind, on Linux, you can not resize or make changes to any partition or disk that is mounted, you need to "umount", the partition, then resize it,

Code: Select all

man umount
and

Code: Select all

man mount

Since the entire disk is being used, you will need to boot with a external device. IE: boot CD, or usb stick, that device must have partitioning tools on it, you then umount the partition or disk you want to work on, resize, create new partitions, etc,.... it is not that hard , but it does take some reading, and it is best to practice on some disk or usb stick, or maybe a VM, also keep in mind, 1st thing, make a good back up before doing anything with the existing partition or disk, things can and do go wrong.
written by HelpBot#8453
Alias jibberjabber
I am sorry, my english is not that good, and I sometimes have other problems,so my response might not be perfect.
N5RLX > "Jibber jabber ,all day and all night, jibber jabber jibber jabber"

p.H
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
Posts: 3049
Joined: 2017-09-17 07:12
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 132 times

Re: partitioning not allowed

#5 Post by p.H »

Doesn't the LMDE installer allow to shrink an existing partition ? The Debian installer does.
jibberjabber wrote: on Linux, you can not resize or make changes to any partition or disk that is mounted
You can resize online if the contents type supports the operation.
Ext4 and xfs support online grow while mounted.
Btrfs supports online grow and shrink while mounted.

solarwarrior
Posts: 2
Joined: 2018-04-11 09:26

Re: partitioning not allowed

#6 Post by solarwarrior »

This is what fdisk turned up

Disk /dev/sda: 111.8 GiB, 120060444672 bytes, 234493056 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xa0a81cd3

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2048 233445375 233443328 111.3G 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 233447422 234491903 1044482 510M 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 233447424 234491903 1044480 510M 82 Linux swap / Solaris
When I run the partitioning tool I try shrinking the partition to half it's size but as soon as I apply the operation the error msg comes up.
This what I have installed.
debian-buster-DI-alpha2-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso

I apologise for my ignorance but I am trying to learn the ins and outs.
"The only dumb question is a question you don't ask."(Paul McCready, inventor)

User avatar
bw123
Posts: 4015
Joined: 2011-05-09 06:02
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 28 times

Re: partitioning not allowed

#7 Post by bw123 »

solarwarrior wrote:This is what fdisk turned up
<snip>

I apologise for my ignorance but I am trying to learn the ins and outs.
It's okay, but I don't see why it is a debian issue if the LMDE installer can't handle that partition layout?
solarwarrior wrote: This what I have installed. debian-buster-DI-alpha2-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso
That's cool to use buster if you just want to play around and try different distros. I hope you filed the installation report on the install? But if you're just hopping around, then why ask people to spend time helping you setup? If you want a stable system, and you're new, the best plan is to use stretch.
resigned by AI ChatGPT

jibberjabber
Posts: 162
Joined: 2016-01-10 16:58

Re: partitioning not allowed

#8 Post by jibberjabber »

When I run the partitioning tool I try shrinking the partition to half it's size but as soon as I apply the operation the error msg comes up.
What "tool" are you using ?
I see also in your first post , you say the error msg :
Comes up why error msg but does not specify what the error is.
Is this still the case? It might help if we could see what it says, if you can write it down.
by solarwarrior »I apologise for my ignorance but I am trying to learn the ins and outs.
No need to apologize, nor worry, nobody started out "just knowing everything", and there is all ways new things to learn. In fact, I didn't know about the "online method" mentioned :
by p.H » You can resize online if the contents type supports the operation
It is hard to guess what is happening,... I think it might help if the OP can explain, step by step, exactly how they are trying to do this,... What "tool" they are using, Did they 'umount', (unmount) the drive with the partition that needs to be resized. If they are booting with the LMDE install CD, ? then the drive shouldn't be mounted,
Post by p.H » 2018-04-11 13:49
Doesn't the LMDE installer allow to shrink an existing partition ?
Since I don't use and am not familiar with the LMDE installer, I don't know,
if that is what the OP is using to do this, then it might be better to be asking on the Linux Mint (LMDE) forum.
I do have a very old Linux Mint install CD, "Mint" 10 Julia, it dose have the tools needed to do any partitioning, or resizeing,and other things, I keep it for a "live CD", that I can boot with, but I don't know about the newer versions.
Any way, if the OP could give us better details on exactly how they are doing this, I think it might help, we might be able to see what they are missing or doing wrong.
written by HelpBot#8453
Alias jibberjabber
I am sorry, my english is not that good, and I sometimes have other problems,so my response might not be perfect.
N5RLX > "Jibber jabber ,all day and all night, jibber jabber jibber jabber"

Post Reply