Can't resize Partition in GParted (yellow warning besides unmounted partition)

[The Thunder Chimp]

Hello,

I have a USB Multiboot created with pendrivelinux.com. I have tried to install Ubuntu 10.04 on a small laptop, but I get the problem that the installer wants to either:

1) Partition my USB key and install it there
2) Install it on my drive and destroy the Windows Partition
4) Install it on my key and destroy everything on it.
3) Manually setup the partitions

When manually setting up partitions, I cannot resize the windows partition.
GParted can't resize that partition (there is a triangular ! yellow warning sign, similar to this thread's icon, but yellow). GParted on the USB (GParted Environment) has the same problem as GParted in Ubuntu. It seems to be locked, even though I am in root and I have every hard drive partition unmounted.

I will post screenshots of the error message in the following hour.

[macstar]

Hello,

I have a USB Multiboot created with pendrivelinux.com. I have tried to install Ubuntu 10.04 on a small laptop, but I get the problem that the installer wants to either:

1) Partition my USB key and install it there
2) Install it on my drive and destroy the Windows Partition
4) Install it on my key and destroy everything on it.
3) Manually setup the partitions

When manually setting up partitions, I cannot resize the windows partition.
GParted can't resize that partition (there is a triangular ! yellow warning sign, similar to this thread's icon, but yellow). GParted on the USB (GParted Environment) has the same problem as GParted in Ubuntu. It seems to be locked, even though I am in root and I have every hard drive partition unmounted.

I will post screenshots of the error message in the following hour.

i think you wont have any chance to do it with gparted. especially not, if the windows parition is in ntfs file format.
and, booting gparted live from dvd, might let you move/mod your windows partition but i can ONLY WARN YOU: DONT DO IT. gparted might hang up and your partition is kinda lost then. i faced the same problem a few days ago.

the best and savest solution is to boot windows and resize the partitions from there.

[darkod]

Run Gparted from ubuntu cd for example, and try rught-click, Check on the partition.

On the other hand, if that's the windows system partition, without even bothering with Gparted first try to boot windows and in command prompt do:

chkdsk c: /r /f

See if any of that helped. The Check option of Gparted will probably say to run chkdsk anyway.

[darkod]

i think you wont have any chance to do it with gparted. especially not, if the windows parition is in ntfs file format.

This is not true. There is some error on the partition (which might not be serious at all) and simply Gparted doesn't want to touch it. Sometimes bad sectors do this, even when windows might ignore them.

However, because windows is picky, it's better to resize using windows Disk Management in vista or 7. The tool is not present in XP so your only choice is third party windows app, or Gparted or similar. Gparted comes free.

[darkod]

PS. For the record, I have resized vista system partition with Gparted Live and after it did the check which started automatically first time I tried to boot it, it was fine.

However, usually it's better to resize with Disk Management. On the other hand, because of windows idiotic unmovable files, Disk Management might end up telling you you can shrink a whole 10-20MB when you have 100GB unused on the partition and you need to shrink more.
That was the reason I was using Gparted on vista partition.

[The Thunder Chimp]

Here are the Screenshots I promised upon first post, the last post gives you some error information. Thanks for your time man.

EDIT: How can you resize partitions in Windows on the Hard Drive if the Drive is mounted??

[darkod]

The first 4 screenshots are pointless. If you need to resize /dev/sda3 you DO NOT do it with the installer, not at the same time when installing.
You do it in advance.

Did you read any of my posts about running chkdsk from windows? Basically the same as that message on image 5 is telling you.

Windows doesn't use "mounting", not as linux. In vista and 7 it allows resizing a partition, in XP not. It will not resize it immediately anyway, if that's confusing you. It will just schedule it, ask for a restart, and do it in sort of DOS mode.

[macstar]

This is not true. There is some error on the partition (which might not be serious at all) and simply Gparted doesn't want to touch it. Sometimes bad sectors do this, even when windows might ignore them.

However, because windows is picky, it's better to resize using windows Disk Management in vista or 7. The tool is not present in XP so your only choice is third party windows app, or Gparted or similar. Gparted comes free.

then gpart has a mal-function or behaviour after detecting failures on partitions is bad implemented.

why cant gparted just check the partition first and if there is a problem on the partition - send a warning and ask the user to cancel?

as i can confirm gparted doesnt check for failures automatically and tries to resize ntfs partition. then it will hang up and you wont have access to your ntfs partition anymore. not fixable with gparted.
all you can do is boot in windows and try it there.

i would not trust gparted on ntfs partitions. i thought it was as solid as partition-magic but i was wrong.

[darkod]

then gpart has a mal-function or behaviour after detecting failures on partitions is bad implemented.

why cant gparted just check the partition first and if there is a problem on the partition - send a warning and ask the user to cancel?

as i can confirm gparted doesnt check for failures automatically and tries to resize ntfs partition. then it will hang up and you wont have access to your ntfs partition anymore. not fixable with gparted.
all you can do is boot in windows and try it there.

i would not trust gparted on ntfs partitions. i thought it was as solid as partition-magic but i was wrong.

What are you talking about? I don't know what happened to you, but it doesn't help to lie to all people who will read this for help.
Read carefully again the first post of the OP, which you obviously didn't, where he/she clearly says that there is a triangle warning mark and Gparted doesn't even want to START resizing the partition. According to you his computer would have been messed up already because a resize was tried. But Gparted refused it because of the detected errors.

Yes, unfortunately things can get messed up when using any partitioning tool, not just Gparted. But saying that Gparted can't resize ntfs partitions is a flat out lie.

[macstar]

What are you talking about? I don't know what happened to you,

this:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1514085

i know it might not happen to all people - but as i experienced that problem i'd say to the op: better save than sorry!

and why should someone mess arround with gparted and risk to lose ntfs partition, when there is a possibility to use windows partition tool?