How To Extend Partition In Linux

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There may come a time when you will need to extend a partition in your Linux environment. The need for more disk space or to resize your filesystem naturally may be a few of the reasons. This blog post will guide you through the process. Please note that you should always back up important data before making any major changes to your system.

Prerequisites

You will need to have the following:

  • Access to a root user account or an account with sudo privileges.
  • Knowledge of the filesystem type you are using.

1. Checking the Filesystem

First off, we need to check the type of filesystem. You can use the df -Th command, which will display the filesystem type as well as its size, used space and available space. The command and its output will look something like this:

# df -Th
Filesystem     Type      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1      ext4      50G   20G  30G  40% /

In this example, /dev/sda1 is the partition name, ext4 is the filesystem type, and it’s mounted on root (/).

2. Unmount the Filesystem

Before making any changes, ensure that the filesystem is unmounted. You can use the umount command, followed by the mount point or device name.

# umount /dev/sda1
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3. Resize the Partition

You can now resize the partition. We will use the resize2fs command for this. Replace /dev/sda1 with the name of your partition.

# resize2fs /dev/sda1

This command will resize the filesystem to fit the entire partition. If you want to specify a size, you can do so by adding it at the end of the command, like so:

# resize2fs /dev/sda1 60G
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This will resize the filesystem to 60GB.

4. Verify the Changes

To check the new size of your filesystem, use the df -Th command again.

This is a basic guide on how to extend your partition in Linux. Depending on your specific needs and configuration, you may need to follow additional or different steps. Always make sure to back up important data before making any changes to your system.