Lets get started

2009-06-19T06:38:00.001-07:00

This guide is still in development and will be updated at regular intervals. Thanks for your patience.

If you found this guide useful please consider visiting any ads on this page to help fund its continued development.

NOTE: Use the information in this guide at your own risk. Make sure you have any important data backed up and feel competent in using the Parted Magic software. I will not be held responsible for loss off data.

Chapter One: Booting the CD

To run Parted Magic simply insert the CD into your computers CD/DVD drive and restart the computer.

Parted Magic should automatically run once the computer restarts.

If Parted Magic does not automatically run then you will need to change the boot order of your computer - this is done via the BIOS.

Please follow this guide on my blog on how to set the boot order of your computer.

Chapter Two: Using the partition editor

Now that you have Parted Magic running I will give you a basic overview on how to use the partition editor.

To use the partition editor, double click the 'Partition Editor' icon on the Parted Magic desktop.

This will open a program called Gparted.

You will be presented with the Gparted main window which will show the current layout of your hard drive.

NOTE: Gparted requires you to enter the size in MB not GB.

Converting GB to MB

1GB = 1024MB

To work out the size in MB you multiply your desired size in GB by 1024.

Size in GB x 1024 = Size in MB.

Example: 50GB (50 x 1024 = 51200)
Example: 30GB (30 x 1024 = 30720)

Keep this in mind when entering in your partition size.

How do I create a new partition?

To create a new partition, select an area of unallocated space on your hard drive, then click on 'Partition > New' from the Gparted window.

NOTE: If you do not have any unallocated space you must either shrink or delete any existing partitions - make sure to backup any important data before you do this.

This will open a window titled 'Create New Partition'.

Enter in the following information:

Free Space Preceding (MiB): Enter the amount of space you want to come before your new partition.

New Size (MiB): Enter the size you want the new partition to be.

Free Space Following (MiB): Enter the amount of free space you want to come after your new partition.

Create as: Set the new partition type as Primary, Logical or Extended.

File System: Choose the type of file system for the new partition.

Label: Give your new partition a label (This is optional).

Once you have all the information entered click on 'Add'.

To finalize the changes you made click on 'Edit > Apply All Operations'.

How do I shrink or expand a partition?

To shrink or expand a partition, select the partition you wish to resize and click on 'Partition > Resize / Move' from the top of the Gparted window.

You will now be looking at the 'Resize / Move' window.

To shrink a partition simply subtract your desired amount from the figure shown in the 'New Size (MiB)' section.

To expand a partition simply add your desired amount to the figure shown in the 'New Size (MiB)' section. You must have unallocated space after the partition you want to expand otherwise you will be unable to increase its size.

NOTE: An easier way to shrink or expand a partition is by dragging the slider bar at the top of the 'Resize / Move' window.

Once you have the new size of your partition entered click on 'Resize / Move'. You may have to click the mouse into another box before the resize button becomes available.

To finalize all the changes click Edit > Apply All Operations.

Here is some examples of resizing a partition.

---- Start of examples ----

Example One.

I want to shrink my 500GB partition by 150GB to make room for another operating system. I would do this by subtracting 150GB from the figure shown in the 'New Size (MiB)' section.

500GB partition = 512000MB
Amount I want to shrink = 150GB = 153600MB

512000MB – 153600MB = 358400MB

I would enter 358400 into the 'New Size (MiB)' section.

This would then leave me with 150GB of free space to install my new operating system.

NOTE: You can only shrink your partition so much depending on how much space you have available.

Example Two.

I have two partitions on my 100GB hard drive. One is for my operating system (Partition 1), the other is for storing data files (Partition 2). I'm running out of space to install programs for my operating system and want to expand the size of its partition to take up the entire hard drive.

Current hard drive layout:

Partition 1 - Operating system = 20GB
Partition 2 - Data files = 80GB

In order to expand Partition 1 I need free space after it. To do this I will delete Partition 2.

I have backed up all the data on Partition 2 to an external hard drive and can now proceed to delete Partition 2.

This is done from the main Gparted window which shows your hard drive layout. Simply select the partition to delete and click the 'Delete' button at the top of the main window.

I will now have 80GB of 'Unallocated Space'.

Modified hard drive layout:

Partition 1 - Operating system = 20GB
Unallocated Space = 80GB

Now I need to expand Partition 1. Select Partition 1 from the main Gparted window and click 'Resize / Move'.

In the section that says 'New Size (MiB)' I will add on the 80GB of 'Unallocated Space' to the figure that is already entered.

Partition 1 = 20GB = 20480MB
Unallocated Space = 80GB = 81920MB

20480MB + 81920MB = 102400MB

This will now expand the size of Partition 1 to take up all of my 100GB hard drive.

NOTE: You can only expand your partition so much depending on how much space you have available.

---- End of examples ----

How do I copy a partition?

To copy a partition, select the partition you want to copy then click on 'Partition > Copy' from the Gparted window.

You will now need an area of unallocated space, which is equal to, or greater in size (it can NOT be smaller) than what you just copied in order to paste your selection.

Select the unallocated space then click on 'Partition > Paste' from the Gparted window.

To finalize the changes you made click on 'Edit > Apply All Operations'.

How do I delete a partition?

To delete a partition, select the partition you want to delete then click on 'Partition > Delete' from the Gparted window.

To finalize the changes you made click on 'Edit > Apply All Operations'.

Using Parted Magic

Lets get started