Need help shrinking my Linux partition.

[Big Al]

I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.

It's on a single GPT formatted SSD:
nvme0n1 259:0 0 477G 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 529M 0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 100M 0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3 0 16M 0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4 0 100.3G 0 part Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5 0 238.4G 0 part / Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6 0 9.6G 0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7 0 128G 0 part formatted for NTFS


I'm not sure what I was thinking when I loaded the system, I wanted the two P5 and P7 to be the other way around. Linux =128G and the NTFS
p7 = 238G, and I just typed the wrong number into the box when designing the layout.

I've been researching so much my head is spinning. I believe swap can be deleted and recreated after the shrink without any issue.

I think my plan would be to shrink Linux by 100G or so, remake swap and then just extend the NTFS partition into the free space created
after SWAP.

Sounds easy but I'm not sure how I would do the shrink of Linux? I have a working Mint 19.3 thumb drive, not the live iso, I can boot from
if I need Gparted or command line tools.

Can someone point me in a feasible direction on how to do this? I've seen too many versions of how to do it, I don't know if there is a
clear winner as to which is best/proper.

Al

[Alfred Myford]

This is going to take some time. Get away from the coffee and the Jolt
and get mild comfortable drinks for the rest of the day.

Do you have good backups of your W10 and Cinnamon partitions? If not,
create those to save yourself the disappointment and frustration.

FIRST, STOP! Get a good pencil with an eraser and make the list of
partitions on paper. Then add notes telling what you want them to be
when you get it all changed. Give a lot of thought and be neat about it.

THINK--yes, you could do all of the work on the drive the way you have
it. I think it would take longer to do it that way.

IF I WERE DOING IT (your reasons may be different from mine) and I were
totally confident of my Linux backup, I'd delete the Linux and SWAP
partitions. Then adjust the size of the W10 partition. That will take
some time and you don't want to have to do it over.

Test the revised/resized W10 and make sure it works PERFECTLY. If it
does, install your Cinnamon and enjoy it. I'm a lot more terrified of
messing up and having the W10 not function than I am the Cinnamon.

Again, your reasons may be different, but I make a separate /HOME
partition, as it makes data backups and copying a little easier.

May The Force Be With You.

Uncle Geek

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1     259:0    0   477G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   529M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0    16M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4    0 100.3G  0 part   Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5    0 238.4G  0 part /    Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6    0   9.6G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7    0   128G  0 part   formatted for NTFS
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I loaded the system, I wanted the
two P5 and P7 to be the other way around.  Linux =128G and the NTFS p7 =
238G, and I just typed the wrong number into the box when designing the
layout.
I've been researching so much my head is spinning.  I believe swap can
be deleted and recreated after the shrink without any issue.
I think my plan would be to shrink Linux by 100G or so, remake swap and
then just extend the NTFS partition into the free space created after SWAP.
Sounds easy but I'm not sure how I would do the shrink of Linux?   I
have a working Mint 19.3 thumb drive, not the live iso, I can boot from
if I need Gparted or command line tools.
Can someone point me in a feasible direction on how to do this?  I've
seen too many versions of how to do it, I don't know if there is a clear
winner as to which is best/proper.
Al

[Big Al]

This is going to take some time. Get away from the coffee and the Jolt and get mild comfortable drinks for the rest of the day.
Do you have good backups of your W10 and Cinnamon partitions?  If not, create those to save yourself the disappointment and frustration.
FIRST, STOP!  Get a good pencil with an eraser and make the list of partitions on paper. Then add notes telling what you want them to be
when you get it all changed. Give a lot of thought and be neat about it.
THINK--yes, you could do all of the work on the drive the way you have it. I think it would take longer to do it that way.
IF I WERE DOING IT (your reasons may be different from mine) and I were totally confident of my Linux backup, I'd delete the Linux and SWAP
partitions. Then adjust the size of the W10 partition.  That will take some time and you don't want to have to do it over.
Test the revised/resized W10 and make sure it works PERFECTLY. If it does, install your Cinnamon and enjoy it. I'm a lot more terrified of
messing up and having the W10 not function than I am the Cinnamon.
Again, your reasons may be different, but I make a separate /HOME partition, as it makes data backups and copying a little easier.
May The Force Be With You.
Uncle Geek

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1     259:0    0   477G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   529M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0    16M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4    0 100.3G  0 part   Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5    0 238.4G  0 part /    Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6    0   9.6G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7    0   128G  0 part   formatted for NTFS
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I loaded the system, I wanted the two P5 and P7 to be the other way around.  Linux =128G and the
NTFS p7 = 238G, and I just typed the wrong number into the box when designing the layout.
I've been researching so much my head is spinning.  I believe swap can be deleted and recreated after the shrink without any issue.
I think my plan would be to shrink Linux by 100G or so, remake swap and then just extend the NTFS partition into the free space created
after SWAP.
Sounds easy but I'm not sure how I would do the shrink of Linux?   I have a working Mint 19.3 thumb drive, not the live iso, I can boot
from if I need Gparted or command line tools.
Can someone point me in a feasible direction on how to do this?  I've seen too many versions of how to do it, I don't know if there is a
clear winner as to which is best/proper.
Al

Unfortunately Linux is main system. 10 is just here for the odd ball job. I don't want to reload Linux. I need to keep it working as it's
my main system. I can change the bios, but I boot into Linux grub first, and then maybe if I want I can pick the 'other' system, win10.

[Chris Elvidge]

Post by Big Al

Post by Alfred Myford
This is going to take some time. Get away from the coffee and the Jolt
and get mild comfortable drinks for the rest of the day.
Do you have good backups of your W10 and Cinnamon partitions? If not,
create those to save yourself the disappointment and frustration.
FIRST, STOP! Get a good pencil with an eraser and make the list of
partitions on paper. Then add notes telling what you want them to be
when you get it all changed. Give a lot of thought and be neat about it.
THINK--yes, you could do all of the work on the drive the way you have
it. I think it would take longer to do it that way.
IF I WERE DOING IT (your reasons may be different from mine) and I
were totally confident of my Linux backup, I'd delete the Linux and
SWAP partitions. Then adjust the size of the W10 partition. That will
take some time and you don't want to have to do it over.
Test the revised/resized W10 and make sure it works PERFECTLY. If it
does, install your Cinnamon and enjoy it. I'm a lot more terrified of
messing up and having the W10 not function than I am the Cinnamon.
Again, your reasons may be different, but I make a separate /HOME
partition, as it makes data backups and copying a little easier.
May The Force Be With You.
Uncle Geek

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1 259:0 0 477G 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 529M 0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 100M 0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3 0 16M 0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4 0 100.3G 0 part Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5 0 238.4G 0 part / Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6 0 9.6G 0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7 0 128G 0 part formatted for NTFS
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I loaded the system, I wanted
the two P5 and P7 to be the other way around. Linux =128G and the
NTFS p7 = 238G, and I just typed the wrong number into the box when
designing the layout.
I've been researching so much my head is spinning. I believe swap
can be deleted and recreated after the shrink without any issue.
I think my plan would be to shrink Linux by 100G or so, remake swap
and then just extend the NTFS partition into the free space created
after SWAP.
Sounds easy but I'm not sure how I would do the shrink of Linux? I
have a working Mint 19.3 thumb drive, not the live iso, I can boot
from if I need Gparted or command line tools.
Can someone point me in a feasible direction on how to do this? I've
seen too many versions of how to do it, I don't know if there is a
clear winner as to which is best/proper.
Al

Unfortunately Linux is main system. 10 is just here for the odd ball
job. I don't want to reload Linux. I need to keep it working as it's
my main system. I can change the bios, but I boot into Linux grub
first, and then maybe if I want I can pick the 'other' system, win10.

Anything on partition 7? Back it up first - if you can backup the whole
disk, or at least partition 5. Make sure you don't touch any partition
below 5.
Boot from a CD or a USB stick.
If not using gparted as "tool of choice" you will need to resize2fs
partition 5 to the relevant size before the next step.
Using the tool of your choice, remove partitions 7 and 6
Shrink partition 5 to whatever size you need or resized to above.
Put back partitions 6 and 7.
Remake the relevant filesystems on 6 and 7.

[Big Al]

This is going to take some time. Get away from the coffee and the Jolt and get mild comfortable drinks for the rest of the day.
Do you have good backups of your W10 and Cinnamon partitions?  If not, create those to save yourself the disappointment and frustration.
FIRST, STOP!  Get a good pencil with an eraser and make the list of partitions on paper. Then add notes telling what you want them to be
when you get it all changed. Give a lot of thought and be neat about it.
THINK--yes, you could do all of the work on the drive the way you have it. I think it would take longer to do it that way.
IF I WERE DOING IT (your reasons may be different from mine) and I were totally confident of my Linux backup, I'd delete the Linux and
SWAP partitions. Then adjust the size of the W10 partition.  That will take some time and you don't want to have to do it over.
Test the revised/resized W10 and make sure it works PERFECTLY. If it does, install your Cinnamon and enjoy it. I'm a lot more terrified
of messing up and having the W10 not function than I am the Cinnamon.
Again, your reasons may be different, but I make a separate /HOME partition, as it makes data backups and copying a little easier.
May The Force Be With You.
Uncle Geek

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1     259:0    0   477G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   529M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0    16M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4    0 100.3G  0 part   Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5    0 238.4G  0 part /    Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6    0   9.6G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7    0   128G  0 part   formatted for NTFS
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I loaded the system, I wanted the two P5 and P7 to be the other way around.  Linux =128G and the
NTFS p7 = 238G, and I just typed the wrong number into the box when designing the layout.
I've been researching so much my head is spinning.  I believe swap can be deleted and recreated after the shrink without any issue.
I think my plan would be to shrink Linux by 100G or so, remake swap and then just extend the NTFS partition into the free space created
after SWAP.
Sounds easy but I'm not sure how I would do the shrink of Linux?   I have a working Mint 19.3 thumb drive, not the live iso, I can boot
from if I need Gparted or command line tools.
Can someone point me in a feasible direction on how to do this?  I've seen too many versions of how to do it, I don't know if there is a
clear winner as to which is best/proper.
Al

Unfortunately Linux is main system.  10 is just here for the odd ball job.  I don't want to reload Linux.  I need to keep it working as
it's my main system.  I can change the bios, but I boot into Linux grub first, and then maybe if I want I can pick the 'other' system, win10.

Anything on partition 7? Back it up first - if you can backup the whole disk, or at least partition 5. Make sure you don't touch any
partition below 5.
Boot from a CD or a USB stick.
If not using gparted as "tool of choice" you will need to resize2fs partition 5 to the relevant size before the next step.
Using the tool of your choice, remove partitions 7 and 6
Shrink partition 5 to whatever size you need or resized to above.
Put back partitions 6 and 7.
Remake the relevant filesystems on 6 and 7.

Just so I feel warm a cozy inside:

So gparted will just allow me to shrink partition 5 and in theory if there is any data stored way out on that 100G I want to remove, it will
fix it / move it inside my limits so I don't lose data (in theory)?

I'm also guessing after restore of partition 6, I need to run blkid to make sure the ID of swap is still what's in fstab? The partition
number shouldn't be an issue.

# swap was on /dev/nvme0n1p6 during installation
UUID=aafe0605-792d-4b81-860a-6eda7900c6ac none swap sw


I could care less about 7. I can boot windows and make the new drive in the unassigned free space way after testing the 2 OSs.


This all sounds pretty straight forward, just keep my ducks in a row. I have a printout of all the blkid lsblk and fstab, so I guess I'm
good to go.

[Bit Twister]

Post by Big Al
This all sounds pretty straight forward, just keep my ducks in a row. I have a printout of all the blkid lsblk and fstab, so I guess I'm
good to go.

And do we assume you know how to either mount/make the /etc/fstab changes
or reset the UUID of swap via cli commands.

[Big Al]

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al
This all sounds pretty straight forward, just keep my ducks in a row. I have a printout of all the blkid lsblk and fstab, so I guess I'm
good to go.

And do we assume you know how to either mount/make the /etc/fstab changes
or reset the UUID of swap via cli commands.

Yep on all of that except the reset UUID of the swap. I wasn't aware you could change UUIDs on partitions. How?

[Bit Twister]

Post by Big Al

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al
This all sounds pretty straight forward, just keep my ducks in a row. I have a printout of all the blkid lsblk and fstab, so I guess I'm
good to go.

And do we assume you know how to either mount/make the /etc/fstab changes
or reset the UUID of swap via cli commands.

Yep on all of that except the reset UUID of the swap. I wasn't aware you could change UUIDs on partitions. How?

On a running system using the swap partition, unmount it, set UUID, then mount it.
Using /dev/sdb1 as an example swap partition.

swapoff -a ; mkswap -L swap -U "xx-x" /dev/sdb1 ; swapon /dev/sdb1

[Big Al]

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al
This all sounds pretty straight forward, just keep my ducks in a row. I have a printout of all the blkid lsblk and fstab, so I guess I'm
good to go.

And do we assume you know how to either mount/make the /etc/fstab changes
or reset the UUID of swap via cli commands.

Yep on all of that except the reset UUID of the swap. I wasn't aware you could change UUIDs on partitions. How?

On a running system using the swap partition, unmount it, set UUID, then mount it.
Using /dev/sdb1 as an example swap partition.
swapoff -a ; mkswap -L swap -U "xx-x" /dev/sdb1 ; swapon /dev/sdb1

where xx-x is that convoluted UUIS ?

[Bit Twister]

Post by Big Al

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al
This all sounds pretty straight forward, just keep my ducks in a row. I have a printout of all the blkid lsblk and fstab, so I guess I'm
good to go.

And do we assume you know how to either mount/make the /etc/fstab changes
or reset the UUID of swap via cli commands.

Yep on all of that except the reset UUID of the swap. I wasn't aware you could change UUIDs on partitions. How?

On a running system using the swap partition, unmount it, set UUID, then mount it.
Using /dev/sdb1 as an example swap partition.
swapoff -a ; mkswap -L swap -U "xx-x" /dev/sdb1 ; swapon /dev/sdb1

where xx-x is that convoluted UUIS ?

Yup, that is why is handy to have a file with the partitions uuids.

Do run "man mkswap"

[Big Al]

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al
This all sounds pretty straight forward, just keep my ducks in a row. I have a printout of all the blkid lsblk and fstab, so I guess I'm
good to go.

And do we assume you know how to either mount/make the /etc/fstab changes
or reset the UUID of swap via cli commands.

Yep on all of that except the reset UUID of the swap. I wasn't aware you could change UUIDs on partitions. How?

On a running system using the swap partition, unmount it, set UUID, then mount it.
Using /dev/sdb1 as an example swap partition.
swapoff -a ; mkswap -L swap -U "xx-x" /dev/sdb1 ; swapon /dev/sdb1

where xx-x is that convoluted UUIS ?

Yup, that is why is handy to have a file with the partitions uuids.
Do run "man mkswap"

Ahhh, man on mkswap says:
mkswap, like many others mkfs-like utils, erases the first partition block to make any previous filesystem invisible.

I guess I'm reading this a bit too deep. 'erases the first partition block' I hope means 'erases the first block of the partition' not p1
on my system when I'm trying to work with the swap on p6.

[Bit Twister]

Post by Big Al
mkswap, like many others mkfs-like utils, erases the first partition block to make any previous filesystem invisible.
I guess I'm reading this a bit too deep. 'erases the first partition block' I hope means 'erases the first block of the partition' not p1
on my system when I'm trying to work with the swap on p6.

Yes, as long as you picked p6.

[Bit Twister]

Post by Big Al
I wasn't aware you could change UUIDs on partitions. How?

I find tune2fs for Linux partitions excluding swap. Example:
tune2fs -U "xx-x" /dev/XdYZ
For swap, use mkswap

[Big Al]

Post by Bit Twister

Post by Big Al
I wasn't aware you could change UUIDs on partitions. How?

tune2fs -U "xx-x" /dev/XdYZ
For swap, use mkswap

Thanks. I just read tune2fs man page. That's easier than trying to mount / and edit the fstab etc etc. Just make my new swap look and
label just like the old one.!!! Gotta love Linux when you finally learn it.

Al

[Uncle Geek]

Unfortunately Linux is main system.  10 is just here for the odd ball
job.  I don't want to reload Linux.  I need to keep it working as it's
my main system.  I can change the bios, but I boot into Linux grub
first, and then maybe if I want I can pick the 'other' system, win10.

Okay, your plan is a little more clear and a lot easier than what I
thought you wanted. You're not resizing the W10 partition, so that's
not an issue. You won't be resizing the NTFS partition now. So this will
be much easier.

You don't need a functional Linux on your thumb drive. All you need is
bootable GPARTED on your thumb drive.

[IF I WERE DOING IT, I'd get another thumb drive (cheap, but one you
trust) at Walmart or somewhere and put the bootable live ISO of
something you like (Mint is fine) on it. It'll come to life a lot faster
than a real installation of Mint. But it doesn't matter much.]

0. VERIFY THAT YOUR BACKUP OF YOUR LINUX INSTALL IS GOOD! In 20+ years
of using Linux when I needed it, I've trashed exactly one installation
and it wasn't early on. So plan for this one to be yours. If it's
backed up, you probably won't trash it, and you're in business.

1. Get that list of partitions you have--ON A PIECE OF PAPER WITH A
PENCIL BESIDE IT--beside your computer so you can read it.

2. Boot from the thumb drive.

3. Load GPARTED and verify it matches the list of partitions on your
sheet of paper. Don't do this from memory. There are too many details.

4. Delete the SWAP partition. Do it. Don't stack up a list of commands
and hope they all work when you have several to do.

5. Resize the LINUX partition down to 140 GB or whatever size you
wanted. APPLY it and go get a drink. It'll take a little time.

6. Add the SWAP partition. APPLY.

Reboot into Linux on the hard drive and check to see that it all works
now. Take your time.

Wait on the NTFS partition until the spirit moves you. Resizing it will
take a little time, also. .

[Bit Twister]

Post by Uncle Geek
4. Delete the SWAP partition. Do it. Don't stack up a list of commands
and hope they all work when you have several to do.
5. Resize the LINUX partition down to 140 GB or whatever size you
wanted. APPLY it and go get a drink. It'll take a little time.
6. Add the SWAP partition. APPLY.

Then create a mount point for the / partition, mount the / partition, and
modify /etc/fstab if you are not using labels. I use labels on all my partitions.

Example snippet

LABEL=mga7 / ext4 relatime,acl 1 1
LABEL=accounts /accounts ext4 relatime,acl 1 2
PARTLABEL=swap swap swap defaults 0 0

[Big Al]

6.  Add the SWAP partition.  APPLY.

Adding a new partition is simple in gparted. I think I see directions that once made I just format it as linux-swap. Question: since my
system is already expecting a swap, I just have to make sure the UUID in fstab is the same and don't have to do the swapon command I see
reference in a few directions? Or is swapon needed? My system isn't live so it last shutdown thinking swap was on.

Al

[Bit Twister]

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1 259:0 0 477G 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 529M 0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 100M 0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3 0 16M 0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4 0 100.3G 0 part Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5 0 238.4G 0 part / Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6 0 9.6G 0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7 0 128G 0 part formatted for NTFS
I'm not sure what I was thinking when I loaded the system, I wanted the two P5 and P7 to be the other way around. Linux =128G and the NTFS
p7 = 238G, and I just typed the wrong number into the box when designing the layout.
I've been researching so much my head is spinning. I believe swap can be deleted and recreated after the shrink without any issue.

Depends on /etc/fstab contents, and maybe how the kernel was built.

Post by Big Al
I think my plan would be to shrink Linux by 100G or so, remake swap and then just extend the NTFS partition into the free space created
after SWAP.
Sounds easy but I'm not sure how I would do the shrink of Linux? I have a working Mint 19.3 thumb drive, not the live iso, I can boot from
if I need Gparted or command line tools.
Can someone point me in a feasible direction on how to do this? I've seen too many versions of how to do it, I don't know if there is a
clear winner as to which is best/proper.

One, Anytime you work on partitions, you better not be using them.
Second, I hope you have made good backups, have a good backup/restore
procedure with no problems, and last but not least, know you backup is
readable and usable.

I suggest downloading the systemrescuecd iso from
http://www.system-rescue-cd.org/ and burn it to cd media, or use the
onsite instructions to burn it to usb.

After booting, left ckick the forth, I think, icon from the left.
That will launch Gparted tool. It will allow you to do pretty much
whatever you want to do.

I tried resizing a few times on spinning rust. Time took longer than
clean installs do to all the checking. Since you are using SSD, I would
assume it would go much faster.

While you are at this point in time, you might want to consider what you
are going to be doing in the future. For example, you have no OS test
partition. Upon next Linux release, you will have to hope and pray
nothing bad happens as you upgrade to the next release.

I create all my installs in 40gig partitions, and have user files in
another partition. That allows me to test install/upgrades in a test
partition and check for any faults. If new release is solid, the
old partition becomes the test partition.

All user files are in the install's root (/) partition with user files
linked to the /accounts/user_here files. Some examples.
.bashrc -> /accounts/bittwister/.bashrc
Desktop -> /accounts/bittwister/Desktop
Documents -> /accounts/bittwister/Documents
.thunderbird -> /accounts/bittwister/.thunderbird

After that it is not that hard to have a install_links script to create
links in /home/user with files/directories found in /accounts/user

A note about those large partitions. When they are created, Five percent
are set aside as reserved space/blocks.

I wrote a script to change all my partition's reserved space to
point one percent using tune2fs with the -m 0.1 argument.

[philo]

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1     259:0    0   477G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   529M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0    16M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4    0 100.3G  0 part   Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5    0 238.4G  0 part /    Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6    0   9.6G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7    0   128G  0 part   formatted for NTFS

Because having two operating systems on one drive can potentially lead
to problems and because hard drives are so cheap...
without exception I have Windows and Linux installed on two separate drives.


I perform each installation with the other drive disconnected then set
the BIOS to boot from the Linux drive and add Windows to GRUB.


Since I've been doing this I've had zero problems and zero headaches

[Big Al]

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1     259:0    0   477G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   529M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0    16M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4    0 100.3G  0 part   Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5    0 238.4G  0 part /    Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6    0   9.6G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7    0   128G  0 part   formatted for NTFS

Because having two operating systems on one drive can potentially lead to problems and because hard drives are so cheap...
without exception I have Windows and Linux installed on two separate drives.
I perform each installation with the other drive disconnected then set the BIOS to boot from the Linux drive and add Windows to GRUB.
Since I've been doing this I've had zero problems and zero headaches

I did the same with my linux as the boot. I see windows and a thumb drive in the grub menu so I can run either. The thumb is a test copy
of mint 19.3. Now it's a place to test software or such before applying to my live system.

Windows takes too damn long to boot to a boot menu. And hitting F12 all the time is a bitch. I like grub. :-)

Al

[philo]

Post by philo

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1     259:0    0   477G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   529M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0    16M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4    0 100.3G  0 part   Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5    0 238.4G  0 part /    Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6    0   9.6G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7    0   128G  0 part   formatted for NTFS

Because having two operating systems on one drive can potentially lead
to problems and because hard drives are so cheap...
without exception I have Windows and Linux installed on two separate drives.
I perform each installation with the other drive disconnected then set
the BIOS to boot from the Linux drive and add Windows to GRUB.
Since I've been doing this I've had zero problems and zero headaches

I did the same with my linux as the boot.  I see windows and a thumb
drive in the grub menu so I can run either.   The thumb is a test copy
of mint 19.3.  Now it's a place to test software or such before applying
to my live system.
Windows takes too damn long to boot to a boot menu.  And hitting F12 all
the time is a bitch.  I like grub. :-)
Al

My two main machines are dual boot Linux and Windows so I can run any
two OS's at the same time>

I have a hard time concentrating on any one task so since this shut-in
period actually run three separate computers as I built a few for my
wife too.


Her machine is mainly used to print photos, so while I'm running that ,
I may do so word processing on an other machine, then check email and FB
on another.


Though all could be done on one machine, since I have all these machines
available, might as well use them.

Due to all OS's on separate drives I can switch things around all I want

[Big Al]

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.
nvme0n1     259:0    0   477G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   529M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p3 259:3    0    16M  0 part
├─nvme0n1p4 259:4    0 100.3G  0 part   Windows 10
├─nvme0n1p5 259:5    0 238.4G  0 part /    Linux all in one partiton
├─nvme0n1p6 259:6    0   9.6G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p7 259:7    0   128G  0 part   formatted for NTFS

Because having two operating systems on one drive can potentially lead to problems and because hard drives are so cheap...
without exception I have Windows and Linux installed on two separate drives.
I perform each installation with the other drive disconnected then set the BIOS to boot from the Linux drive and add Windows to GRUB.
Since I've been doing this I've had zero problems and zero headaches

I did the same with my linux as the boot.  I see windows and a thumb drive in the grub menu so I can run either.   The thumb is a test
copy of mint 19.3.  Now it's a place to test software or such before applying to my live system.
Windows takes too damn long to boot to a boot menu.  And hitting F12 all the time is a bitch.  I like grub. :-)
Al

My two main machines are dual boot Linux and Windows so I can run any two OS's at the same time>
I have a hard time concentrating on any one task so since this shut-in period actually run three separate computers as I built a few for my
wife too.
Her machine is mainly used to print photos, so while I'm running that , I may do so word processing on an other machine, then check email
and FB on another.
Though all could be done on one machine, since I have all these machines available, might as well use them.
Due to all OS's on separate drives I can switch things around all I want

I used to have two desktop machines with a kvm to de-clutter my desktop.

[philo]

Post by Big Al

Post by philo

Post by philo
On
Because having two operating systems on one drive can potentially
lead to problems and because hard drives are so cheap...
without exception I have Windows and Linux installed on two separate drives.
I perform each installation with the other drive disconnected then
set the BIOS to boot from the Linux drive and add Windows to GRUB.
Since I've been doing this I've had zero problems and zero headaches

I did the same with my linux as the boot.  I see windows and a thumb
drive in the grub menu so I can run either.   The thumb is a test
copy of mint 19.3.  Now it's a place to test software or such before
applying to my live system.
Windows takes too damn long to boot to a boot menu.  And hitting F12
all the time is a bitch.  I like grub. :-)
Al

My two main machines are dual boot Linux and Windows so I can run any
two OS's at the same time>
I have a hard time concentrating on any one task so since this shut-in
period actually run three separate computers as I built a few for my
wife too.
Her machine is mainly used to print photos, so while I'm running that
, I may do so word processing on an other machine, then check email
and FB on another.
Though all could be done on one machine, since I have all these
machines available, might as well use them.
Due to all OS's on separate drives I can switch things around all I want

I used to have two desktop machines with a kvm to de-clutter my desktop.

I have a KVM but use it for KB and mouse only.

My desk is easily large enough for two monitors .


It was a huge office desk I paid almost nothing for so the $100 I paid
to have it moved here was worth it.


I don't know how I got along with only one monitor.

[floffy]

You need a Diploma to use Linux etc ...
so command line and Complicate
Linux mint Look Cartoon display and have command no useful for Commun users

Post by philo

Post by Big Al

Post by philo

Post by philo
On
Because having two operating systems on one drive can potentially
lead to problems and because hard drives are so cheap...
without exception I have Windows and Linux installed on two separate drives.
I perform each installation with the other drive disconnected then
set the BIOS to boot from the Linux drive and add Windows to GRUB.
Since I've been doing this I've had zero problems and zero headaches

I did the same with my linux as the boot.  I see windows and a thumb
drive in the grub menu so I can run either.   The thumb is a test
copy of mint 19.3.  Now it's a place to test software or such before
applying to my live system.
Windows takes too damn long to boot to a boot menu.  And hitting F12
all the time is a bitch.  I like grub. :-)
Al

My two main machines are dual boot Linux and Windows so I can run any
two OS's at the same time>
I have a hard time concentrating on any one task so since this shut-in
period actually run three separate computers as I built a few for my
wife too.
Her machine is mainly used to print photos, so while I'm running that
, I may do so word processing on an other machine, then check email
and FB on another.
Though all could be done on one machine, since I have all these
machines available, might as well use them.
Due to all OS's on separate drives I can switch things around all I want

I used to have two desktop machines with a kvm to de-clutter my desktop.

I have a KVM but use it for KB and mouse only.
My desk is easily large enough for two monitors .
It was a huge office desk I paid almost nothing for so the $100 I paid
to have it moved here was worth it.
I don't know how I got along with only one monitor.

[Gordon]

Post by floffy
You need a Diploma to use Linux etc ...

Then please do your self a favour and stick with windows.

Post by floffy
so command line and Complicate
Linux mint Look Cartoon display and have command no useful for Commun users

Post by philo

Post by Big Al

Post by philo

Post by philo
On
Because having two operating systems on one drive can potentially
lead to problems and because hard drives are so cheap...
without exception I have Windows and Linux installed on two separate drives.
I perform each installation with the other drive disconnected then
set the BIOS to boot from the Linux drive and add Windows to GRUB.
Since I've been doing this I've had zero problems and zero headaches

I did the same with my linux as the boot.  I see windows and a thumb
drive in the grub menu so I can run either.   The thumb is a test
copy of mint 19.3.  Now it's a place to test software or such before
applying to my live system.
Windows takes too damn long to boot to a boot menu.  And hitting F12
all the time is a bitch.  I like grub. :-)
Al

My two main machines are dual boot Linux and Windows so I can run any
two OS's at the same time>
I have a hard time concentrating on any one task so since this shut-in
period actually run three separate computers as I built a few for my
wife too.
Her machine is mainly used to print photos, so while I'm running that
, I may do so word processing on an other machine, then check email
and FB on another.
Though all could be done on one machine, since I have all these
machines available, might as well use them.
Due to all OS's on separate drives I can switch things around all I want

I used to have two desktop machines with a kvm to de-clutter my desktop.

I have a KVM but use it for KB and mouse only.
My desk is easily large enough for two monitors .
It was a huge office desk I paid almost nothing for so the $100 I paid
to have it moved here was worth it.
I don't know how I got along with only one monitor.

[Jeff Layman]

Post by Gordon

Post by floffy
You need a Diploma to use Linux etc ...

Then please do your self a favour and stick with windows.

He seems to be picking up some 4-years old threads to reply to (also see
next post on "Re: Mint 9.3 vpn"). Strange.

[Paul]

Post by Gordon

Post by floffy
You need a Diploma to use Linux etc ...

Then please do your self a favour and stick with windows.

He seems to be picking up some 4-years old threads to reply to (also see next post on "Re: Mint 9.3 vpn"). Strange.

I think that's possibly the Gallaxial Admin.

Dumb me, it's in the path on his header. Gallaxial.

You need a Diploma for Windows too. Try and fix KB5034441
(WinRE partition size problem) as a test of your skillz.
Some people are discovering for the first time, that their
machine is encrypted :-) Funny stuff. You need a sense of
humor for sure.

Paul

[Dan Purgert]

Post by Paul

Post by Gordon

Post by floffy
You need a Diploma to use Linux etc ...

Then please do your self a favour and stick with windows.

He seems to be picking up some 4-years old threads to reply to (also see next post on "Re: Mint 9.3 vpn"). Strange.

I think that's possibly the Gallaxial Admin.
Dumb me, it's in the path on his header. Gallaxial.
You need a Diploma for Windows too. Try and fix KB5034441[...]

"Format and reinstall" :)

[Big Al]

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.

I'm going to give it a test run on a VM.

Thanks for all the input and patience with me.

Al

[Big Al]

Post by Big Al

Post by Big Al
I have a dual boot system with windows 10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon 19.3.

I'm going to give it a test run on a VM.
Thanks for all the input and patience with me.
Al

The VM gave me some practice, and I made my printouts and backups and did the shrink. All is fine.

I was very please to see the gparted did 99% of the work.
I did e2fsck -f first for the hell of it, then gparted to shrink and make new swap. Then the mkswap to redo the partition UUID, and a hop
into Windows to put back the last partition.

The world is running as I want it. Off onto other things.

And a thanks for all the education.

Al