How to Extend the Root (/) Partition in Ubuntu?
Tags: ubuntu
Published: 2021-12-14 05:05:31

---
title: How to Extend the Root (/) Partition in Ubuntu?
published: true
date: 2021-11-29 05:38:39 UTC
tags: Ubuntu
canonical_url: https://stackallflow.com/ubuntu/how-to-extend-the-root-partition-in-ubuntu/
---

<header>
<p><span style="font-size: 1.2em; color: initial;">gparted</span><span style="font-size: 1.2em; color: initial;">partitioning</span></p>
</header>

Till today I was using ubuntu 13.04 in my windows7/ubuntu dual boot. Just now I have upgraded to ubuntu 14.04. My software updater showed an updates available message. I proceeded with <kbd> Install Now </kbd>. Soon I got the following window.

!['Not enough free disk space' message](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OSrFm.png)

Then I tried `sudo apt-get clean` as recommended. Nothing happened! Not even a window opened. Teach me deleting the temporary packages.

Deleting temporary files may not be highly helpful in case of further updates and installs for I don’t have too much space left in my /. I wanna extend my / partition with the help of the unallocated space in my HD. The following is my Gparted window.

![Gparted window](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7ybeW.png)

I got an answer [here](https://askubuntu.com/questions/404361/extending-my-root-paritition). But it wasn’t useful for me. I had two choices. But the answer wasn’t working for both my chioces.

Choice 1: I may use the 4.25 GiB unallocated space to extend my /dev/sda10. To do so, I must need to move my linux-swap partition. But my Resize/Move option is disabled for the linux-swap partition. Choice 1 failed!

Choice 2: I may use the 14.35 GiB unallocated space instead. In this case I must move more than one partition. /dev/sda4 partition is the first on the list. Even that partition has the same problem. Resize/Move option is disabled. Choice 2 failed!

I am out of choices now.

What shall I do? Help me to extend my / with Gparted.

#### Accepted Answer

You actually can use the 4.25 GiB at the end without any reboot, because Linux supports on-line partition resizing since kernel 2.6 (meaning you can resize partitions while they’re mounted, even the root partition, without any reboot).

I’ll show you how to remove the swap partition and extend the root partition with all the free space at the end. Then I’ll use the unallocated space in the beginning (14.35 GiB) for a new swap partition. Of course 14.35 GiB is a bit much so you can also choose to use some to extend your NTFS partition.

* * *

1. Open GParted
2. Right click on `/dev/sda11` and select `Swapoff`
3. Right click on `/dev/sda11` and select `Delete`
4. Click on `Apply All Operations`
5. Open a terminal
6. Extend the root partition:
```
sudo resize2fs /dev/sda10

```
7. Go back to GParted
8. Open the `GParted` menu and click on `Refresh Devices`
9. Right click on the unallocated space and select `New`
10. Select `linux-swap` as file system
11. Click on `Add`
12. Click on `Apply All Operations`

* * *

Initially I wrote this using the command line only, but then I decided to try to use GParted as much as possible as this may be easier for you to see what’s going on. You may even extend the root partition using GParted. But you need to unmount your root partition before you work on it. I mean you should work offline (using a liveUSB). In some cases your grub may get damaged. So do reinstall your grub before you leave out from your offline working.

I believe GParted will automatically enable the new swap partition but I’m not sure. You can always check by right clicking on it and then selecting `Swapon`. If this option is not available the swap partitions is probably already enabled.

Also the `Refresh Devices` step is probably unnecessary, but you should follow it just to be sure.

We cannot resize the extended partition (`sda4`, in this case) as it has a mounted logical partition within it. So we need to boot into the live mode of an Ubuntu USB/CD drive. From there, start GParted, turn off swap if necessary, right click on the extended partition and resize it to suit your needs. Then, follow the steps mentioned as needed to resize root and add back swap. In the event that your root partition UUID gets changed, you can update Grub by executing these steps in the live mode:

```
sudo mount /dev/sda10 /mnt 
sudo mount -o bind /dev/ /mnt/dev 
sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sda 
sudo chroot /mnt /bin/bash 
# Now within the chroot
sudo update-grub
exit
# Now outside chroot

```

The first couple of commands mount the root partition (`sda10`, in this case) and set up `/dev/` for use within a chroot environment. (Other partitions that can be similarly mounted for a more functional chroot are `/proc`, `/sys` and `/dev/pts`.) Then we reinstall grub (not really necessary). Then, we enter the chroot and update grub. This causes grub to use the new UUIDs where necessary. After exiting the chroot, reboot and we should get the grub menu back.

The post [How to Extend the Root (/) Partition in Ubuntu?](https://stackallflow.com/ubuntu/how-to-extend-the-root-partition-in-ubuntu/) appeared first on [Stack All Flow](https://stackallflow.com).