GParted

What It Does

GParted provides a visual representation of your disk layout and lets you manipulate partitions through a point-and-click interface. You can create new partition tables (GPT or MBR), create/delete/resize/move partitions, change filesystem types (ext4, NTFS, FAT32, XFS, Btrfs, and more), set partition flags (boot, esp, lvm), and check filesystems for errors. Operations are queued and only applied when you click "Apply," so you can review changes before committing.

Why You Need It

Partition management is a fundamental IT skill. You need GParted when setting up dual-boot systems, recovering space from unused partitions, preparing drives for OS installations, resizing partitions that have outgrown their allocation, or fixing partition table issues on drives that will not boot. It is safer than command-line tools like fdisk or parted because you can see exactly what will change before applying. Referenced in SG-31: Build a Bootable USB Drive -- GParted Live belongs on every technician's bootable toolkit USB.

How to Install It

Option 1 -- Install on an existing Linux system:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install gparted

# Fedora
sudo dnf install gparted

# Arch
sudo pacman -S gparted

Run it with sudo gparted (requires root to access raw block devices).

Option 2 -- GParted Live (bootable ISO, works on any machine):

1. Go to https://gparted.org/download.php
2. Download the amd64 ISO (about 500MB)
3. Write it to a USB drive using Rufus, balenaEtcher, or Ventoy
4. Boot the target machine from the USB. Select default boot options (keymap, language). GParted launches automatically.

GParted Live is a Debian-based minimal environment. It includes a terminal, a web browser, and GParted -- nothing else. It boots fast and uses minimal RAM.

How to Use It

1. Select the target disk. In the top-right dropdown, select the disk you want to work on (e.g., /dev/sda, /dev/nvme0n1). The partition layout appears as a visual bar chart with color-coded segments.
2. Unmount before editing. You cannot resize or move a mounted partition. Right-click the partition and select Unmount. If the partition is in use (e.g., the OS root), you must use GParted Live from a USB instead.
3. Resize or move a partition. Right-click the partition, select Resize/Move. Drag the edges of the partition bar or type exact sizes in MiB. Free space must be adjacent -- if it is not, you need to move an intervening partition first.
4. Create a new partition. Click on unallocated space (shown as a gray bar), then Partition > New (or right-click > New). Choose filesystem type, label, and size. For a Linux install: ext4. For USB drives shared with Windows: exFAT or FAT32. For EFI System Partition: FAT32, 512MB, with the "esp" flag.
5. Apply all operations. All changes are queued in the bottom panel. Review them, then click the green checkmark (Edit > Apply All Operations). GParted executes them in order. Do not interrupt this process -- a power loss during a move/resize can corrupt data.

Common Gotchas

• Cannot modify mounted partitions. If a partition shows a key icon, it is mounted. You must unmount it first. For the root/boot partition of the running OS, boot from GParted Live USB instead.
• Resizing NTFS requires ntfs-3g. GParted needs ntfs-3g and ntfsprogs to resize Windows NTFS partitions. GParted Live includes them; a minimal Linux install may not. Install with: sudo apt install ntfs-3g
• Moving large partitions is slow and risky. A move operation copies every block of data to a new location on disk. On a 500GB partition, this can take hours. If power is lost during a move, the data may be unrecoverable. Always back up before moving partitions. Resize in-place (shrink from one end) is much safer.
• GPT vs MBR matters. Modern UEFI systems require GPT partition tables. Legacy BIOS systems use MBR. If you create a new partition table (Device > Create Partition Table), choosing the wrong type means the machine will not boot. Check your firmware type first: UEFI = GPT, Legacy BIOS = MBR.
• Shrinking before growing. To give space to partition B from partition A, you must first shrink A (which creates unallocated space), then grow B into that space. The unallocated space must be adjacent to the partition you are growing. If another partition sits between them, you will need to move it first.