This is parted.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.8 from parted.texi.

  This file documents the use of GNU Parted, a program for creating,
resizing, checking and copy partitions and file systems on them.

  Copyright (C) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Free
Software Foundation, Inc.

  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU
Free Documentation License".

START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* parted: (parted).                         GNU partitioning software
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY


File: parted.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Introduction,  Up: (dir)

GNU Parted User Manual
**********************

This document describes the use of GNU Parted, a program for creating,
destroying, resizing, checking and copying hard drive partitions, and
the file systems on them.

  This document applies roughly to version *1.8.7* of GNU Parted.

  The original version was written by Andrew Clausen in text format.
Richard M. Kreuter translated it into Texinfo format in 2002, to be
heavily edited by Leslie P. Polzer in 2006.

* Menu:

* Introduction::                Overview
* Using Parted::                Partitioning a Hard Drive
* Related information::         Further reading on related topics
* Copying This Manual::         How to make copies of this manual
* History::                     This manual's history

* Index::                       Index of referenced concepts


File: parted.info,  Node: Introduction,  Next: Using Parted,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

1 Introduction
**************

* Menu:

* Overview::                    GNU Parted and prerequisite knowledge
* Software Required::           GNU Parted's software dependencies
* Supported Platforms::         Where you can use GNU Parted
* License::                     What you may and may not do with GNU Parted
* Compiling::                   How to build GNU Parted
* Static binaries::             How to get and use a static version of GNU
                                Parted


File: parted.info,  Node: Overview,  Next: Software Required,  Up: Introduction

1.1 Overview of GNU Parted
==========================

GNU Parted is a program for creating, destroying, resizing, checking
and copying partitions, and the file systems on them.

  This is useful for creating space for new operating systems, for
reorganizing disk usage, for copying data between hard disks and for
"disk imaging" -- replicating an installation on another computer.

  This documentation is written with the assumption that the reader has
some understanding of partitioning and file systems.  If you want to
learn more about these, the upcoming GNU Storage Guide is recommended
reading.

  GNU Parted was designed to minimize the chance of data loss.  For
example, it was designed to avoid data loss during interruptions (like
power failure) and performs many safety checks.  However, there could
be bugs in GNU Parted, so you should back up your important files before
running Parted.  Also note that reiserfs support relies on libreiserfs,
which does not fulfil the aforementioned requirement.  The same holds
for any external tools like `ntfsresize'.

  The GNU Parted homepage is `http://www.gnu.org/software/parted'.  The
library and frontend themselves can be downloaded from
`ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/parted'.  You can also find a listing of mailing
lists, notes for contributing and more useful information on the web
site.

  Please send bug reports to <bug-parted@gnu.org>.  When sending bug
reports, please include the version of GNU Parted.  Please include the
output from these commands (for disk `/dev/hda'):

     # parted /dev/hda print unit s print unit chs print

  Feel free to ask for help on this list -- just check that your
question isn't answered here first.  If you don't understand the
documentation, please tell us, so we can explain it better.  General
philosophy is: if you need to ask for help, then something needs to be
fixed so you (and others) don't need to ask for help.

  Also, we'd love to hear your ideas :-)


File: parted.info,  Node: Software Required,  Next: Supported Platforms,  Prev: Overview,  Up: Introduction

1.2 Software Required for the use of Parted
===========================================

If you're installing or compiling Parted yourself, you'll need to have
some other programs installed.  If you are compiling Parted, you will
need both the normal and devel packages of these programs installed:

   * libuuid, part of the e2fsprogs package.  If you don't have this,
     you can get it from:

     	`http://web.mit.edu/tytso/www/linux/e2fsprogs.html'

     If you want to compile Parted and e2fsprogs, note that you will
     need to `make install' and `make install-libs' e2fsprogs.

   * GNU Readline (optional), available from

     	`ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/readline'

     If you are compiling Parted, and you don't have readline, you can
     disable Parted's readline support with the `--disable-readline'
     option for `configure'.

   * GNU gettext (or compatible software) for compilation, if
     internationalisation support is desired.

     	`ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gettext'

   * libreiserfs, if you want reiserfs support:

     	`http://reiserfs.osdn.org.ua'

     Note that parted will automatically detect libreiserfs at runtime,
     and enable reiserfs support.  libreiserfs is new, and hasn't been
     widely tested yet.



File: parted.info,  Node: Supported Platforms,  Next: License,  Prev: Software Required,  Up: Introduction

1.3 Platforms on which GNU Parted runs
======================================

Hopefully, this list will grow a lot.  If you do not have one of these
platforms, then you can use a rescue disk and a static binary of GNU
Parted.  *Note Static binaries::.

GNU/Linux
     Linux versions 2.0 and up, on Alpha, x86 PCs, PC98, Macintosh
     PowerPC, Sun hardware.

GNU/Hurd

  GNU libc 2.1 or higher is required.  You can probably use older
versions by using the `--disable-nls' option. *Note Building GNU
Parted: Compiling. (Note: I think we have now dropped this requirement.
TODO: check if libc 2.0 works!)


File: parted.info,  Node: License,  Next: Compiling,  Prev: Supported Platforms,  Up: Introduction

1.4 Terms of distribution for GNU Parted
========================================

GNU Parted is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License
Version 2.  This should have been included with the Parted distribution,
in the COPYING file.  If not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.

  Libparted is considered part of GNU Parted.  It is covered by the GNU
General Public License.  It is NOT released under the GNU Lesser General
Public License (LGPL).


File: parted.info,  Node: Compiling,  Next: Static binaries,  Prev: License,  Up: Introduction

1.5 Building GNU Parted
=======================

If you want to compile GNU Parted, this is generally done with:

     $ ./configure
     $ make

  However, there are a few options for `configure':

`--without-readline'
     turns off use of readline.  This is useful for making rescue disks,
     etc., where few libraries are available.

`--disable-debug'
     don't include assertions

`--disable-dynamic-loading'
     disables dynamic loading of some libraries (only libreiserfs for
     now, although we hope to expand this).  Dynamic loading is useful
     because it allows you to reuse libparted shared libraries even
     when you don't know if some libraries will be available.  It has a
     small overhead (mainly linking with libdl), so it may be useful to
     disable it on bootdisks if you don't need the flexibility.

`--disable-fs'
     disable all file system support

`--disable-nls'
     turns off native language support.  This is useful for use with old
     versions of glibc, or a trimmed down version of glibc suitable for
     rescue disks.

`--disable-shared'
     turns off shared libraries.  This may be necessary for use with old
     versions of GNU libc, if you get a compile error about a "spilled
     register".  Also useful for boot/rescue disks.

`--disable-Werror'
     ignore warning messages in compilation

`--enable-discover-only'
     support only reading/probing (reduces size considerably)

`--enable-mtrace'
     enable malloc() debugging

`--enable-read-only'
     disable writing (for debugging)



File: parted.info,  Node: Static binaries,  Prev: Compiling,  Up: Introduction

1.6 Using static binaries of GNU Parted
=======================================

1.6.1 Introduction
------------------

If you want to run GNU Parted on a machine without GNU/Linux installed,
or you want to resize a root or boot partition, you will need to use a
boot disk.

  Special boot disk images for GNU Parted used to be available, but
with the emergence of a plethora of rescue disks and Live CDs that all
include GNU Parted this is no longer necessary.  However, please note
that these disks often ship with out-of-date versions of Parted.  To
compensate for this a static binary of the latest GNU Parted version is
available, which you can use thus:

1.6.2 Creating the Parted disk
------------------------------

  1. Boot your system

  2. Download `parted-static-VERSION.tgz' from
     `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/parted/static'

  3. Unpack the tarball, resulting in a file called "parted.static".

  4. Insert a floppy.

  5. Do a low-level format on it (on GNU/Linux this can be achieved with
          the tool "fdformat" from the "util-linux" package.
     This is basically a sanity check because floppy disks often
     contain bad blocks.

  6. Create a file system. Example:

          $ parted /dev/fd0 mklabel loop mkpartfs primary ext2 0 1.4

  7. Mount the floppy disk, e.g.,

          $ mount -t ext2 /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy

  8. Copy `parted.static' to the floppy, e.g.,

          $ cp parted.static /mnt/floppy

  9. Unmount the floppy, e.g.,

          $ umount /mnt/floppy

1.6.3 Using the Parted disk
---------------------------

  1. Choose a rescue disk that suits you.

  2. Boot off your rescue disk.  Mount the disk you copied Parted onto.

  3. Run Parted.  For example,

          # cd /mnt/floppy
          # ./parted-static


File: parted.info,  Node: Using Parted,  Next: Related information,  Prev: Introduction,  Up: Top

2 Using Parted
**************

* Menu:

* Partitioning::                    Disk partitioning in context
* Running Parted::                  Partitioning with Parted
* Invoking Parted::                 Parted's invocation options and commands
* Command explanations::            Full explanation of parted's commands


File: parted.info,  Node: Partitioning,  Next: Running Parted,  Up: Using Parted

2.1 Introduction to Partitioning
================================

Unfortunately, partitioning your disk is rather complicated.  This is
because there are interactions between many different systems that need
to be taken into consideration.

  This manual used to introduce the reader to these systems and their
working.  This content has moved to the GNU Storage Guide.


File: parted.info,  Node: Running Parted,  Next: Invoking Parted,  Prev: Partitioning,  Up: Using Parted

2.2 Using GNU Parted
====================

Parted has two modes: command line and interactive.  Parted should
always be started with:

     # parted DEVICE

where DEVICE is the hard disk device to edit.  (If you're lazy and omit
the DEVICE argument, Parted will attempt to guess which device you
want.)

  In command line mode, this is followed by one or more commands.  For
example:

     # parted /dev/sda resize 1 52Mb 104Mb mkfs 2 fat16

Options (like `--help') can only be specified on the command line.

  In interactive mode, commands are entered one at a time at a prompt,
and modify the disk immediately.  For example:

     (parted) resize 1 52.0005Mb 104.5Mb
     (parted) mkfs 2 fat16

Unambiguous abbreviations are allowed.  For example, you can type "p"
instead of "print", and "resi" instead of "resize".  Commands can be
typed either in English, or your native language (if your language has
been translated).  This may create ambiguities.  Commands are
case-insensitive.

  Numbers indicating partition locations can be whole numbers or
decimals.  The suffix selects the unit, which may be one of those
described in *Note unit::, except CHS and compact.  If no suffix is
given, then the default unit is assumed.  Negative numbers count back
from the end of the disk, with "-1s" indicating the end of the disk.
Parted will compute sensible ranges for the locations you specify (e.g.
a range of +/- 500 MB when you specify the location in "G"). Use the
sector unit "s" to specify exact locations.

  If you don't give a parameter to a command, Parted will prompt you
for it.  For example:

     (parted) resize 1
     Start? 0Gb
     End? 40Gb

  Parted will always warn you before doing something that is potentially
dangerous, unless the command is one of those that is inherently
dangerous (viz., rm, mklabel and mkfs).  For example, if you attempt to
shrink a partition "too much" (i.e., by more than the free space
available), Parted will automatically reduce the shrinkage so that the
partition is the smallest it can be without losing data.  If this size
is significantly different from the size requested, Parted will warn
you.  Since many partitioning systems have complicated constraints,
Parted will usually do something slightly different to what you asked.
(For example, create a partition starting at 10.352Mb, not 10.4Mb) If
the calculated values differ too much, Parted will ask you for
confirmation.


File: parted.info,  Node: Invoking Parted,  Next: Command explanations,  Prev: Running Parted,  Up: Using Parted

2.3 Command Line Options
========================

When invoked from the command line, Parted supports the following
syntax:

     # parted [OPTION] DEVICE [COMMAND [ARGUMENT]]

  Available options and commands follow.  For detailed explanations of
the use of Parted commands, see *Note Command explanations::. Options
begin with a hyphen, commands do not:

  Options:

`-h'
`--help'
     display a help message

`-i'
`--interactive'
     prompt for user intervention

`-s'
`--script'
     never prompt the user

`-v'
`--version'
     display the version


File: parted.info,  Node: Command explanations,  Prev: Invoking Parted,  Up: Using Parted

2.4 Parted Session Commands
===========================

GNU Parted provides the following commands:

* Menu:

* check::
* cp::
* help::
* mklabel::
* mkfs::
* mkpart::
* mkpartfs::
* move::
* name::
* print::
* quit::
* rescue::
* resize::
* rm::
* select::
* set::
* unit::


File: parted.info,  Node: check,  Next: cp,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.1 check
-----------

 -- Command: check NUMBER
     Checks if the file system on partition NUMBER has any errors.

     Example:

          (parted) check 1

     Check the file system on partition 1.


File: parted.info,  Node: cp,  Next: help,  Prev: check,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.2 cp
--------

 -- Command: cp [FROM-DEVICE] FROM-NUMBER TO-NUMBER
     Copies the file system on the partition FROM-NUMBER to partition
     TO-NUMBER, deleting the original contents of the destination
     partition.

     An optional device parameter, FROM-DEVICE can be given, which
     specifies which device the source partition is on.

     Supported file systems:
        * ext2, ext3 (provided the destination partition is larger than
          the source partition)

        * fat16, fat32

        * linux-swap (equivalent to mkswap on destination partition)

        * reiserfs (if libreiserfs is installed)


     Example:

          (parted) cp /dev/hdb 2 3

     Copy partition 2 of `/dev/hdb' (i.e., `/dev/hdb2') to partition on
     3, on the device Parted was loaded with, destroying the original
     contents of partition 3.


File: parted.info,  Node: help,  Next: mklabel,  Prev: cp,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.3 help
----------

 -- Command: help [COMMAND]
     Prints general help, or help on COMMAND.

     Example:

          (parted) help resize

     Print help for the resize command.


File: parted.info,  Node: mklabel,  Next: mkfs,  Prev: help,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.4 mklabel
-------------

 -- Command: mklabel LABEL-TYPE
     Creates a new disk label, of type LABEL-TYPE.  The new disk label
     will have no partitions.  This command (normally) won't technically
     destroy your data, but it will make it basically unusable, and you
     will need to use the rescue command (*note Related information::)
     to recover any partitions.  Parted works on all partition tables.
     (1)

     LABEL-TYPE must be one of these supported disk labels:
        * bsd

        * loop (raw disk access)

        * gpt

        * mac

        * msdos

        * pc98

        * sun

     Example:

          (parted) mklabel msdos

     Create an MS-DOS disk label.  This is still the most common disk
     label for PCs.

  ---------- Footnotes ----------

  (1) Everyone seems to have a different word for "disk label" -- these
are all the same thing: partition table, partition map.


File: parted.info,  Node: mkfs,  Next: mkpart,  Prev: mklabel,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.5 mkfs
----------

 -- Command: mkfs NUMBER FS-TYPE
     Makes a file system FS-TYPE on partition NUMBER, destroying all
     data that resides on that partition.

     Supported file systems:
        * ext2

        * fat16, fat32

        * linux-swap

        * reiserfs (if libreiserfs is installed)

     Example:

          (parted) mkfs 2 fat32

     Make a FAT32 file system on partition 2.


File: parted.info,  Node: mkpart,  Next: mkpartfs,  Prev: mkfs,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.6 mkpart
------------

 -- Command: mkpart PART-TYPE [FS-TYPE] START END
     Creates a new partition, _without_ creating a new file system on
     that partition.  This is useful for creating partitions for file
     systems (or LVM, etc.) that Parted doesn't support.  You may
     specify a file system type, to set the appropriate partition code
     in the partition table for the new partition.  FS-TYPE is required
     for data partitions (i.e., non-extended partitions).  START and END
     are the offset from the beginning of the disk, that is, the
     "distance" from the start of the disk.

     PART-TYPE is one of: primary, extended, logical.  Extended and
     logical are only used for msdos and dvh disk labels.

     FS-TYPE must be on of these supported file systems:
        * ext2

        * fat16, fat32

        * hfs, hfs+, hfsx

        * linux-swap

        * NTFS

        * reiserfs

        * ufs

     Example:

          (parted) mkpart logical 0.0 692.1

     Create a logical partition that will contain an ext2 file system.
     The partition will start at the beginning of the disk, and end
     692.1 megabytes into the disk.



File: parted.info,  Node: mkpartfs,  Next: move,  Prev: mkpart,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.7 mkpartfs
--------------

 -- Command: mkpartfs PART-TYPE FS-TYPE START END
     Creates a new partition of type PART-TYPE with a new file system
     of type FS-TYPE on it.  The new partition will start START
     megabytes, and end END megabytes from the beginning of the disk.
     Do not use this command to recover a deleted partition (use mkpart
     instead).

     PART-TYPE is one of: primary, extended, logical.  Extended and
     logical are only used for msdos and dvh disk labels.

     FS-TYPE must be one of these supported file systems:
        * ext2

        * fat16, fat32

        * linux-swap

        * reiserfs (if libreiserfs is installed)

     Example:

          (parted) mkpartfs logical ext2 440 670

     Make a logical partition and write an ext2 file system, starting
     440 megabytes and ending 670 megabytes from the beginning of the
     disk.


File: parted.info,  Node: move,  Next: name,  Prev: mkpartfs,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.8 move
----------

 -- Command: move NUMBER START END
     Moves partition on the disk, by moving its beginning to START.
     You can't move a partition so that the old and new positions
     overlap.  That is, you can only move partitions into free space.
     If you want to resize a partition in-place, use `resize'.

     Move never changes the partition number.

     Supported file systems:
        * ext2, ext3 (provided the destination partition is larger than
          the source partition)

        * fat16, fat32

        * linux-swap

        * reiserfs (if libreiserfs is installed)

     Example:

          (parted) move 2 150M 500M

     Move the partition numbered 2 so that it begins 150 megabytes from
     the start of the disk, and ends 500 megabytes from the start.



File: parted.info,  Node: name,  Next: print,  Prev: move,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.9 name
----------

 -- Command: name NUMBER NAME
     Sets the name for the partition NUMBER (GPT, Mac, MIPS and PC98
     only).  The name can be placed in quotes.

     Example:

          (parted) name 2 'Secret Documents'

     Set the name of partition 2 to `Secret Documents'.


File: parted.info,  Node: print,  Next: quit,  Prev: name,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.10 print
------------

 -- Command: print [NUMBER]
     Displays the partition table on the device parted is editing, or
     detailed information about a particular partition.

     Example:

          (parted) print
          Disk geometry for /dev/hda: 0.000-2445.679 megabytes
          Disk label type: msdos
          Minor    Start       End     Type      Filesystem  Flags
          1          0.031    945.000  primary   fat32       boot, lba
          2        945.000   2358.562  primary   ext2
          3       2358.562   2445.187  primary   linux-swap
          (parted) print 1
          Minor: 1
          Flags: boot, lba
          File System: fat32
          Size:            945.000Mb (0%)
          Minimum size:     84.361Mb (0%)
          Maximum size:   2445.679Mb (100%)


File: parted.info,  Node: quit,  Next: rescue,  Prev: print,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.11 quit
-----------

 -- Command: quit
     Quits Parted.

     It is only after Parted exits that the Linux kernel knows about
     the changes Parted has made to the disks.  However, the changes
     caused by typing your commands will _probably_ be made to the disk
     immediately after typing a command.  However, the operating
     system's cache and the disk's hardware cache may delay this.


File: parted.info,  Node: rescue,  Next: resize,  Prev: quit,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.12 rescue
-------------

 -- Command: rescue START END
     Rescue a lost partition that used to be located approximately
     between START and END.  If such a partition is found, Parted will
     ask you if you want to create a partition for it.  This is useful
     if you accidently deleted a partition with parted's rm command,
     for example.

     Example:

          (parted) print
          Disk geometry for /dev/hdc: 0.000-8063.507 megabytes
          Disk label type: msdos
          Minor    Start       End     Type      Filesystem  Flags
          1          0.031   8056.032  primary   ext3
          (parted) rm
          Partition number? 1
          (parted) print
          Disk geometry for /dev/hdc: 0.000-8063.507 megabytes
          Disk label type: msdos
          Minor    Start       End     Type      Filesystem  Flags

     OUCH!  We deleted our ext3 partition!!!  Parted comes to the
     rescue...

          (parted) rescue
          Start? 0
          End? 8056
          Information: A ext3 primary partition was found at 0.031MB ->
          8056.030MB.  Do you want to add it to the partition table?
          Yes/No/Cancel? y
          (parted) print
          Disk geometry for /dev/hdc: 0.000-8063.507 megabytes
          Disk label type: msdos
          Minor    Start       End     Type      Filesystem  Flags
          1          0.031   8056.032  primary   ext3

     It's back!  :)



File: parted.info,  Node: resize,  Next: rm,  Prev: rescue,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.13 resize
-------------

 -- Command: resize NUMBER START END
     Resizes the partition with number NUMBER.  The partition will start
     START from the beginning of the disk, and end END from the
     beginning of the disk.  resize never changes the partition number.
     Extended partitions can be resized only so long as the new
     extended partition completely contains all logical partitions.

     Note that Parted can manipulate partitions whether or not they
     have been defragmented, so you do not need to defragmenting the
     disk before using Parted.

     Supported file systems:
        * ext2, ext3 - restriction: the new START must be the same as
          the old START.

        * fat16, fat32

        * hfs, hfs+, hfsx - restriction: the new START must be the same
          as the old START and the new END must be smaller than the old
          END.

        * linux-swap

        * reiserfs (if libreiserfs is installed)

     Example:

          (parted) resize 3 200M 850M

     Resize partition 3, so that it begins 200 megabytes and ends 850
     megabytes from the beginning of the disk.


File: parted.info,  Node: rm,  Next: select,  Prev: resize,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.14 rm
---------

 -- Command: rm NUMBER
     Removes the partition with number NUMBER.  If you accidently delete
     a partition with this command, use mkpart (_not_ mkpartfs) to
     recover it.  Also, you can use the gpart program (*note Related
     information::) to recover damaged disk labels.

     Note for msdos disk labels: if you delete a logical partition, all
     logical partitions with a larger partition number will be
     renumbered.  For example, if you delete a logical partition with a
     partition number of 6, then logical partitions that were number 7,
     8 and 9 would be renumbered to 6, 7 and 8 respectively.  This
     means, for example, that you have to update `/etc/fstab' on
     GNU/Linux systems.

     Example:

          (parted) rm 3

     Remove partition 3.


File: parted.info,  Node: select,  Next: set,  Prev: rm,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.15 select
-------------

 -- Command: select DEVICE
     Selects the device, DEVICE, for Parted to edit.  The device can be
     a Linux hard disk device, a partition, a software RAID device or
     LVM logical volume.

     Example:

          (parted) select /dev/hdb

     Select `/dev/hdb' (the slave device on the first ide controller on
     Linux) as the device to edit.


File: parted.info,  Node: set,  Next: unit,  Prev: select,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.16 set
----------

 -- Command: set NUMBER FLAG STATE
     Changes a flag on the partition with number NUMBER.  A flag can be
     either "on" or "off".  Some or all of these flags will be
     available, depending on what disk label you are using:

    `boot'
          (Mac, MS-DOS, PC98) - should be enabled if you want to boot
          off the partition.  The semantics vary between disk labels.
          For MS-DOS disk labels, only one partition can be bootable.
          If you are installing LILO on a partition that partition must
          be bootable.  For PC98 disk labels, all ext2 partitions must
          be bootable (this is enforced by Parted).

    `lba'
          (MS-DOS) - this flag can be enabled to tell MS DOS, MS
          Windows 9x and MS Windows ME based operating systems to use
          Linear (LBA) mode.

    `root'
          (Mac) - this flag should be enabled if the partition is the
          root device to be used by Linux.

    `swap'
          (Mac) - this flag should be enabled if the partition is the
          swap device to be used by Linux.

    `hidden'
          (MS-DOS, PC98) - this flag can be enabled to hide partitions
          from Microsoft operating systems.

    `raid'
          (MS-DOS) - this flag can be enabled to tell linux the
          partition is a software RAID partition.

    `LVM'
          (MS-DOS) - this flag can be enabled to tell linux the
          partition is a physical volume.

    `PALO'
          (MS-DOS) - this flag can be enabled so that the partition can
          be used by the Linux/PA-RISC boot loader, palo.

    `PREP'
          (MS-DOS) - this flag can be enabled so that the partition can
          be used as a PReP boot partition on PowerPC PReP or IBM
          RS6K/CHRP hardware.


     The print command displays all enabled flags for each partition.

     Example:

          (parted) set 1 boot on

     Set the `boot' flag on partition 1.


File: parted.info,  Node: unit,  Prev: set,  Up: Command explanations

2.4.17 unit
-----------

 -- Command: unit UNIT
     Selects the current default unit that Parted will use to display
     locations and capacities on the disk and to interpret those given
     by the user if they are not suffixed by an UNIT.

     UNIT may be one of:

    `s'
          sector (n bytes depending on the sector size, often 512)

    `B'
          byte

    `kB'
          kilobyte (1000 bytes)

    `MB'
          megabyte (1000000 bytes)

    `GB'
          gigabyte (1000000000 bytes)

    `TB'
          terabyte (1000000000000 bytes)

    `%'
          percentage of the device (between 0 and 100)

    `cyl'
          cylinders (related to the BIOS CHS geometry)

    `chs'
          cylinders, heads, sectors addressing (related to the BIOS CHS
          geometry)

    `compact'
          This is a special unit that defaults to megabytes for input,
          and picks a unit that gives a compact human readable
          representation for output.

     The default unit apply only for the output and when no unit is
     specified after an input number.  Input numbers can be followed by
     an unit (without any space or other character between them), in
     which case this unit apply instead of the default unit for this
     particular number, but CHS and cylinder units are not supported as
     a suffix.  If no suffix is given, then the default unit is assumed.
     Parted will compute sensible ranges for the locations you specify
     (e.g. a range of +/- 500 MB when you specify the location in "G")
     and will select the nearest location in this range from the one you
     wrote that satisfies constraints from both the operation, the
     filesystem being worked on, the disk label, other partitions and so
     on.  Use the sector unit "s" to specify exact locations (if they
     do not satisfy all onstraints, Parted will ask you for the nearest
     solution).  Note that negative numbers count back from the end of
     the disk, with "-1s" pointing to the end of the disk.

     Example:

          (parted) unit compact
          (parted) print
          Disk geometry for /dev/hda: 0kB - 123GB
          Disk label type: msdos
          Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system  Flags
          1       32kB    1078MB  1077MB  primary   reiserfs     boot
          2       1078MB  2155MB  1078MB  primary   linux-swap
          3       2155MB  123GB   121GB   extended
          5       2155MB  7452MB  5297MB  logical   reiserfs
          (parted) unit chs print
          Disk geometry for /dev/hda: 0,0,0 - 14946,225,62
          BIOS cylinder,head,sector geometry: 14946,255,63.  Each cylinder
          is 8225kB.
          Disk label type: msdos
          Number  Start       End         Type      File system  Flags
          1       0,1,0       130,254,62  primary   reiserfs     boot
          2       131,0,0     261,254,62  primary   linux-swap
          3       262,0,0     14945,254,62 extended
          5       262,2,0     905,254,62  logical   reiserfs
          (parted) unit mb print
          Disk geometry for /dev/hda: 0MB - 122942MB
          Disk label type: msdos
          Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system  Flags
          1       0MB     1078MB  1077MB  primary   reiserfs     boot
          2       1078MB  2155MB  1078MB  primary   linux-swap
          3       2155MB  122935MB 120780MB extended
          5       2155MB  7452MB  5297MB  logical   reiserfs



File: parted.info,  Node: Related information,  Next: Copying This Manual,  Prev: Using Parted,  Up: Top

3 Related information
*********************

If you want to find out more information, please see the GNU Parted web
site.

  These files in the Parted distribution contain further information:

   * `ABOUT-NLS' - information about using Native Language Support, and
     the Free Translation Project.

   * `AUTHORS' - who wrote what.

   * `ChangeLog' - record of changes made to Parted.

   * `COPYING' - the GNU General Public License, the terms under which
     GNU Parted may be distributed.

   * `COPYING.DOC' - the GNU Free Documentation Licence, the term under
     which Parted's documentation may be distributed.

   * `INSTALL' -- how to compile and install Parted, and most other free
     software



File: parted.info,  Node: Copying This Manual,  Next: History,  Prev: Related information,  Up: Top

Appendix A Copying This Manual
******************************

* Menu:

* GNU Free Documentation License::  License for copying this manual


File: parted.info,  Node: GNU Free Documentation License,  Up: Copying This Manual

A.1 GNU Free Documentation License
==================================

                        Version 1.1, March 2000

     Copyright (C) 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
     51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA

     Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
     of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

  0. PREAMBLE

     The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other
     written document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone
     the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without
     modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially.  Secondarily,
     this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get
     credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for
     modifications made by others.

     This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative
     works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense.
     It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft
     license designed for free software.

     We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for
     free software, because free software needs free documentation: a
     free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms
     that the software does.  But this License is not limited to
     software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless
     of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book.
     We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is
     instruction or reference.

  1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS

     This License applies to any manual or other work that contains a
     notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed
     under the terms of this License.  The "Document", below, refers to
     any such manual or work.  Any member of the public is a licensee,
     and is addressed as "you".

     A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the
     Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with
     modifications and/or translated into another language.

     A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter
     section of the Document that deals exclusively with the
     relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the
     Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains
     nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject.
     (For example, if the Document is in part a textbook of
     mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.)
     The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with
     the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial,
     philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.

     The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose
     titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in
     the notice that says that the Document is released under this
     License.

     The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are
     listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice
     that says that the Document is released under this License.

     A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy,
     represented in a format whose specification is available to the
     general public, whose contents can be viewed and edited directly
     and straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images
     composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some
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     text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of
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     otherwise Transparent file format whose markup has been designed
     to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers is not
     Transparent.  A copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".

     Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain
     ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format,
     SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and
     standard-conforming simple HTML designed for human modification.
     Opaque formats include PostScript, PDF, proprietary formats that
     can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML
     or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally
     available, and the machine-generated HTML produced by some word
     processors for output purposes only.

     The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself,
     plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the
     material this License requires to appear in the title page.  For
     works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title
     Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the
     work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.

  2. VERBATIM COPYING

     You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either
     commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the
     copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License
     applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you
     add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License.  You
     may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading
     or further copying of the copies you make or distribute.  However,
     you may accept compensation in exchange for copies.  If you
     distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow
     the conditions in section 3.

     You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above,
     and you may publicly display copies.

  3. COPYING IN QUANTITY

     If you publish printed copies of the Document numbering more than
     100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you
     must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly,
     all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and
     Back-Cover Texts on the back cover.  Both covers must also clearly
     and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies.  The
     front cover must present the full title with all words of the
     title equally prominent and visible.  You may add other material
     on the covers in addition.  Copying with changes limited to the
     covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and
     satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in
     other respects.

     If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit
     legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit
     reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto
     adjacent pages.

     If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document
     numbering more than 100, you must either include a
     machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or
     state in or with each Opaque copy a publicly-accessible
     computer-network location containing a complete Transparent copy
     of the Document, free of added material, which the general
     network-using public has access to download anonymously at no
     charge using public-standard network protocols.  If you use the
     latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you
     begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that
     this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated
     location until at least one year after the last time you
     distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or
     retailers) of that edition to the public.

     It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of
     the Document well before redistributing any large number of
     copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated
     version of the Document.

  4. MODIFICATIONS

     You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document
     under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you
     release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with
     the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus
     licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to
     whoever possesses a copy of it.  In addition, you must do these
     things in the Modified Version:

       A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title
          distinct from that of the Document, and from those of
          previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed
          in the History section of the Document).  You may use the
          same title as a previous version if the original publisher of
          that version gives permission.

       B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or
          entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in
          the Modified Version, together with at least five of the
          principal authors of the Document (all of its principal
          authors, if it has less than five).

       C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the
          Modified Version, as the publisher.

       D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.

       E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications
          adjacent to the other copyright notices.

       F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license
          notice giving the public permission to use the Modified
          Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in
          the Addendum below.

       G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant
          Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's
          license notice.

       H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.

       I. Preserve the section entitled "History", and its title, and
          add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new
          authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on
          the Title Page.  If there is no section entitled "History" in
          the Document, create one stating the title, year, authors,
          and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page,
          then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in
          the previous sentence.

       J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document
          for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and
          likewise the network locations given in the Document for
          previous versions it was based on.  These may be placed in
          the "History" section.  You may omit a network location for a
          work that was published at least four years before the
          Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version
          it refers to gives permission.

       K. In any section entitled "Acknowledgments" or "Dedications",
          preserve the section's title, and preserve in the section all
          the substance and tone of each of the contributor
          acknowledgments and/or dedications given therein.

       L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document,
          unaltered in their text and in their titles.  Section numbers
          or the equivalent are not considered part of the section
          titles.

       M. Delete any section entitled "Endorsements".  Such a section
          may not be included in the Modified Version.

       N. Do not retitle any existing section as "Endorsements" or to
          conflict in title with any Invariant Section.

     If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
     appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no
     material copied from the Document, you may at your option
     designate some or all of these sections as invariant.  To do this,
     add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified
     Version's license notice.  These titles must be distinct from any
     other section titles.

     You may add a section entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains
     nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various
     parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text
     has been approved by an organization as the authoritative
     definition of a standard.

     You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text,
     and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end
     of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version.  Only one
     passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be
     added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity.  If the
     Document already includes a cover text for the same cover,
     previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity
     you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may
     replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous
     publisher that added the old one.

     The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
     License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to
     assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.

  5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS

     You may combine the Document with other documents released under
     this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for
     modified versions, provided that you include in the combination
     all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents,
     unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your
     combined work in its license notice.

     The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and
     multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single
     copy.  If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name
     but different contents, make the title of each such section unique
     by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the
     original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a
     unique number.  Make the same adjustment to the section titles in
     the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the
     combined work.

     In the combination, you must combine any sections entitled
     "History" in the various original documents, forming one section
     entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections entitled
     "Acknowledgments", and any sections entitled "Dedications".  You
     must delete all sections entitled "Endorsements."

  6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS

     You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
     documents released under this License, and replace the individual
     copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy
     that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the
     rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the
     documents in all other respects.

     You may extract a single document from such a collection, and
     distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert
     a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow
     this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of
     that document.

  7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS

     A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other
     separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of
     a storage or distribution medium, does not as a whole count as a
     Modified Version of the Document, provided no compilation
     copyright is claimed for the compilation.  Such a compilation is
     called an "aggregate", and this License does not apply to the
     other self-contained works thus compiled with the Document, on
     account of their being thus compiled, if they are not themselves
     derivative works of the Document.

     If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these
     copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one
     quarter of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be
     placed on covers that surround only the Document within the
     aggregate.  Otherwise they must appear on covers around the whole
     aggregate.

  8. TRANSLATION

     Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may
     distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section
     4.  Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special
     permission from their copyright holders, but you may include
     translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the
     original versions of these Invariant Sections.  You may include a
     translation of this License provided that you also include the
     original English version of this License.  In case of a
     disagreement between the translation and the original English
     version of this License, the original English version will prevail.

  9. TERMINATION

     You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document
     except as expressly provided for under this License.  Any other
     attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is
     void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this
     License.  However, parties who have received copies, or rights,
     from you under this License will not have their licenses
     terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.

 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE

     The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of
     the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time.  Such new
     versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
     differ in detail to address new problems or concerns.  See
     `http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/'.

     Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version
     number.  If the Document specifies that a particular numbered
     version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you
     have the option of following the terms and conditions either of
     that specified version or of any later version that has been
     published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation.  If
     the Document does not specify a version number of this License,
     you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the
     Free Software Foundation.

A.1.1 ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
----------------------------------------------------------

To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of
the License in the document and put the following copyright and license
notices just after the title page:

       Copyright (C)  YEAR  YOUR NAME.
       Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
       under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1
       or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
       with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with the
       Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts being LIST.
       A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
       Free Documentation License''.

  If you have no Invariant Sections, write "with no Invariant Sections"
instead of saying which ones are invariant.  If you have no Front-Cover
Texts, write "no Front-Cover Texts" instead of "Front-Cover Texts being
LIST"; likewise for Back-Cover Texts.

  If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we
recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of
free software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to
permit their use in free software.


File: parted.info,  Node: History,  Next: Index,  Prev: Copying This Manual,  Up: Top

Appendix B This manual's history
********************************

This manual was based on the file `USER' included in GNU Parted version
1.4.22 source distribution.  The GNU Parted source distribution is
available at `ftp.gnu.org/gnu/parted'.

  Initial Texinfo formatting by Richard M. Kreuter, 2002.

  Maintainance by Andrew Clausen from 2002 to 2005 and by Leslie P.
Polzer from July 2005 onwards.

  This manual is distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License,
version 1.1 or later, at your discretion, any later version published
by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no
Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.  *Note Copying This
Manual::, for details.


File: parted.info,  Node: Index,  Prev: History,  Up: Top

Index
*****

 [index ]
* Menu:

* bugs, reporting:                       Overview.              (line 6)
* building parted:                       Compiling.             (line 6)
* check, command description:            check.                 (line 6)
* command description, check:            check.                 (line 6)
* command description, cp:               cp.                    (line 6)
* command description, help:             help.                  (line 6)
* command description, mkfs:             mkfs.                  (line 6)
* command description, mkindex:          mklabel.               (line 6)
* command description, mkpart:           mkpart.                (line 6)
* command description, mkpartfs:         mkpartfs.              (line 6)
* command description, move:             move.                  (line 6)
* command description, name:             name.                  (line 6)
* command description, print:            print.                 (line 6)
* command description, quit:             quit.                  (line 6)
* command description, rescue:           rescue.                (line 6)
* command description, resize:           resize.                (line 6)
* command description, rm:               rm.                    (line 6)
* command description, select:           select.                (line 6)
* command description, set:              set.                   (line 6)
* command description, unit:             unit.                  (line 6)
* command syntax:                        Command explanations.  (line 6)
* commands:                              Using Parted.          (line 6)
* commands, detailed listing:            Command explanations.  (line 6)
* commands, overview:                    Invoking Parted.       (line 6)
* compiling parted:                      Compiling.             (line 6)
* contacting developers:                 Overview.              (line 6)
* cp, command description:               cp.                    (line 6)
* description of parted:                 Overview.              (line 6)
* detailed command listing:              Command explanations.  (line 6)
* e2fsprogs:                             Software Required.     (line 6)
* FDL, GNU Free Documentation License:   GNU Free Documentation License.
                                                                (line 6)
* further reading:                       Related information.   (line 6)
* gettext:                               Software Required.     (line 6)
* gnu gpl:                               License.               (line 6)
* gpl:                                   License.               (line 6)
* help, command description:             help.                  (line 6)
* history of this manual:                History.               (line 6)
* invocation options:                    Invoking Parted.       (line 6)
* libuuid:                               Software Required.     (line 6)
* license terms:                         License.               (line 6)
* mkfs, command description:             mkfs.                  (line 6)
* mklabel, command description:          mklabel.               (line 6)
* mkpart, command description:           mkpart.                (line 6)
* mkpartfs, command description:         mkpartfs.              (line 6)
* modes of use:                          Running Parted.        (line 6)
* move, command description:             move.                  (line 6)
* name, command description:             name.                  (line 6)
* options at invocation:                 Invoking Parted.       (line 6)
* overview:                              Overview.              (line 6)
* parted description:                    Overview.              (line 6)
* partitioning overview:                 Partitioning.          (line 6)
* platforms, supported:                  Supported Platforms.   (line 6)
* print, command description:            print.                 (line 6)
* quit, command description:             quit.                  (line 6)
* readline:                              Software Required.     (line 6)
* related documentation:                 Related information.   (line 6)
* reporting bugs:                        Overview.              (line 6)
* required software:                     Software Required.     (line 6)
* rescue, command description:           rescue.                (line 6)
* resize, command description:           resize.                (line 6)
* resizing root device:                  Static binaries.       (line 6)
* rm, command description:               rm.                    (line 6)
* select, command description:           select.                (line 6)
* set, command description:              set.                   (line 6)
* software dependencies:                 Software Required.     (line 6)
* static binary:                         Static binaries.       (line 6)
* supported platforms:                   Supported Platforms.   (line 6)
* terms of distribution:                 License.               (line 6)
* unit, command description:             unit.                  (line 6)
* unsupported platforms:                 Static binaries.       (line 6)



Tag Table:
Node: Top796
Node: Introduction1683
Node: Overview2253
Node: Software Required4298
Node: Supported Platforms5657
Node: License6373
Node: Compiling7004
Node: Static binaries8649
Node: Using Parted10492
Node: Partitioning10911
Node: Running Parted11367
Node: Invoking Parted13908
Node: Command explanations14580
Node: check14950
Node: cp15229
Node: help16166
Node: mklabel16440
Ref: mklabel-Footnote-117321
Node: mkfs17450
Node: mkpart17946
Node: mkpartfs19209
Node: move20189
Node: name21076
Node: print21452
Node: quit22341
Node: rescue22836
Node: resize24361
Node: rm25580
Node: select26477
Node: set26946
Node: unit28987
Node: Related information32535
Node: Copying This Manual33358
Node: GNU Free Documentation License33602
Node: History53479
Node: Index54276

End Tag Table