Partition size Zorin 12.3 Core

Hello, I'm completly new to linux and Zorin is the first distribution I've ever installed.
During instalation I chose to mantain my windows 7 alongside Zorin and let the installer itself do the partitioning, but the partition size created by the instalation is really small, 29.8 GB. I have a large HD with 611GB free space, I intended to alocate 311 of those to Zorin and thought I was going to be prompted to do so (slide a bar or write the desired size), but I wasn't.
Is there anyway I can enlarge Zorin's partition?
I'm new to partitioning too, so I don't know any procedures and I'm afraid of damaging windows trying to fix this, could somebody help me?

Hi, Please refer to my tutorial video here:

https://vimeo.com/110085401

Also see Matthew Moore's video on which it was based:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlTgaWs9BD0

The text script for my video is:

1. Prepare Windows first by going into Windows 7, and if you don't have 'Computer' on desktop, go to menu, right-click and 'manage'.

2. Select the partition with 'C:' on it, right-click and select 'Properties', then go to 'Tools' Tab. Select 'Check disk' and make sure both boxes in the next pop-up screen are checked and then click on start which then brings up another window to select 'Schedule a scan' - click on that.

3. Close all windows and reboot - you will get the cursory 10 second count-down to cancel Chkdsk - DON'T - you could end up with an unbootable system - I did this on a 200 Gb drive and it took a good half-hour.

4. After chkdsk has completed it will reboot, give a cursory report that it is clean (hopefully - just as mine did) and you may get a brief message that there is no signal (from graphics card) and then your login screen will appear.

5. Go to 'Manage' once more and do a defrag analysis of C drive - uisng the same procedure above [2.] but click on Defrag tool - mine was only 4% so not needed but like to do this anyway for dual-booting - analysis took quite a while and then I ran the defragment option - another good half-hour.

6. Re-boot to windows once more to see if Windows finds a change and requires a reboot - this used to happen on XP but does not appear to be needed for Windows 7.

7. Go to Manage once more, right click the C: drive, Properties and 'Shrink drive' - let Windows do all the calculation and just accept what it offers - this will eventually after 15-20 minutes a reduced drive with unallocated space to the right of it. - This is where we will install Zorin. Put the Zorin DVD into the drive and reboot - use your one-time boot option (if you have one) to boot from DVD - Dells = F12, HP = Esc, if you have a 'homebrew' like the one I built with an Asus Mobo then F8 might be the button to press. Select the Optical Drive - if your machine does not have this option it will mean pressing the 'Del' key to enter BIOS and go to 'Boot' section then 'Boot Order' or 'Disk Priority' - usually pressing the + key will change the first default option (the hard disk) - on older machines you should also change second option as this would have been the optical drive (I am disregarding machines with Floppy Disks which would be 1!) and change to hard drive or you will go round in a loop!). Press F10 to save changes and exit.

8. Booting from Zorin 9 will bring up a blue screen with the symbol of a keyboard and Accessibility logo - as soon as you see this press the spacebar.
You will be taken to the 'language' selection, which is 'English' by default - press the Escape key then press F3 for the Keyboard map and use your cursor up arrow to select UK (default is US - I wonder why!), then if you have a notebook, press F6 (you may need to choose one of the options for some desktops as this affects whether you get to see the desktop - try default of none first but if this fails, reboot and select 'acpi=off'

9. Then press Enter to select the first menu option of trying without installing.
The screen will change to a glowing/pulsating 'Z' on a blue background - then darkness for quite some time, then a mouse cursor, then the desktop - the menu applet (a Z) takes quite some time to load. Be sure at this point you have a wired connection to your router/internet connection - and click on 'Install to Hard Disk/drive' icon on the desktop. (Alternatively, Menu | System Tools | Administration | Install Zorin OS).

9a. Can't remember at which point this screen appears but you get a check list that

a. you have enough space to install to

b. are connected to the internet

Be sure to check mark the bit about installing updates and other stuff during install - this is why it takes quite a bit of time to install!

10. Installation Options screen appears - choose the last option - 'Something Else' - this will launch the Partition Editor. Select the 'Free Space/Unallocated Space' then click on the '+' symbol, bottom left of the window that is open and a new interface opens - make it a Primary Partition with size 30000 Mibs (About 30 Gb) - you might get away with 15000 (15 Gb) but I like to play safe! - format to 'ext4' (ext2 if SSD) and mark as '/'. Next highlight the remaining unallocated space, '+' once more and this time create 'Extended Partition' - select this partition to add at the END the 'swap area' - I make this 4 Gb (4096) and then everything in front I create the last partition, '/home' where all your data and windows applications live at the 'BEGINNING' of the extended partition - make this 'logical'.

11. Crucial this bit - install GRUB on the partition marked '/' - this should be sda3 - remember the number - this is crucial for when you get to use Easy BCD 2.2 Community Edition.

12. The installer screen starts - begins with Language - default is English, click on 'next'

13. Memory is going - can't remember if Keyboard layout is next or 'where are you?' - anyways, because of what was chosen back at F3 on second screen that appeared it should pick up the fact it is English UK. clickk on 'next'.

14. Where are you - enter Sheffield and be amazed at the number of places around the world that share our great City name! - and of course, ours is at the top! so select that (obviously!). once done, click on 'next'

15. Username etc screen next - DON'T use capitals in username.
System - rename this - preferably in lower case - no hyphens, no underscores, no gaps. DON'T checkmark 'encrypt home folder' or the OS will not insall or boot correctly!!! Click on Next. This takes a VERY long time!

16. After eventually it has completed installation, either carry on playing in live environment or re-boot into Windows 7.

17. In Windows 7 - Download Easy BCD 2.2 Community Edition from Softpedia.com. After install it offers you option to launch - do so - it even offers language to launch in - nice touch. Now then we need to add a Linux Partition so we go to the Penguin tab - for the Boot, drop down to GRUB2, (if memory serves me right the default is 'neo-smart' or some such).
Next select the partition where GRUB is - now this latest edition is very cool - you should recognise the smallest of the two GNU/Linux partitions of '/' and '/home' and it will also be indicated by the size we chose earlier - highlight that ('/') partition to select it to boot from. Next we give a name to the bootloader entry - mine is 'ZorinOS 9 32-bit Ultimate' - and that is what shows up as the second entry in my Windows 7 Boot loader on boot - the other neat thing that Easy BCD does is it automatically captures your existing mbr settings at point of launch after install!

Save your Easy BCD settings, close the application and re-boot - you now have an uninterrupted mbr so your Windows will NEVER be affected!

This method will work with any distro - you just have to remember to stop the distro of choice wanting to put the Bootloader in the MBR.

I reported some issues with Windows 7 and reinstalled it - the MBR was intact so I could boot Zorin after reinstalling Windows - basically thanks to Matthew Moore and EasyBCD - my video differs as it shows how to make room for GNU/Linux - Matthew Moore's video is working with a 'blank canvas'.

Also, don't forget to view/download the unofficial manual to Zorin 12 Core: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13614

Hi! Thank you very much for the reply, but as I understand you are teaching me how to set up a dualboot and I've already set it up. My problem is that one of the partitions is small and I want to enlarge it. I've managed to create an unalocated space but in gparted the windows partition + unallocated are in /sda and zorin 12.3 is on /sdb. How do I add something in /sda to /sdb?
I'm adding an image to illustrate what I want to do, is form windows disk management tool, it's in portuguese but essencially what I want to do is marked by the circle/arrow. I just don't know if it's possible. It says "Disc 0" and "Disc 2", but it's only one HD, I don't know why it's shown as 2

OK, so you have two hard drives or is SDB a flash drive? Disconnect the sdb drive then create the partitions in what I have already posted.

Actually I have only one hard disk, when zorin OS was installed it created its partition that's shown as "Disco 1" in the diskmanagment tool an in gparted the partitions are shown as diffrent "sdb". It's the same physycal space.
I don't know what happened here, I'm almost uninstalling Zorin OS, repairing boot with an recovery disk and installing it again, but as that's my last resort I would like to know if there's another way

Hi there!, I understand what you need to do. It is risky but can you start your system with USB live and then go to Gparted?, there you will see your partitions, if you can please take a pic for us (you won't be able to save it under USBlive so please upload it before shutting off the system). I will tell you about my experience, but I am not a professional on this matter, I once needed more space and as I had my partitions like this : sdb1 " /" , sdb2 "swap", and sdb3 " /home", I run Gparted from USB live and extend sdb1 over sdb2, lately (previously I had to do right click "swap-off" and delete it) Lately, I had an issue-don't remember what - because of doing this, and sooner as I changed from another distro to Zoring, I did everything right from the beginning, from a new install, but this is another history.

However I would give it a try to Gparted, please back up all the data , music, files you like, first. I hope I am not missing the main point here that is that you have a dual boot, so I am not sure if your windows will get spoiled...but taking into account you are wiling to install everything again I will give it a try. Windows will need 60 GB at least because if you put 20 GB it sooner gets full with updates (at least it used to be like that with windows7), Zoring will be fine with 25 GB but I have learned (after tasting all the sofware available I could , because I love the way of installing software in linux) that 30 GB is better (everything depends on what software / apps you install). My disk is 320 GB so I will be a bit "hurt" if many space is taken of it. But yours is bigger.


Another option you have is trying from Windows Disk Managger to do right click on C and see if you can "expand " it over the "non alocated space".
Which is more or less what you will do with gparted. Please take into account Windows runs under NTSF. (Take into accound this tool sometimes is quite limited).
I am not an expert, basicaly I am new in linux, but that is what I would take in mind.

Good Luck and please post a gparted pic.

HI!
This are the picture of gparted in windows (I'm sorry it's not the print screen, I don't know how to do it on linux)

And here is the linux one

Dear Balur, first of all sorry for my delay, I guess you have been expecting replay. You won't be able to extend Zoring, I am sorry. Take a look at your first picture Your windows is in sdb partition and Zorin is in sdc partition.
I suggest you install both OS again, but this time you might choose in the installation screen the option "manual" or "other", I don't remember right now the correct name, but it is the one at the bottom. After doing this please take a look at Zorin Unofficial Manual, right now it is in English ( I am a bit delay with spanish translation) here viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13614
and also take a look to this tutorial viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7981.
You may have seen these links already, but just in case.
There is got to be a way you can set a bigger partition for your Zorin.
I am new to Zoring aswell but I learned how to work with Gparted in order to make partitons before running install , I learned about that in another forum for another distro. If you cannot make it still with this suggestions, let me know and I will send you a link for that (but right now give us a chance to what we have right here). Regards. And sorry again for may delay. Good Luck!

PS: to make a screen capture : click on Zorin logo ("Start") and write "Capture Screen" or its similar in Portugees, you will have a nice app to do the Captures / Screen - Shoots.

OK, sd = SCSI Device - even though it is not SCSI as such - sdb is not the same drive as sdc - they are totally separate unless you have some form of hybrid SSD disk and you have written Zorin to a system rescue disc creator partition?

https://superuser.com/questions/558156/ ... ean#558163