# How to resize an extended partition



## flyweight (Mar 28, 2011)

Hello, I have a problem. on a laptop with one disk containing one primary and one extended partition with a Debian Sqeeze install (x86). The partitions in the extended partition are /usr /home /var and /tmp (ext3). I wrote down the cylinders and sector data. Then I unmounted all partitions in single user mode.

I deleted the extended partition and made a new one with a smaller size. Then I tried to repartition the old partitions with the sector data I wrote down.  I can fill in the first one correctly but the second one starts with a sector number different than it should be so I can't go on  to install the best OS on the planet.

*Fdisk* works with two different methods, cylinders and sectors, and I tried them both with the same result.

How can I shrink the extended partition to install FreeBSD?


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## chip64c (Mar 28, 2011)

If there is GParted, use that on LiveCD if needed to RESIZE the extended skeleton, the partition holding the partitions, and RESIZE the partitions within the partition.

The extended is treated as a partition itself. Something you may be familiar with. The other partitions are logical partitions. The ones you call extended. Alter the sizes so the logicals are resized first, the extended, second.   Again,  THIS IS IN GPARTED!

Other than that utility, I don't know


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## flyweight (Apr 5, 2011)

Thanks for the tip, but I had to do a reinstall of both Debian and FreeBSD. So it's solved (with brute force).


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