When you upgrade the storage space on your VPS, you might need to repartition your disk. This article will walk through how to do that in both, Linux and Windows.
Prerequisites
- Server must be rebooted in Rescue Mode (Linux)
Topics
Warning: Attempting to extend a partition can lead to data loss. As a result, we strongly recommend backing up the data on your VPS before performing the following steps.
Repartitioning a VPS in Linux
Unmount the Partition
After logging into your VPS in Rescue Mode, your partition will automatically be mounted. In order to resize it, you will need to unmount it. If you know the name of your partition, you can skip the following step. If you don't know the name of your partition, use the following command:
# lsblk
The partition corresponding to rescue mode will be the one mounted in the / directory, which is actually the system root. In contrast, the partition of your VPS will probably be placed in the directory associated with /mnt or not mounted at all.
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT sda 254:0 0 10G 0 disk └─sda1 254:1 0 10G 0 part / sdb 254:16 0 25G 0 disk └─sdb1 254:17 0 25G 0 part /mnt/sdb1
To unmount your partition, use the following command:
# umount /dev/sdb1
Check the Filesystem
After unmounting the partition, you should check the filesystem to see if there are errors in the partition. The command is as follows:
# e2fsck -yf /dev/sdb1
Below is a sample output of this command as it is checking your filesystem:
e2fsck -yf /dev/sdb1 e2fsck 1.42.9 (4-Feb-2014) Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes Pass 2: Checking directory structure Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity Pass 4: Checking reference counts Pass 5: Checking group summary information /dev/sdb1: 37870/1310720 files (0.2% non-contiguous), 313949/5242462 blocks
If you see any errors, take note of them and resolve them as required. Below is a (non-exhaustive) list of the most common errors you might see:
- bad magic number in the superblock: Do not continue. Please read our instructions on How to Fix a Bad Magic Number in Superblock Error
- /dev/vdb1 has unsupported feature(s): metadata_csum followed by e2fsck: Get a newer version of e2fsck!: Update e2fsck. If the latest version is not available via
apt(or another package manager), you will need to compile it from the source.
Launch the fdisk Application
If the filesystem check is completed successfully, launch the fdisk application. In the settings, you need to enter the name of the disk and not the name of the partition. For example, if your partition is sdb1 instead of vdb1, the disk name will be /dev/sdb.
# fdisk -u /dev/sdb
Note: This application has several sub-commands, which you can view with the command m.
Delete the Old Partition
Before deleting the old partition, we recommend noting the number corresponding to the first sector of the partition. You can find this information with the p command. The information is listed under the Start field. Save this for later.
Command (m for help): p Disk /dev/sdb: 21.5 GB, 21474836480 bytes 54 heads, 49 sectors/track, 15851 cylinders, total 41943040 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x000132ff Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdb1 * *2048* 41941745 20969849 83 Linux
Warning: If you have not yet backed up your data by the next step, this will be the point of no return.
Delete the partition with the command d.
Command (m for help): d Selected partition 1
The partition has now been deleted, so we will need to create a new one.
Create a New Partition
You now need to create a new partition with the command n. We recommend using the default values.
Command (m for help): n Partition type: p primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free) e extended Select (default p): p Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1 First sector (2048-41943039, default 2048): 2048 Last sector, +sectors or +size{K,M,G} (2048-41943039, default 41943039): 41943039
On the First sector line, check that the default value is the same as the one you have previously written down. If it is different, use the value you have written down.
Make the Partition Bootable
You now need to ensure that the partition is bootable. You can do this by using the a command.
Command (m for help): a Partition number (1-4): 1
Save your changes and exit the application with the w command.
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
Extend the Filesystem on the Partition
The partition has been extended, but the filesystem still occupies the same amount of space as before. To extend it, enter the following command:
# resize2fs /dev/sdb1
A sample output is as follows:
resize2fs 1.42.9 (4-Feb-2014) Resizing the filesystem on /dev/sdb1 to 5242624 (4k) blocks. The filesystem on /dev/sdb1 is now 5242624 blocks long.
Check the Results
In order to check if the extension has been successful, you can mount the newly created partition and verify its size.
# mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt
Now run the following command to check the size of the new partition.
# df -h
Following is a sample output:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/sda1 991M 793M 132M 86% / none 4.0K 0 4.0K 0% /sys/fs/cgroup udev 1.9G 12K 1.9G 1% /dev tmpfs 386M 360K 386M 1% /run none 5.0M 0 5.0M 0% /run/lock none 1.9G 0 1.9G 0% /run/shm none 100M 0 100M 0% /run/user /dev/sdb1 50G 842M 48G 2% /mnt
You will find the new partition size listed below the label "Size".
How to Fix a Bad Magic Number in Superblock Error
If the e2fsck command returns the "bad magic number in the superblock" error message, you should check and repair the filesystem by using a backup of the superblock. To see which backups of the superblock are available, enter the following command:
# dumpe2fs /dev/sdb1 | grep superblock
A sample output is as follows:
Primary superblock at 0, Group descriptors at 1-6 Backup superblock at 32768, Group descriptors at 32769-32774 Backup superblock at 98304, Group descriptors at 98305-98310 Backup superblock at 163840, Group descriptors at 163841-163846 Backup superblock at 229376, Group descriptors at 229377-229382 Backup superblock at 294912, Group descriptors at 294913-294918 Backup superblock at 819200, Group descriptors at 819201-819206 Backup superblock at 884736, Group descriptors at 884737-884742 Backup superblock at 1605632, Group descriptors at 1605633-1605638 Backup superblock at 2654208, Group descriptors at 2654209-2654214 Backup superblock at 4096000, Group descriptors at 4096001-4096006 Backup superblock at 7962624, Group descriptors at 7962625-7962630 Backup superblock at 11239424, Group descriptors at 11239425-11239430 Backup superblock at 20480000, Group descriptors at 20480001-20480006 Backup superblock at 23887872, Group descriptors at 23887873-23887878
Then use the first superblock backup to check and repair the filesystem using the following command:
# fsck -b 32768 /dev/sdb1
Next, we'll take a look at how to perform these same steps in Windows instead of Linux.
Repartitioning a VPS in Windows
From the Server Manager, click File and Storage Services on the left-hand sidebar and then select Volumes from the ensuing menu.
Now we will resize the volume. Right-click on the C: volume and select Extend Volume... from the drop-down menu. You will then be prompted to choose your new volume size.
Enter the desired size and click OK when you are done. Your volume will now be extended.
Conclusion
Having read this article, you should now be able to repartition your VPS on Windows or Linux.