gparted/help/C/index.docbook

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  <!ENTITY appversion "0.31.0">
  <!ENTITY manrevision "1.12">
  <!ENTITY date "May 2018">
  <!ENTITY app "gparted">
  <!ENTITY appname "GParted">
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       Use the appname entity to specify the formal name of the application.
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<article id="gparted" lang="en">
<!-- Please do not change the id. -->
<!-- For translations, change lang to appropriate code -->
  <articleinfo>
    <title>&appname; Manual</title>
    <publisher>
      <publishername>&appname; Project</publishername>
    </publisher>

    <abstract role="description">
      <para>
      &appname; is the GNOME Partition Editor for creating,
      reorganizing, and deleting disk partitions.
      &appname; enables you to change the partition organization while preserving
      the partition contents.
      </para>
    </abstract>

    <copyright>
      <year>2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017</year>
      <holder>Curtis Gedak</holder>
    </copyright>
    <copyright>
      <year>2014, 2015, 2017, 2018</year>
      <holder>Mike Fleetwood</holder>
    </copyright>

<!-- translators: uncomment this:
    <copyright>
      <year>2009</year>
      <holder>ME-THE-TRANSLATOR (Latin translation)</holder>
    </copyright>
-->

    <legalnotice>
      <para>
      Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
      under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
      or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
      with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
      Texts.  You can find a copy of the GFDL at this
      <ulink type="help" url="help:fdl">link</ulink> or at
      <ulink type="http" url="https://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/fdl.html"/>
      or in the file COPYING-DOCS distributed with this manual.
      </para>
    </legalnotice>

    <authorgroup>
      <author role="maintainer">
        <firstname>Curtis</firstname>
        <surname>Gedak</surname>
        <affiliation>
          <orgname>&appname; Project</orgname>
          <address>
            <email>gedakc@users.sf.net</email>
          </address>
        </affiliation>
      </author>
      <author role="developer">
        <firstname>Mike</firstname>
        <surname>Fleetwood</surname>
        <affiliation>
          <orgname>&appname; Project</orgname>
          <address>
            <email>mike.fleetwood@googlemail.com</email>
          </address>
        </affiliation>
      </author>

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     maintainers,  etc. Commented out by default.
      <othercredit role="translator">
        <firstname>Latin</firstname>
        <surname>Translator 1</surname>
        <affiliation>
          <orgname>Latin Translation Team</orgname>
          <address> <email>translator@gnome.org</email> </address>
        </affiliation>
        <contrib>Latin translation</contrib>
      </othercredit>
-->
    </authorgroup>

<!-- According to GNU FDL, revision history is mandatory if you are -->
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    <revhistory>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.12</revnumber>
        <date>May 2018</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Mike Fleetwood</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.31.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.11</revnumber>
        <date>September 2017</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak &amp; Mike Fleetwood</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.29.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.10</revnumber>
        <date>January 2017</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak &amp; Mike Fleetwood</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.28.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.9</revnumber>
        <date>March 2015</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak &amp; Mike Fleetwood</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.22.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.8</revnumber>
        <date>September 2014</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.20.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.7</revnumber>
        <date>February 2014</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.18.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.6</revnumber>
        <date>December 2013</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.17.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.5</revnumber>
        <date>September 2013</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.16.2 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.4</revnumber>
        <date>February 2012</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.12.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.3</revnumber>
        <date>January 2011</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.8.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.2</revnumber>
        <date>June 2010</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.6.0 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.1</revnumber>
        <date>July 2009</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.4.6 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V1.0</revnumber>
        <date>January 2009</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.4.2 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
      <revision>
        <revnumber>&appname; Manual V0.3.9</revnumber>
        <date>September 2008</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author">Curtis Gedak</para>
          <para role="publisher">&appname; Project</para>
          <para role="annotations">Describes version 0.3.9 of &appname;</para>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
    </revhistory>

    <releaseinfo>
    This manual describes version &appversion; of &appname;
    </releaseinfo>

    <legalnotice>
      <title>Feedback</title>
      <para>
      To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the
      <application>&app;</application> application or this manual,
      follow the directions at
      <ulink type="http" url="https://gparted.org/bugs.php"/>.
      </para>
<!-- Translators may also add here feedback address for translations -->
    </legalnotice>

  </articleinfo>

<!-- ============= Document Body ===================================== -->
<!-- ============= Introduction ====================================== -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-introduction">
    <title>Introduction</title>
    <para>
    The <application>&app;</application> application is the GNOME Partition
    Editor for creating, reorganizing, and deleting disk partitions.
    </para>
    <para>
    A disk device can be subdivided into one or more partitions.
    The <application>&app;</application> application enables you to
    change the partition organization on a disk device while
    preserving the contents of the partition.
    </para>
    <para>
    With <application>&app;</application> you can accomplish the following
    tasks:
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Create a partition table on a disk device.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Enable and disable partition flags such as boot and hidden.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Perform actions with partitions such as create, delete,
          resize, move, check, label, copy, and paste.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
    <caution>
      <para>
      Editing partitions has the potential to cause LOSS of DATA.
      </para>
      <para>
      The <application>&app;</application> application is
      designed to enable you to edit partitions while
      reducing the risk of data loss.
      The application is carefully tested and is used
      by the &appname; project team.
      However, loss of data might occur due to software bugs,
      hardware problems, or power failure.
      </para>
      <para>
      You can help to reduce the risk of data loss by
      not mounting or unmounting partitions outside of
      the <application>&app;</application> application while
      <application>&app;</application> is running.
      </para>
      <para>
      You are advised to BACKUP your DATA before using
      the <application>&app;</application> application.  This is
      especially true for encrypted data where all of the data can
      become permanently inaccessible after a failure.  Please refer to
      <ulink type="http" url="https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions">The Cryptsetup FAQ</ulink>
      for backup and recovery advice of encrypted data.
      </para>
    </caution>
  </sect1>
  
<!-- ============= Getting Started =================================== -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-getting-started">
    <title>Getting Started</title>
    <para>
    </para>

<!-- ============= To Start gparted ================================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-to-start">
      <title>Starting &app;</title>
      <para>
      You can start <application>&app;</application> in the following ways:
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Choose <menuchoice><guisubmenu>System Tools</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>GParted Partition Editor</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Command line</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Execute the following command: <command>&app;</command>
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
      <para>
      On startup, <application>&app;</application> will scan your
      computer for disk devices.
      </para>
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= When You Start gparted ============================ -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-when-you-start">

      <title>The &app; Window</title>
      <para>
      When you start <application>&app;</application>, the following
      window is displayed:
      </para>

      <!-- ==== Figure ==== -->
      <!-- The GNOME Documentation Project recommends a maximum image
           width of 510 pixels.
           http://library.gnome.org/devel/gdp-style-guide/stable/screenshot-4.html.en
      -->
      <figure id="gparted-window">
        <title>&app; Window</title>
        <screenshot>
          <mediaobject>
            <imageobject>
              <imagedata fileref="figures/gparted_window.png" format="PNG"/>
              </imageobject>
            <textobject>
              <phrase>Shows &app; main window.</phrase>
            </textobject>
          </mediaobject>
        </screenshot>
      </figure>

      <para>
      The <application>&app;</application> window contains the following
      elements:
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Menubar</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            The menus on the menubar contain all of the commands you need
            to work with disk devices and partitions in
            <application>&app;</application>.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Toolbar</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            The toolbar contains a subset of the commands that you can
            access from the menubar.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Graphic Display Area</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            The graphic display area contains the visual representation
            of the partitions on the selected disk device.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Text Display Area</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            The text display area contains the text list
            of the partitions on the selected disk device.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Statusbar</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            The statusbar displays information about current
            <application>&app;</application> activity or the 
            number of operations pending.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Device Information Pane</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            The device information pane displays details about the selected
            disk device.
            </para>
            <para>
            By default the device information pane is not shown.
            To show the device information pane, choose
            <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu><guimenuitem>Device Information</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term>Pending Operations Pane</term>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            The pending operations pane displays the current list of 
            partition operations in the queue.
            </para>
            <para>
            By default the pending operations pane is not shown when there
            are 0 pending operations.
            To show the pending operations pane, choose
            <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu><guimenuitem>Pending Operations</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
      <para>
      When you left-click in either display area, you select a partition
      to use for partition editing actions.
      </para>
      <para>
      When you right-click in either display area, the application displays
      a popup menu.
      The popup menu contains the most common partition editing actions.
      </para>

      <para>Like other GNOME applications, actions in
      <application>&app;</application> can be performed in several ways:
      with the menu, with the toolbar, or with shortcut keys.
      </para>
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= To Specify Devices on the Command Line ============ -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-run-from-cmd-line">
      <title>Running &app; from a Command Line</title>
      <para>
      You can run <application>&app;</application> from a command line
      and specify one or more disk devices.
      </para>
      <para>
      To work with multiple disk devices from a command line, type the following
      command, then press <keycap>Enter</keycap>:
      </para>
      <para>
      <screen><prompt>$ </prompt><command>&app; <replaceable>/path-to-your-device1 /path-to-your-device2</replaceable></command></screen>
      </para>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Usage ============================================= -->
<!-- ============= Viewing File System Support ======================= -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-usage">
    <title>Viewing File System Support</title>
      <para>
      To view the actions supported on file systems, choose:
      <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu><guimenuitem>File System Support</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
      The application displays the <guilabel>File System Support</guilabel>
      dialog.
      </para>
      <para>
      If you have installed software while
      <application>&app;</application> is running,
      click <guibutton>Rescan For Supported Actions</guibutton>
      to refresh the chart.
      The application refreshes the display of the chart.
      </para>
      <para>
      To close the <guilabel>File System Support</guilabel> dialog,
      click <guibutton>Close</guibutton>.
      </para>
  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Working With Devices ============================== -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-devices">
    <title>Working with Devices</title>

<!-- ============= To Select a Device ================================ -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-select-device">
      <title>Selecting a Device</title>
      <para>
      To select a disk device, choose:
      <menuchoice><guimenu>GParted</guimenu><guimenuitem>Devices</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
      and select a device from the list.
      The application displays the device partition layout in the
      <application>&app;</application> window.
      </para>
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= To View Device Information ======================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-view-device-information">
      <title>Viewing Device Information</title>
      <para>
        To view information about a disk device: 
        <orderedlist>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Select a disk device.
            See <xref linkend="gparted-select-device"/>.
           </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Select:
            <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu><guimenuitem>Device Information</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
            The application opens a side pane in the
            <application>&app;</application> window
            and displays information about the device.
           </para>
         </listitem>
       </orderedlist>
      </para>
      <para>
      To close the <guilabel>Device Information</guilabel> side pane,
      deselect:
      <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu><guimenuitem>Device Information</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
      </para>
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= To Refresh a Device =============================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-refresh-device">
      <title>Refreshing All Devices</title>
      <para>
      To refresh all disk devices, choose:
      <menuchoice><guimenu>GParted</guimenu><guimenuitem>Refresh Devices</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
      The application rescans all the disk devices and refreshes the device
      partition layout in the <application>&app;</application> window.
      </para>
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= To Create a New Partition Table =================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-create-partition-table">
      <title>Creating a New Partition Table</title>
      <para>
      To create a new partition table on a disk device:
        <orderedlist>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Select a disk device.
            See <xref linkend="gparted-select-device"/>.
           </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Choose:
            <menuchoice><guimenu>Device</guimenu><guimenuitem>Create Partition Table</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
            The application displays a
            <guilabel>Create partition table on <replaceable>/path-to-device</replaceable></guilabel>
            dialog.
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Optionally select a different partition table type from the
            list.
            </para>
            <note>
              <para>
              The default partition table type is
              <guimenuitem>msdos</guimenuitem> for disks smaller than 2
              Tebibytes in size (assuming a 512 byte sector size) and
              <guimenuitem>gpt</guimenuitem> for disks 2 Tebibytes and
              larger.
              </para>
              <para>
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-type"/> for
              <guimenuitem>msdos</guimenuitem> partition table
              limitations.
              </para>
            </note>
            <note>
              <para>
              To use a disk without a partition table, choose
              <guimenuitem>loop</guimenuitem> to create a virtual
              partition that spans the disk.  Then format to the
              desired file system.
              </para>
              <para>
              See <xref linkend="gparted-format-partition"/> to format
              a virtual partition with a file system.
              </para>
            </note>
            <caution>
              <para>
              Many operating systems recognize
              <guimenuitem>gpt</guimenuitem> and
              <guimenuitem>msdos</guimenuitem> partition tables, but
              do not recognize all types of file systems.  This lack
              of file system recognition means that using a disk
              without a partition table involves more risk.  For
              example, some operating systems might prompt to format an
              unpartitioned disk if the file system is not recognized.
              </para>
            </caution>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Click <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> to create the new partition table.
            The application writes the new partition table to the disk device.
            The application refreshes the device partition layout in the
            <application>&app;</application> window.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </orderedlist>
      </para>
      <caution>
        <para>
        WARNING:  This will ERASE ALL DATA on the ENTIRE DISK DEVICE.
        </para>
        <para>
        If you accidentally overwrite your partition table, see
        <xref linkend="gparted-recover-partition-table"/>.
        </para>
      </caution>
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= To Attempt Data Rescue =================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-attempt-data-rescue">
      <title>Attempting Data Rescue</title>
      <para>
      To attempt data rescue from a disk device:
        <orderedlist>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Select a disk device.
            See <xref linkend="gparted-select-device"/>.
           </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Choose:
            <menuchoice><guimenu>Device</guimenu><guimenuitem>Attempt Data Rescue</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
            The application displays a
            <guilabel>Search for file systems on <replaceable>/path-to-device</replaceable></guilabel>
            dialog.
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to start the full disk scan.
            </para>
            <tip>
              <para>
              Large disk devices can take a very long time to scan.
              If you do not have the time to wait for a full disk scan
              then click <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton>.
              </para>
            </tip>
            <note>
              <para>
              A maximum of 4 partitions with file systems might be
              discovered.  If you want to discover more than 4
              partitions and restore the partition table, see
              <xref linkend="gparted-recover-partition-table"/>.
              </para>
            </note>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            When the full disk scan completes one of two possible
            dialogs is displayed:
              <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  <guilabel>No file systems found
                  on <replaceable>/path-to-device</replaceable>
                  </guilabel>
                  </para>
                  <para>
                  If no file systems are found, you have other options
                  to try to rescue your data.
                  The <application>photorec</application> application
                  is designed to help recover many different types of
                  lost files.  For more information
                  about <application>photorec</application>, see
                  <ulink type="http"
                  url="https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec"/>.
                  </para>
                  <para>
                  Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to close the dialog
                  box, and end this attempt to rescue data.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  <guilabel>File systems found
                  on <replaceable>/path-to-device</replaceable>
                  </guilabel>
                  </para>
                  <para>
                  If file systems are found, each file system is
                  displayed in a list along with
                  a <guibutton>View</guibutton> button.  The dialog
                  will indicate if there are data inconsistencies.
                  Inconsistencies in the data might prevent you from
                  viewing the data.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
              </itemizedlist>
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            To rescue data, use the following steps for each file system:
              <orderedlist numeration="upperalpha">
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  Click <guibutton>View</guibutton> to mount and display
                  the file system.  Your default file manager is opened
                  and displays a read-only view of the file system.
                  </para>
                  <note>
                    <para>
                    If the dialog <guilabel>Unable to open the default
                    file manager</guilabel> is displayed, then you
                    will need to open a file manager and navigate to
                    the mount point for the file system.
                    </para>
                    <para>
                    The mount point is shown in the dialog, for
                    example "/tmp/gparted-roview-XXXXXX".
                    </para>
                    <para>
                    Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to close the
                    <guilabel>Unable to open the
                    default file manager</guilabel> dialog.
                    </para>
                  </note>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  Use the file manager to copy your data to other
                  storage media.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  When you are finished copying your data, close the
                  file manager.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
              </orderedlist>
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            When you are finished rescuing data,
            click <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to end this attempt to
            rescue data.  The application umounts any file systems
            that were mounted for viewing.  Then the application
            rescans all the disk devices and refreshes the device
            partition layout in the <application>&app;</application>
            window.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </orderedlist>
      </para>
    </sect2>

  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Working with Partitions =========================== -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-partitions">
    <title>Working with Partitions</title>

<!-- ============= Basic Partition Actions =========================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-basic-partition-actions">
      <title>Basic Partition Actions</title>
      <para>
      These actions will not alter partitions on your disk device.
      </para>

<!-- ============= To Select a Partition ============================= -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-select-partition">
        <title>Selecting a Partition</title>
        <para>
        To select a partition, use one of the following:
          <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click on a partition in the graphic display area.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click on a partition in the text display area.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </itemizedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
        The application highlights the partition in both the graphic
        display area and the text display area in the
        <application>&app;</application> window.
        </para>
        <note>
          <para>
          Partition operations such as delete, move, copy, format,
          check, label, and often resize require the partition to be
          unmounted.
          See <xref linkend="gparted-unmount-partition"/>.
          </para>
        </note>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Select Unallocated Space ======================= -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-select-unallocated">
        <title>Selecting Unallocated Space</title>
        <para>
        To select unallocated space, use one of the following:
          <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click on <guilabel>unallocated</guilabel> in the graphic display area.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click on <guilabel>unallocated</guilabel> in the text display area.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </itemizedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
        The application highlights the unallocated space in both the graphic
        display area and the text display area in the
        <application>&app;</application> window.
        </para>
        <tip>
          <para>
          If you do not have any disk devices with unallocated space,
          you might try the following:
          </para>
          <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Add a new disk device to your computer.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Shrink a partition that contains unused space.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-resize-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </itemizedlist>
        </tip>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To View Partition Information ===================== -->
    <sect3 id="gparted-view-partition-information">
        <title>Viewing Partition Information</title>
        <para>
        To view information about a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select a partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Information</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application opens an <guilabel>Information about
              <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
        To close the <guilabel>Information about
        <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog,
        click <guibutton>Close</guibutton>.
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Mount a Partition ============================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-mount-partition">
        <title>Mounting a Partition</title>
        <para>
        To mount a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Mount</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
              and select a mount point from the list.
              The application mounts the partition on the mount point and
              refreshes the device partition layout in the
              <application>&app;</application> window.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <note>
          <para>
          If
          <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Mount</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
          is not visible, then <application>&app;</application>
          does not know where the partition should be mounted.
          </para>
        </note>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Unmount a Partition ============================ -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-unmount-partition">
        <title>Unmounting a Partition</title>
        <para>
        To unmount a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select a mounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Unmount</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application unmounts the partition from the mount point and
              refreshes the device partition layout in the
              <application>&app;</application> window.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <tip>
          <para>
          If
          <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Unmount</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
          does not succeed, then the partition is probably in use.
          </para>
          <para>
          To have all partitions unmounted and available for
          partition editing actions, boot from a Live CD and 
          use <application>&app;</application>.
          See <xref linkend="gparted-acquire-livecd"/>
          </para>
        </tip>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Open an Encrypted Partition ==================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-open-encrypted-partition">
        <title>Opening an Encrypted Partition</title>
        <para>
        To open a LUKS encrypted partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select a closed LUKS encrypted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Open Encryption</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              </para>
              <para>
              If <application>&app;</application> doesn't yet know the
              LUKS Passphrase it will open a <guilabel>LUKS Passphrase
              <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel>
              dialog.  Type the LUKS Passphrase into the
              <guilabel>Passphrase</guilabel> text box and click
              <guibutton>Unlock</guibutton>.
              </para>
              <para>
              The application opens the encrypted partition and
              refreshes the device partition layout in the
              <application>&app;</application> window.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <note>
          <para>
          <application>&app;</application> remembers each LUKS
          Passphrase in the computer's memory for as long as it is
          running.  This is so that it doesn't have to prompt when
          reopening the same encrypted partition again.  When
          <application>&app;</application> is closed all remembered LUKS
          Passphrases are cleared from memory and forgotten.
          </para>
        </note>
      </sect3>


<!-- ============= To Close an Encrypted Partition =================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-close-encrypted-partition">
        <title>Closing an Encrypted Partition</title>
        <para>
        To close a LUKS encrypted partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted and LUKS encrypted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Close Encryption</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application closes the LUKS encryption and refreshes
              the device partition layout in the
              <application>&app;</application> window.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>

    </sect2>
<!-- ============= End of Basic Partition Actions ==================== -->

<!-- ============= Intermediate Partition Actions ==================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-intermediate-partition-actions">
      <title>Intermediate Partition Actions</title>
      <para>
      These actions will alter partitions on your disk device.
      These actions will not modify the start or end boundaries
      of your existing partitions.
      </para>

<!-- ============= Creating a New Partition ========================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-create-new-partition">
        <title>Creating a New Partition</title>
        <para>
        To create a new partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unallocated space on the disk device.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-unallocated"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>New</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays the <guilabel>Create new Partition</guilabel> dialog.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the size and the location for the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-size-and-location"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the alignment for the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-alignment"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the type of partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-type"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the name of the partition when the field is
              enabled.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-name"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the type of file system for the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-file-system"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the label of the file system for the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-file-system-label"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>Add</guibutton> to add the create partition
              operation to the operation queue.
              The application displays the create partition operation
              in the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane
              in the <application>&app;</application> window.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para> 
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Delete a Partition ============================= -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-delete-partition">
        <title>Deleting a Partition</title>
        <para>
        To delete a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays the delete partition operation in
              the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <caution>
          <para>
          If you delete a logical partition, then all existing logical
          partitions after the deleted logical partition will
          experience changes in device names.
          </para>
          <para>
          For example, an extended partition contains four logical
          partitions A, B, C, and D.  These logical partitions are accessed by the
          operating system as follows:
          </para>
          <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Partition A as /dev/sda5.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Partition B as /dev/sda6.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Partition C as /dev/sda7.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Partition D as /dev/sda8.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </itemizedlist>
          <para>
          If partition B is deleted, then the remaining logical
          partitions will be accessed by the operating system as follows:
          </para>
          <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Partition A as /dev/sda5.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Partition C as /dev/sda6.  Note the change in device name.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Partition D as /dev/sda7.  Note the change in device name.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </itemizedlist>
          <para>
          Changes in a device name can cause problems if a
          partition is mounted using a device name.
          You can avoid the problem by using the file system label or
          Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) of
          the partition when mounting the partition.
          </para>
          <para>
          Changes in a device name might adversely affect the
          following files:
            <itemizedlist>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                /etc/fstab - Contains a list of file systems to mount.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                /boot/grub/menu.lst - Contains operating system boot
                instructions for the <application>grub</application>
                boot loader.
                </para>
              </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
          </para>
        </caution>
        <note>
          <para>
          Disks with <guimenuitem>loop</guimenuitem> or
          <guimenuitem>none</guimenuitem> partition tables do not
          contain a partition table, and do not contain partitions.  A
          file system on a disk without a partition table is
          represented in &appname; by a virtual partition.
          </para>
          <para>
          To delete the file system and virtual partition, choose
          format to <guimenuitem>cleared</guimenuitem>.
          </para>
          <para>
          See <xref linkend="gparted-format-partition"/>.
          </para>
        </note>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Name a Partition =============================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-name-partition">
        <title>Naming a Partition</title>
        <note>
          <para>
          Naming of partitions is only available with GUID partition
          tables (GPT).
          </para>
          <para>
          Also see <xref linkend="gparted-create-partition-table"/>.
          </para>
        </note>
        <para>
        To set a name of a partition:
        </para>
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu>
              <guimenuitem>Name Partition</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application opens a <guilabel>Set partition name on
              <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Type a partition name in the <guilabel>Name</guilabel> text box.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.
              The application displays the set partition name operation
              in the <guilabel>Operations Pending</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Format a Partition ============================= -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-format-partition">
        <title>Formatting a Partition</title>
        <para>
        To format a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Format to</guimenuitem></menuchoice>,
              and select a type of file system from the list.
              The application displays the format partition operation
              in the <guilabel>Operations Pending</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
              <para>
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-file-system"/>
              for the meaning of the <guimenuitem>cleared</guimenuitem>
              file system type.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Set a Partition File System Label ============== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-setting-partition-file-system-label">
        <title>Setting a Partition File System Label</title>
        <para>
        To set a label or a volume name of a file system in a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu>
              <guimenuitem>Label File System</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application opens a <guilabel>Set file system label on
              <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Type a label name in the <guilabel>Label</guilabel> text box.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.
              The application displays the set file system label operation
              in the <guilabel>Operations Pending</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Change a Partition's UUID ========================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-changing-partition-uuid">
        <title>Changing a Partition UUID</title>
        <para>
        To change the Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) of a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu>
              <guimenuitem>New UUID</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays the set a new random UUID
              operation in the <guilabel>Operations Pending</guilabel>
              pane.
              </para>
              <warning>
                <para>
                Changing the UUID might invalidate the Windows Product
                Activation key (WPA).
                </para>
                <para>
                On FAT and NTFS file systems, the Volume Serial Number
                is used as UUID.  Changing the Volume Serial
                Number on the Windows system partition, normally C:,
                might invalidate the WPA key.  An invalid WPA key will
                prevent login until you reactivate Windows.
                </para>
                <para>
                In an attempt to avoid invalidating the WPA key, on
                NTFS file systems only half of the UUID is set to a
                new random value. On FAT file systems, such a precaution
                is not possible.
                </para>
                <para>
                The WPA key should not be affected by changing the
                UUID of data partitions or removable media partitions.
                In rare cases, a partition that is present
                at boot time might be an exception to this rule.
                </para>
              </warning>
              <warning>
                <para>
                Changing the UUID when there is no need to do so might
                cause a GNU/Linux system to fail to boot, or to fail
                to mount a file system.
                </para>
                <para>
                Changing the UUID is only required after copying a
                partition.  The UUID change is needed to prevent
                duplicate UUIDs when both the source and the copy of
                the partition are used on the same computer.
                </para>
                <para>
                If boot or mount problems occur you might need to edit
                configuration files, such as /etc/fstab, and
                regenerate the grub menu to ensure that the correct
                UUID is specified.
                </para>
              </warning>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= Specifying Partition Details ====================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-specify-partition-details">
        <title>Specifying Partition Details</title>
        <para>
        Specifying partition details is useful when performing actions
        such as create, resize, and move.
        </para>

<!-- ============= To Specify a Partition Size and Location ========== -->
        <sect4 id="gparted-specify-partition-size-and-location">
          <title>Specifying Partition Size and Location</title>
          <para>
          To specify the size and the location of the partition,
          use one or a combination of the following:
            <itemizedlist>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Click-and-hold the arrow at either end of the graphic area.
                Drag the arrow left or right within the display range.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Click-and-hold the middle of the partition in the graphic area.
                Drag the partition left or right within the display range.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Click the spin button arrows, or type numeric values
                to adjust the following fields:
                  <itemizedlist>
                    <listitem>
                      <para>
                      <guilabel>Free Space Preceding</guilabel>
                      </para>
                    </listitem>
                    <listitem>
                      <para>
                      <guilabel>New Size</guilabel>
                      </para>
                    </listitem>
                    <listitem>
                      <para>
                      <guilabel>Free Space Following</guilabel>
                      </para>
                    </listitem>
                  </itemizedlist>
                </para>
              </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
          </para>
          <para>
          The application refreshes both the graphic area
          and the numbers beside the three field labels.
          </para>
        </sect4>

<!-- ============= To Specify a Partition Alignment ================== -->
        <sect4 id="gparted-specify-partition-alignment">
          <title>Specifying Partition Alignment</title>
          <para>
          To specify the alignment of the partition, click the 
          <guilabel>Align to</guilabel> arrow button, and select from the list.
          </para>
          <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Use <guilabel>MiB</guilabel> alignment for modern
              operating systems.  This setting aligns partitions to
              start and end on precise mebibyte (1,048,576 byte)
              boundaries.  MiB alignment provides enhanced performance
              when used with RAID systems and with Solid State Drives,
              such as USB flash drives.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Use <guilabel>Cylinder</guilabel> alignment to maintain
              compatibility with operating systems released before the
              year 2000, such as DOS.  This setting aligns partitions
              to start and end on disk cylinder boundaries.
              </para>
              <tip>
                <para>
                The Cylinder/Head/Sector values reported by modern
                disk devices no longer have a direct physical
                relationship to the data stored on the disk device.
                Hence it is no longer valid to use this alignment
                setting to achieve enhanced performance.
                </para>
              </tip>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Use <guilabel>None</guilabel> only if you have an
              in-depth knowledge of disk structure, partition tables,
              and boot records.  This setting places partition
              boundaries relative to the end of any immediately
              preceding partition on the disk device.  This setting
              is not guaranteed to reserve or respect space required
              for boot records.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </itemizedlist>
        </sect4>

<!-- ============= To Specify a Partition Type ======================= -->
        <sect4 id="gparted-specify-partition-type">
          <title>Specifying Partition Type</title>
          <para>
          To specify the partition type, click the 
          <guilabel>Create as</guilabel> arrow button, and select from the list.
          </para>
          <note>
            <para>
            The msdos partition table limits partitions as follows:
              <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  Maximum of 4 primary partitions.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  Maximum of 3 primary partitions, and 1 extended partition.
                  </para>
                  <para>
                  The extended partition can contain multiple logical
                  partitions.
                  Some GNU/Linux distributions support accessing at most
                  15 partitions on a disk device.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  Maximum size of a partition is 2 Tebibytes using
                  a sector size of 512 bytes.  The partition must also
                  start within the first 2 Tebibytes of the disk device.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
              </itemizedlist>
            </para>
          </note>
          <tip>
            <para>
            Primary partitions provide better data recoverability
            because the partition boundaries are stored at known
            locations on the disk device.
            </para>
          </tip>
        </sect4>

<!-- ============= To Specify a Partition Name ======================= -->
        <sect4 id="gparted-specify-partition-name">
          <title>Specifying Partition Name</title>
          <note>
            <para>
            Naming of partitions is only available with GUID partition
            tables (GPT).  Therefore the field is only enabled on disk
            devices partitioned using GPT.
            </para>
            <para>
            Also see <xref linkend="gparted-create-partition-table"/>.
            </para>
          </note>
          <para>
          To specify the partition name, type the name in the
          <guilabel>Partition name</guilabel> text box.
          </para>
        </sect4>

<!-- ============= To Specify a Partition File System ================ -->
        <sect4 id="gparted-specify-partition-file-system">
          <title>Specifying Partition File System</title>
          <para>
          To specify the type of file system for the partition, click the
          <guilabel>File System</guilabel> arrow button, and select from the list.
          </para>
          <note>
            <para>
            Examples of uses for some file systems are as follows:
              <itemizedlist>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  <guimenuitem>ext2</guimenuitem>,
                  <guimenuitem>ext3</guimenuitem> and
                  <guimenuitem>ext4</guimenuitem> file systems can be
                  used for installing GNU/Linux, and for data.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  <guimenuitem>linux-swap</guimenuitem> can be used with
                  GNU/Linux to increase the virtual memory of your
                  computer.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  <guimenuitem>fat16</guimenuitem> and
                  <guimenuitem>fat32</guimenuitem> file systems can be
                  used to share data between free and commercial
                  operating systems.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  <guimenuitem>cleared</guimenuitem> can be used to
                  clear any existing file system signatures and ensure
                  that the partition is recognised as empty.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
                <listitem>
                  <para>
                  <guimenuitem>unformatted</guimenuitem> can be used to
                  just create a partition without writing a file system.
                  </para>
                </listitem>
              </itemizedlist>
            </para>
          </note>
        </sect4>

<!-- ============= To Specify a Partition Label ====================== -->
        <sect4 id="gparted-specify-partition-file-system-label">
          <title>Specifying Partition File System Label</title>
          <para>
          To specify the file system label in the partition, also known
          as a volume label, type a label name in the
          <guilabel>Label</guilabel> text box.
          </para>
          <tip>
            <para>
            File system labels can be used to help you remember what is
            stored in the partition.
            </para>
            <para>
            Unique labels can be used to mount file systems with the
            GNU/Linux operating system.
            </para>
          </tip>
        </sect4>

      </sect3>
<!-- ============= End of Specifying Partition Details =============== -->

    </sect2>
<!-- ============= End of Intermediate Partition Actions ============= -->

<!-- ============= Advanced Partition Actions ======================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-advanced-partition-actions">
      <title>Advanced Partition Actions</title>
      <para>
      These actions will alter partitions on your disk device.
      These actions might modify the start or end boundaries
      of your existing partitions.
      These actions might cause operating systems to fail to boot.
      </para>

<!-- ============= To Resize a Partition ============================= -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-resize-partition">
        <title>Resizing a Partition</title>
        <para>
        Resizing and moving a partition can be performed by a single
        <application>&app;</application> operation.
        </para>
        <para>
        To resize a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select a partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
              <tip>
                <para>
                Unmounted or inactive partitions enable the most
                resize options.
                </para>
                <para>
                Support is available for online resize of some
                mounted or otherwise active partitions.  However this
                support is often limited to grow only.
                </para>
              </tip>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Resize/Move</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays the
              <guilabel>Resize/Move <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel>
              dialog.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Adjust the size of the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-size-and-location"/>.
              </para>
              <tip>
                <para>
                If you do not want the start of an existing partition
                to move, then do not change the <guilabel>free space
                preceding</guilabel> value.  If the partition is
                mounted or otherwise active, then you will not be able
                to change the <guilabel>free space
                preceding</guilabel> value.
                </para>
              </tip>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the alignment of the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-alignment"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>Resize/Move</guibutton>.
              The application displays the resize/move partition operation
              in the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Examine the operation that was added to the
              <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
              <para>
              If the operation involves a move step, then
              consider the following:
                <itemizedlist>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    A move step might take a long time
                    to complete.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    If the partition is an operating system boot partition,
                    then a move step might cause the operating system
                    to fail to boot.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                </itemizedlist>
              </para>
              <para>
              If you are not prepared to wait
              or to fix potential operating system boot problems,
              then you might want to undo the operation.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-undo-last-operation"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <tip>
          <para>
          To grow or move a partition, unallocated space must be available adjacent
          to the partition.
          </para>
          <para>
          If you are growing a logical partition, then the unallocated space
          must be within the extended partition.
          </para>
          <para>
          If you are growing a primary partition, then the unallocated space
          must not be within the extended partition.
          </para>
          <para>
          You can move unallocated space to be inside or outside of the
          extended partition by resizing the extended partition boundaries.
          </para>
        </tip>
        <tip>
          <para>
          A LUKS encrypted partition and the file system within can only
          be resized when the encryption mapping is open.
          </para>
        </tip>
        <tip>
          <para>
          To improve the ability to shrink NTFS partitions, you
          might consider one or more of the following:
            <itemizedlist>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Defragment the file system.
                </para>
                <para>
                Booting into Safe Mode with the
                commercial operating system that uses NTFS
                can improve the ability to defragment
                the file system.
                To enter Safe Mode press <keycap>F8</keycap>
                while your computer is booting
                the operating system.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Check the partition for errors with the following command:
                <screen><prompt>C:&gt; </prompt><command>chkdsk</command> /f /r</screen>
                Remember to reboot back into the commercial operating system
                that uses NTFS to allow the <command>chkdsk</command> command
                to execute.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Temporarily disable the paging file.
                The paging file occupies a fixed location
                in the partition that the defragmentation
                process is unable to move.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Temporarily move large files to another partition
                or disk device.  Large files are defined as greater
                than a few hundred Megabytes (MB).
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Ensure a proper shut down of the commercial operating
                system that uses NTFS before you resize the NTFS
                partition
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Leave at least 10 percent unused space in the NTFS partition.
                If you shrink the partition too much,
                then the commercial operating system might have difficulty
                functioning properly.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Reboot twice into the commercial operating system that
                uses NTFS after shrinking the NTFS partition. 
                </para>
              </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
          </para>
        </tip>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Move a Partition =============================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-move-partition">
        <title>Moving a Partition</title>
        <para>
        Moving and resizing a partition can be performed by a single
        <application>&app;</application> operation.
        </para>
        <para>
        To move a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Resize/Move</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays the
              <guilabel>Resize/Move <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel>
              dialog.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Adjust the location of the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-size-and-location"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Specify the alignment of the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-alignment"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>Resize/Move</guibutton>.
              The application displays the resize/move partition operation
              in the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <tip>
          <para>
          If the partition is an operating system boot partition,
          then the operating system might not boot after the move
          operation is applied.
          </para>
          <para>
          If the operating system fails to boot, see
          <xref linkend="gparted-fix-operating-system-boot-problems"/>.
          </para>
        </tip>
        <tip>
          <para>
          A LUKS encrypted partition can only be moved when the
          encryption mapping is closed.
          </para>
        </tip>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Copy and Paste a Partition ===================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-copy-and-paste-partition">
        <title>Copying and Pasting a Partition</title>
        <para>
        To copy a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Copy</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application marks the partition as the
              source partition.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
        To Paste a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unallocated space on a disk device.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-unallocated"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Paste</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays the
              <guilabel>Paste <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel>
              dialog.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              If you want you can adjust the size and location of the partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-size-and-location"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              If you want you can specify the alignment of partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-specify-partition-alignment"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>Paste</guibutton>.
              The application displays the copy partition operation
              in the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <caution>
          <para>
          The copy of the partition has the same file system label
          and Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) as the source
          partition.
          This can cause a problem when booting, or when mount actions
          use the file system label or UUID to identify the partition.
          </para>
          <para>
          The problem is that the operating system will randomly
          select to mount either the source, or the copy of the
          partition.  For example, on the first mount action the
          source partition might be mounted.  On the next mount action
          the copy of the partition might be mounted.  Over time this
          random nature of partition mounting might make files seem to
          mysteriously appear or disappear depending upon which
          partition is mounted.  Random mounting of the source or the
          copy of the partition might also cause severe data
          corruption or loss.
          </para>
          <para>
          To avoid the problem you are advised to do one of the
          following:
            <itemizedlist>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                After you have queued or applied the copy operation:
                  <orderedlist>
                    <listitem>
                      <para>
                      Change the UUID of either the source, or the copy
                      of the partition.
                      See <xref linkend="gparted-changing-partition-uuid"/>.
                      </para>
                    </listitem>
                    <listitem>
                      <para>
                      If the file system label is not blank then change
                      the file system label of either the source, or the
                      copy of the partition.
                      See <xref linkend="gparted-setting-partition-file-system-label"/>.
                      </para>
                    </listitem>
                  </orderedlist>
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                After you have applied the copy operation, delete or
                reformat the source partition.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Use some other method to ensure that the source
                partition and the copy of the partition are not used
                on the same computer at the same time.  For example,
                if the copy of the partition is on a separate drive
                then remove the drive from the computer.
                </para>
              </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
          </para>
        </caution>
        <tip>
          <para>
          The file system within a LUKS encrypted partition can only be
          copied when the encryption mapping is open.
          </para>
        </tip>
        <note>
          <para>
          To prevent unintended decryption of data, pasting into
          unallocated space creating a new partition is not permitted.
          However a LUKS encrypted partition can be pasted into an
          existing open LUKS encrypted partition maintaining an
          encrypted, or pasted into a plain partition making an
          unencrypted copy of the file system.
          </para>
        </note>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Manage Partition Flags ========================= -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-manage-partition-flags">
        <title>Managing Partition Flags</title>
        <para>
        To manage partition flags:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select a partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Manage Flags</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application opens a <guilabel>Manage flags on
              <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog.
              </para>
              <para>
                <itemizedlist>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    To enable a flag, select the check box beside the flag.
                    The application writes the enabled flag to the partition
                    and refreshes the <guilabel>Manage flags on
                    <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    To disable a flag, deselect the check box beside the flag.
                    The application writes the disabled flag to the partition
                    and refreshes the <guilabel>Manage flags on
                    <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                </itemizedlist>
              </para>
              <note>
                <para>
                <guimenuitem>Manage Flags</guimenuitem> is only
                available for disks with partition tables.  Disks with
                <guimenuitem>loop</guimenuitem> or
                <guimenuitem>none</guimenuitem> partition tables do
                not contain a partition table, and do not have
                partition flags.
                </para>
                <para>
                See <xref linkend="gparted-view-device-information"/>
                to view the type of partition table.
                </para>
              </note>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
        <para>
        To close the <guilabel>Manage flags on 
        <replaceable>/path-to-partition</replaceable></guilabel> dialog,
        click <guibutton>Close</guibutton>.
        </para>
        <note>
          <para>
          A description of flags in an msdos partition table
          follows:
            <itemizedlist>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Boot is used by some commercial operating system
                boot loaders.
                The boot flag indicates the partition is active
                or bootable.
                Only one partition on a disk device can be active.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Diag is used to indicate the partition is used for
                diagnostics / recovery.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                ESP indicates an EFI System Partition used to boot
                computers with the Unified Extensible Firmware
                Interface (UEFI) class 2 that includes compatibility
                support for BIOS functions including the MBR partition
                structure.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Hidden is used by some commercial operating systems.
                The hidden flag makes the partition invisible to the
                operating system.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Irst identifies an Intel Rapid Start Technology
                partition.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                LBA is used by some commercial operating system
                boot loaders.
                The LBA flag indicates the partition should be
                accessed using Logical Block Addressing (LBA), instead
                of Cylinder-Head-Sector (CHS) addressing.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                LVM is used to indicate the partition is used by a
                Logical Volume Manager (LVM).
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Palo is used by the Precision Architecture - 
                Reduced Instruction Set Computing (PA-RISC)
                boot loader, palo.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Prep is used to indicate the boot partition
                on Power Performance Computing (PowerPC) hardware.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                RAID is used to indicate the partition is used in a
                Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID).
                </para>
              </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
          </para>
        </note>
        <note>
          <para>
          A description of flags in a gpt partition table follows:
            <itemizedlist>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Atvrecv is used to indicate an Apple TV Recovery
                partition.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                BIOS_GRUB indicates a BIOS boot partition often used
                by the GRUB 2 boot loader.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Boot is used by some commercial operating system
                boot loaders.
                The boot flag indicates the partition is active
                or bootable.
                Only one partition on a disk device can be active.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Diag indicates the partition is used for diagnostics
                or recovery.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                ESP indicates an EFI System Partition used to boot
                computers with Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)
                class 1 or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
                (UEFI) class 2 or UEFI class 3.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Hidden is used by some commercial operating systems.
                The hidden flag makes the partition invisible to the
                operating system.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                HP-service is used to indicate a Hewlett Packard
                service partition.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Irst identifies an Intel Rapid Start Technology
                partition.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Legacy_boot is used by some special purpose software
                to indicate the partition might be bootable.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                LVM indicates the partition is used by a Logical
                Volume Manager (LVM).
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Msftdata identifies partitions that contain Microsoft
                file systems such as NTFS or FAT.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Msftres is used to indicate a Microsoft Reserved
                partition.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                Prep is used to indicate the boot partition
                on Power Performance Computing (PowerPC) hardware.
                </para>
              </listitem>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                RAID indicates the partition is used in a Redundant
                Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID).
                </para>
              </listitem>
            </itemizedlist>
          </para>
        </note>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Check a Partition ============================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-Check-partition">
        <title>Checking a Partition</title>
        <para>
        Checking a partition will attempt to find and fix problems
        in the file system.
        Checking a partition will attempt to grow the file system
        to fill the partition.
        </para>
        <para>
        To check a partition:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Select an unmounted partition.
              See <xref linkend="gparted-select-partition"/>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Partition</guimenu><guimenuitem>Check</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays the check partition operation
              in the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= End of Advanced Partition Actions ================= -->
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= Working with the Operation Queue ================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-operation-queue">
      <title>Working with the Operation Queue</title>

<!-- ============= To Undo Last Operation ============================ -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-undo-last-operation">
        <title>Undoing Last Operation</title>
        <para>
        To undo the last operation in the operation queue, choose:
        <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Undo Last Operation</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
        The application removes the last operation from the queue
        displayed in the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
        If there are no operations remaining in the queue,
        the application closes the
        <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Clear All Operations =========================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-clear-all-operations">
        <title>Clearing All Operations</title>
        <para>
        To clear all operations in the operation queue, choose:
        <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Clear All Operations</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
        The application removes all operations from the queue
        and closes the <guilabel>Pending Operations</guilabel> pane.
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Apply All Operations =========================== -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-apply-all-operations">
        <title>Applying All Operations</title>
        <para>
        To apply all operations:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Choose:
              <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Apply All Operations</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
              The application displays an
              <guilabel>Apply operations to device</guilabel> dialog.
              </para>
              <caution>
                <para>
                Editing partitions has the potential to cause LOSS of DATA.
                You are advised to backup your data before applying your
                partition editing operations.
                </para>
              </caution>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>Apply</guibutton>.
              The application displays an
              <guilabel>Applying pending operations</guilabel> dialog.
              The application applies each pending operation
              in the order you created the operations.
              The application displays a status update when each
              operation is completed.
                <itemizedlist>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    To view more information,
                    click <guibutton>Details</guibutton>.
                    The application displays more details about operations.
                    </para>
                    <para>
                    To view more information about the steps in each operation,
                    click the arrow button beside each step.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    To stop the operations while they are executing,
                    click <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton>.
                    The application displays a disabled
                    <guibutton>Force Cancel (5)</guibutton> button and
                    counts down for 5 seconds.
                    </para>
                    <note>
                      <para>
                      <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> instructs the
                      application to stop or roll back operations
                      as necessary to ensure data integrity.
                      </para>
                    </note>
                    <para>
                    If operations have not halted after 5 seconds the
                    application enables the <guibutton>Force
                    Cancel</guibutton> button.
                    </para>
                    <para>
                    To force the operations to stop, click
                    <guibutton>Force Cancel</guibutton>.
                    The application displays a warning dialog.
                    </para>
                    <para>
                    Click <guibutton>Continue Operation</guibutton> to
                    allow the roll back operations to complete, or
                    click <guibutton>Cancel Operation</guibutton> to
                    cancel the roll back operations.
                    </para>
                    <warning>
                      <para>
                      <guibutton>Cancel Operation</guibutton>
                      terminates the safe roll back of operations and
                      might cause SEVERE file system damage and data
                      loss.  You are advised to click
                      <guibutton>Continue Operation</guibutton> to
                      allow the roll back to complete.
                      </para>
                    </warning>
                    <para>
                    When the application finishes performing operations,
                    the application displays the
                    <guibutton>Save Details</guibutton> button and the
                    <guibutton>Close</guibutton> button.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                </itemizedlist>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              If you want to save the details from applying all operations,
              then click <guibutton>Save Details</guibutton>.
              The application displays a <guilabel>Save Details</guilabel>
              dialog.
                <orderedlist numeration="loweralpha">
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    If you want to change the default file name,
                    then type a file name in the
                    <guilabel>Name</guilabel> text box.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    If you want to save the file in a folder
                    different than /root,
                    Click <guibutton>Browse for other folders</guibutton>.
                    The application displays a file system navigator.
                    </para>
                    <para>
                    Use the file system navigator to select a folder.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                    Click <guibutton>Save</guibutton> to save the file.
                    The application saves the details file.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                </orderedlist>
              </para>
              <caution>
                <para>
                If you use <application>&app;</application> from a Live CD, then
                the root file system exists in RAM memory.  All files saved
                to the Live CD root file system will be lost when you shut down
                the computer.
                </para>
                <para>
                If you saved the &app; details to the Live CD root file system,
                then you need to copy the file to more permanent storage.
                Examples of more permanent storage are a hard disk drive
                or a USB flash memory drive.
                </para>
              </caution>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Click <guibutton>Close</guibutton>.
              The application closes the
              <guilabel>Applying pending operations</guilabel> dialog.
              The application rescans all the disk devices and refreshes the device
              partition layout in the <application>&app;</application> window.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= End of Working with the Operation Queue =========== -->
    </sect2>

  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Acquiring GParted on Live CD ====================== -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-acquire-livecd">
    <title>Acquiring GParted on Live CD</title>
    <para>
    A Live CD is a Compact Disc that contains a bootable operating system.
    A Live CD enables you to boot your computer from the CD.
    </para>
    <para>
    Using <application>&app;</application> from a Live CD
    has the following advantages:
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          You can edit all of your partitions
          because the partitions are not mounted.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          You can edit partitions on computers that
          do not have a bootable operating system.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
    <para>
    The <application>&app;</application> application is available on many
    Live CD distributions.
    </para>
    <para>
    You can download a Live CD image containing
    <application>&app;</application> from the following web sites:
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          GParted Live CD
          <ulink type="http" url="https://gparted.org/livecd.php"/>
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          System Rescue CD
          <ulink type="http" url="http://www.system-rescue-cd.org"/>
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
    <tip>
      <para>
      The GParted Live CD image can be written to a USB flash drive.
      </para>
      <para>
      If your computer can boot from Universal Serial Bus (USB) then
      you might prefer to boot and use
      <application>&app;</application> from a USB flash drive.
      </para>
    </tip>
    <tip>
      <para>
      To avoid wasting a blank CD when burning a CD image file,
      use the following tips:
      </para>
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Ensure the checksum of the downloaded file matches
          the checksum posted on the download page.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Be sure to burn the .iso file as an image to the blank CD.
          If you burn the .iso file as data to a blank CD then the
          CD will not boot in your computer.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </tip>
  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Fixing Operating System Boot Problems ============= -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-fix-operating-system-boot-problems">
    <title>Fixing Operating System Boot Problems</title>
    <para>
    Your computer might fail to boot an operating system
    when you perform one of the following actions:
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Delete a partition.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Move a partition.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
          Install another operating system and
          overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR).
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
    <para>
    Fortunately the failure to boot can be often be fixed.
    </para>
    <para>
    If your computer uses the GRUB boot loader,
    see <xref linkend="gparted-fix-grub-boot-problem"/>
    to restore the ability to boot.
    </para>
    <para>
    If your computer does not use GRUB then you are advised to consult
    documentation for your boot loader to learn how to fix the
    problem.
    You might consult the
    <ulink type="http" url="https://gparted.org/faq.php">&appname; FAQ</ulink>,
    or the
    <ulink type="http" url="https://gparted.org/forum.php">&appname; forum</ulink>.
    You might also search the Internet to learn how other people have
    solved similar problems.
    </para>

<!-- ============= Fixing GRUB Boot Problem ========================== -->
    <sect2 id="gparted-fix-grub-boot-problem">
      <title>Fixing GRUB boot problem</title>
      <para>
      The Grand Unified Boot loader (GRUB) is used by many GNU/Linux
      distributions.  To fix GRUB boot problems you start by
      determining which major version of GRUB was used.
      </para>
      <para>
      There are two major versions of GRUB:
        <itemizedlist>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            GRUB, also known as GRUB 2, covers versions 1.98 and
            higher.  GRUB 2 works with both GUID partition tables
            (GPT) and msdos partition tables.
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            GRUB Legacy, traditionally known as GRUB, covers versions
            0.9x and earlier.  GRUB Legacy works with msdos partition
            tables only.
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
      </para>
      <para>
      GRUB 2 is used as the default boot loader in the following
      GNU/Linux distributions:
        <itemizedlist>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            CentOS 7 and higher
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Debian 6 (Squeeze) and higher
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Fedora 16 (Verne) and higher
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            openSUSE 12.2 and higher
            </para>
          </listitem>
          <listitem>
            <para>
            Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) and higher
            </para>
          </listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
      </para>
      <para>
      If you are unsure whether your computer uses GRUB 2 or GRUB
      Legacy, you might try searching for the answer on the Internet.
      </para>

<!-- ============= To Restore GRUB 2 ================================= -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-restore-grub-2">
        <title>Restoring GRUB 2 Boot Loader</title>
        <para>
        Use the following steps to restore the GRUB 2 boot loader:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Boot from Live media such as GParted Live or your
              GNU/Linux distribution image.  Open a terminal window.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Determine which partition contains the / file system for
              your GNU/Linux distribution.
              </para>
              <para>
              Use GParted to list the partitions on your disk device.
              Look for a partition that contains your GNU/Linux / file
              system.  This Linux partition will likely use a file
              system such as ext2, ext3, ext4, or btrfs.
              </para>
              <note>
                <para>
                If the / partition is on LVM then the Logical Volume
                Manager must be active.  LVM can be started with the
                command:
                <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>vgchange</command> -a y</screen>
                </para>
                <para>
                With LVM, the equivalent of a disk partition is a
                Logical Volume.  Logical Volumes can be listed with
                the command:
                <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>lvscan</command></screen>
                </para>
              </note>
              <note>
                <para>
                If the / partition is on RAID, then the RAID must be
                active.  Linux Software RAID can be started with the
                command:
                <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>mdadm</command> --assemble --scan</screen>
                </para>
              </note>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Create a mount point directory by entering (as root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>mkdir</command> /tmp/mydir</screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Mount the / partition on the mount point directory.  For
              example assume the / file system is contained in the
              /dev/sda5 partition.  Enter (as root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>mount</command> <replaceable>/dev/sda5</replaceable> /tmp/mydir</screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              If you have a separate /boot partition, for example at
              /dev/sda3, then an extra step is required.  Mount the
              /boot partition at /tmp/mydir/boot by entering (as
              root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>mount</command> <replaceable>/dev/sda3</replaceable> /tmp/mydir/boot</screen>
              </para>
              <note>
                <para>
                If you do not know whether you have a separate boot
                partition then you probably do not and can ignore this
                step.
                </para>
              </note>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Prepare to change the root environment by entering (as
              root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>mount</command> --bind /dev /tmp/mydir/dev</screen>
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>mount</command> --bind /proc /tmp/mydir/proc</screen>
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>mount</command> --bind /sys /tmp/mydir/sys</screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Change the root environment by entering (as root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>chroot</command> /tmp/mydir</screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Reinstall GRUB 2 on the boot device.  Note that the
              device name is used and not the partition name.  For
              example, if the / partition is /dev/sda5 then the device
              is /dev/sda.
              </para>
              <para>
              For Debian, Ubuntu, and other offshoot GNU/Linux
              distributions, enter the command (as root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>grub-install</command> <replaceable>/dev/sda</replaceable></screen>
              </para>
              <para>
              For CentOS, Fedora, openSUSE and other offshoot
              GNU/Linux distributions, enter the command (as root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>grub2-install</command> <replaceable>/dev/sda</replaceable></screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Exit the chroot environment by entering (as root):
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>exit</command></screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Reboot your computer.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>

<!-- ============= To Restore GRUB Legacy ============================ -->
      <sect3 id="gparted-restore-grub-legacy">
        <title>Restoring GRUB Legacy Boot Loader</title>
        <para>
        Use the following steps to restore the GRUB Legacy boot
        loader:
          <orderedlist>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Boot from Live media such as your GNU/Linux distribution
              image.  Open a terminal window.
              </para>
              <note>
                <para>
                The Live media must contain the GRUB Legacy boot
                loader.  If your GNU/Linux distribution uses GRUB
                Legacy, then the distribution Live media will also
                contain GRUB Legacy.
                </para>
              </note>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Start the <application>grub</application> application
              from the command line (as root).
              <screen><prompt># </prompt><command>grub</command></screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Find where <application>grub</application> stage1 is
              located by using one of the following:
              </para>
              <para>
              If the /boot folder is stored in the / partition,
              use the command:
              <screen><prompt>grub&gt; </prompt><command>find</command> /boot/grub/stage1</screen>
              If the /boot folder is stored in a partition
              different than the / partition, use the command:
            <screen><prompt>grub&gt; </prompt><command>find</command> /grub/stage1</screen>
              </para>
              <para>
              The output from the <command>find</command> command
              might look like the following:
              <screen><computeroutput> <replaceable>(hd0,0)</replaceable></computeroutput></screen>
              If more than one line is listed in the command output,
              you will need to decide which device you use for
              <application>grub</application>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Set the <application>grub</application> root device by
              specifying the device returned by the
              <command>find</command> command.  This should be the
              partition containing the boot directory.
              <screen><prompt>grub&gt; </prompt>root <replaceable>(hd0,0)</replaceable></screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Reinstall the <application>grub</application> boot
              loader into the Master Boot Record (MBR) with:
              <screen><prompt>grub&gt; </prompt>setup <replaceable>(hd0)</replaceable></screen>
              </para>
              <para>
              If you want to install the
              <application>grub</application> boat loader into the
              boot sector of a partition, instead specify a partition
              with:
              <screen><prompt>grub&gt; </prompt>setup <replaceable>(hd0,0)</replaceable></screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Exit <application>grub</application>.
              <screen><prompt>grub&gt; </prompt>quit</screen>
              </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>
              Reboot your computer.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </para>
      </sect3>
    </sect2>

<!-- ============= End of Fixing Operating System Boot Problems ====== -->
  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Recovering Partition Tables ======================= -->
  <sect1 id="gparted-recover-partition-table">
    <title>Recovering Partition Tables</title>
    <para>
    If you accidentally overwrite your partition table, there is a chance
    that you might be able to recover it.
    </para>
    <para>
    The <application>testdisk</application> application is designed to help
    recover lost partitions.  For more information about 
    <application>testdisk</application>, see
    <ulink type="http" url="https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk"/>.
    </para>
    <para>
    The <application>testdisk</application> application is included on
    each Live CD listed in
    <xref linkend="gparted-acquire-livecd"/>
    </para>
  </sect1>

</article>