Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 5 - VIRTUAL SERVER ADMINISTRATION, Installation Manual

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Chapter 26. An Introduction to Disk Partitions
268
26.1.4.1. Using Unpartitioned Free Space
In this situation, the partitions already defined do not span the entire hard disk, leaving unallocated
space that is not part of any defined partition.
Figure 26.8, “Disk Drive with Unpartitioned Free Space”
,
shows what this might look like.
Figure 26.8. Disk Drive with Unpartitioned Free Space
In
Figure 26.8, “Disk Drive with Unpartitioned Free Space”
,
1
represents an undefined partition with
unallocated space and
2
represents a defined partition with allocated space.
If you think about it, an unused hard disk also falls into this category. The only difference is that
all
the
space is not part of any defined partition.
In any case, you can create the necessary partitions from the unused space. Unfortunately, this
scenario, although very simple, is not very likely (unless you have just purchased a new disk just for
Red Hat Enterprise Linux). Most pre-installed operating systems are configured to take up all available
space on a disk drive (refer to
Section 26.1.4.3, “Using Free Space from an Active Partition”
).
Next, we will discuss a slightly more common situation.
26.1.4.2. Using Space from an Unused Partition
In this case, maybe you have one or more partitions that you do not use any longer. Perhaps you have
dabbled with another operating system in the past, and the partition(s) you dedicated to it never seem
to be used anymore.
Figure 26.9, “Disk Drive With an Unused Partition”
, illustrates such a situation.
Figure 26.9. Disk Drive With an Unused Partition
In
Figure 26.9, “Disk Drive With an Unused Partition”
,
1
represents an unused partition and
2
represents reallocating an unused partition for Linux.
If you find yourself in this situation, you can use the space allocated to the unused partition. You first
must delete the partition and then create the appropriate Linux partition(s) in its place. You can delete
the unused partition and manually create new partitions during the installation process.
26.1.4.3. Using Free Space from an Active Partition
This is the most common situation. It is also, unfortunately, the hardest to handle. The main problem is
that, even if you have enough free space, it is presently allocated to a partition that is already in use.