From: none@not.here   
      
   Paul wrote:   
   > On Fri, 1/2/2026 6:46 AM, Axel wrote:   
   >> lisa wrote:   
   >>> On Fri, 2 Jan 2026 18:51:00 +1100, Axel  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>   
   >>>> (a) Use Gparted from a live disk to reduce the size of the source disk.   
   >>>> Illustration: https://auslink.info/linux/gpart.png   
   >>>>   
   >>>> *However, would I be risking data loss doing this?   
   >>> ( search answer )   
   >>> Yes, there is a potential risk of data loss when shrinking a disk with   
   >>> GParted, especially if there are software bugs, hardware issues, or   
   >>> power failures during the process. It is highly recommended to back up   
   >>> your data before making any changes to disk partitions.   
   >>>   
   >>> https://gparted.org/display-doc.php%3Fname%3Dhelp-manual   
   >>>   
   >>> half way : Resizing a Partition   
   >>>   
   >>> it has some usefull hints to avoid potential problems.   
   >>> Like Defragment the file system first before you shrink your   
   >>> partition.   
   >>>   
   >>> I take the risk using this method ( yeah, I have a backup; but not for   
   >>> this kind of operations ).   
   >> think I'll use option (b), the simplest and safest method. and in future   
   >> when I format a disk I'll make the main partition slightly smaller to avoid   
   this issue.   
   > I use GParted all the time. I also use it to fix Windows problems,   
   > but knowing there are caveats by doing so (setting the Dirty Bit on   
   > NTFS, is just part of it). I'm not fearful of it. But the author of it,   
   > and I, know GParted has its limits. (The reason the author of it, rewrote it   
   > from scratch, is he felt he was "stepping outside his lane", so he knows   
   > some of the material-capability isn't really all that safe.)   
   >   
   > I would not (now) feed a MacOS disk drive to it, as it can utterly destroy   
   such items.   
   > Any off-the-wall materials, now you're in "extreme danger country". But for   
   conventional   
   > materials, shrinking an NTFS or an EXT4, it's fine.   
   >   
   > If you examine the log window details during a GParted "Apply",   
   > you will see how conservative the shrink procedure is. For example, it   
   > uses a "simulation step", before it runs the "actual" operation.   
   >   
   > There are some other tools (Paragon Partition Manager for Windows,   
   > Acronis Disk Doctor for Windows),   
      
   I used to use Acronis for Winx backups/cloning but switched to Aomei,   
   which seemed better and easier to use   
      
   > that scare me more than GParted does, from   
   > a safety aspect. On ADD, ADD promised to "change the cluster size on a disk",   
   > which is very dangerous and unheard of. It's the ONLY routine in the   
   > commercial software, which is unique to them, and not just using some   
   > system capability that is already there. I backed up the partition   
   > before trying it. After it was finished, it initially looked "sorta OK".   
   > Then by accident, I listed some files in a System32 folder, and some   
   > of the files had zero size. And the content was effectively "ruined".   
   > Cosmetically close, but ruined. So yes, there are lots of things out   
   > there, that would give you pause, as to why the company thought   
   > they should release their stuff.   
   >   
   > GParted is OK. But it's not the Flying Wallendas. It really needs to work   
   > with a net. Don't feed it foreign stuff, because... it will eat it,   
   > but you may not like the results. When I fed it a Mac disk, it was   
   > "no problemo, yes sir, we do this one". But afterwards, when the partition   
   > table had received a severe beating and nothing on the disk worked   
   > any more... I was then glad I had my backup (a "dd" backup!!! hahaha!).   
   >   
   > I eventually wrote my own code, 300 lines, to handle the Mac disk and   
   > do what I needed. I used a single TechNote TN from Apple, for the details   
   > of the partition table. My code worked. But it took several days, to test and   
   > make sure it worked. A lot of test cases. And as I can barely write code,   
   > this is some kind of miracle :-)   
   >   
   > For any conventional work (staying in its lane), GParted is fine, great even.   
      
   so knocking off 2mb from the main partition with GP is fine then   
      
   >   
   > But if you feed it the disk drive off a PDP-11, it's on your head if it   
   breaks.   
   >   
   >     Paul   
      
      
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