/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/en/kubuntu/hardware/disks.html

<html><head><title>Disks and Partitions</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="help:/common/kde-default.css"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="help:/common/kde-docs.css"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="help:/common/kde-localised.css"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="help:/common/kubuntu.css"><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.76.1"><link rel="home" href="index.html" title="Hardware"><link rel="up" href="index.html" title="Hardware"><link rel="prev" href="proprietary.html" title="Proprietary Devices"><link rel="next" href="laptops.html" title="Laptops"><link rel="copyright" href="legal.html" title="Credits and License"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><meta name="GENERATOR" content="KDE XSL Stylesheet V1.14 using libxslt"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div id="content"><div id="header"><div id="header_content"><div id="header_left"><div id="header_right"><img src="help:/common/top-kde.jpg" width="36" height="34"> Disks and Partitions</div></div></div></div><div class="navCenter"><table class="navigation"><tr><td class="prevCell"><a accesskey="p" href="proprietary.html">Prev</a></td><td class="upCell"> </td><td class="nextCell"><a accesskey="n" href="laptops.html">Next</a></td></tr></table></div><div id="contentBody"><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="disks"></a>Disks and Partitions</h2></div></div></div><p>
This section provides instructions on how to handle disks and drives such as
removable hard disks.
</p><a class="indexterm" name="idp1717208"></a><a class="indexterm" name="idp1724096"></a><a class="indexterm" name="idp1724824"></a><a class="indexterm" name="idp70856"></a><a class="indexterm" name="idp71680"></a><a class="indexterm" name="idp72632"></a><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="checking-usage"></a>Checking how much disk space is available</h3></div></div></div><p>
There are several ways to see how much disk space is available on a <span>Kubuntu</span>
system.
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="disks.html#checking-usage-cli" title="Check how much disk space is available via the command line">Check via the command line</a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="disks.html#checking-usage-filemanager" title="Check how much disk space is available via the file manager">Check via the file manager</a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="disks.html#checking-usage-partitionmanager" title="Checking usage via Partition Manager">Check via Partition
Manager</a>
</p></li></ul></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a name="checking-usage-cli"></a>Check how much disk space is available via the command line</h4></div></div></div><div class="procedure"><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li class="step"><p>
Open <span class="application">Konsole</span> by going to <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenu">Kickoff Application Launcher</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">Applications</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">System</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">Terminal (Konsole)</span></span>.
</p></li><li class="step"><p>
At the prompt, type <strong class="userinput"><code>df -h</code></strong>
</p></li></ol></div><p>
Output similar to the following should be displayed:
</p><pre class="screen">
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda5              37G  7.6G   28G  22% /
/dev/sda1             122M   50M   67M  43% /boot
/dev/sda6              70G   34G   33G  52% /home
</pre><p>
The command <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="command"><span class="command"><strong>df</strong></span></span> reports file system disk space usage. The
<strong class="userinput"><code>-h</code></strong> tells <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="command"><span class="command"><strong>df</strong></span></span> to make the output human
readable.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a name="checking-usage-filemanager"></a>Check how much disk space is available via the file manager</h4></div></div></div><div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">File managers</h3><p>
The following procedure can be completed with either
<span class="application">Dolphin</span> or <span class="application">Konqueror</span>.
<span class="application">Dolphin</span> will be shown in this example because it
is the default file manager in <span>Kubuntu</span>.
</p></div><div class="procedure"><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li class="step"><p>
Open <span class="application">Dolphin</span> by going to <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenu">Kickoff Application Launcher</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">Applications</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">System</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">File Manager (Dolphin)</span></span>.
</p></li><li class="step"><p>
<span class="mousebutton">Click</span> on the <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guibutton">Root</span></span> shortcut
button on the left.
</p></li><li class="step"><p>
To find out how much space is available in the root partition,
<span class="mousebutton">right click</span> in any of the white space in the main
window. Select <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">Properties</span></span> from the list that is
displayed.
</p><div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Avoid highlighting an icon</h3><p>
When right clicking in the white space, avoid accidentally highlighting any of
the folder icons, because this will display information pertaining only to that
folder.
</p></div><div class="example"><a name="idp3629544"></a><p class="title"><b>Example 1. Available disk space for the root device</b></p><div class="example-contents"><div xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="mediaobject"><hr><img src="help:/images/C/checking-usage-filemanager.png"><hr></div></div></div><br class="example-break"></li></ol></div></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a name="checking-usage-partitionmanager"></a>Checking usage via Partition Manager</h4></div></div></div><p>
By default in <span>Kubuntu</span>, the application <span class="application">Partition
Manager</span> is not installed. Please <a class="ulink" href="apt:partitionmanager" target="_top">install the <span class="application">Partition
Manager</span> package</a> prior to doing the following procedure.
</p><div class="procedure"><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li class="step"><p>
Open <span class="application">Partition Manager</span> by going to <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenu">Kickoff Application Launcher</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">Applications</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">System</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">Partition Editor (KDE Partition Manager)</span></span>. A
password may be required.
</p></li><li class="step"><p>
<span class="mousebutton">Click</span> on the device in the
<span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guilabel">Device</span></span> section in the left-hand side of the main window.
</p></li><li class="step"><p>
Remaining space can be determined by subtracting the amount in the
<span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guilabel">Used</span></span> column from the amount in the
<span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guilabel">Size</span></span> column. The information can also be displayed by
<span class="mousebutton">right clicking</span> on the partition in the list and
selecting <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">Properties</span></span>.
</p><div class="example"><a name="idp3638840"></a><p class="title"><b>Example 2. Available disk space with Partition Manager</b></p><div class="example-contents"><div xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="mediaobject"><hr><img src="help:/images/C/check-usage-partman.png"><hr></div></div></div><br class="example-break"></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="free-disk-space"></a>How can some disk space be freed up?</h3></div></div></div><p>
There are several ways of making more disk space available:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
Empty the trash. Open <span class="application">Dolphin</span> by going to
<span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenu">Kickoff Application Launcher</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">Applications</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">System</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">File Manager (Dolphin)</span></span>. <span class="mousebutton">Click</span> the
<span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guibutton">Trash</span></span> on the left, <span class="mousebutton">right
click</span> in the white space and select <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">Empty
Trash</span></span>.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="ulink" href="apt:computer-janitor-gtk" target="_top">Install Computer Janitor for GTK</a>
first. Once installed, open <span class="application">Computer Janitor</span> by going
to <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenu">Kickoff Application Launcher</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">Applications</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">System</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">Computer Janitor</span></span>. Select the <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guilabel">Packages</span></span> to be
removed. When completed, <span class="mousebutton">click</span> the <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guibutton">Do
selected tasks</span></span> button.
</p><div class="example"><a name="idp3647808"></a><p class="title"><b>Example 3. Freeing disk space with Computer Janitor</b></p><div class="example-contents"><div xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="mediaobject"><hr><img src="help:/images/C/free-disk-space-compjan.png"><hr></div></div></div><br class="example-break"></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Remove software packages that are no longer being used. See <a class="ulink" href="help:/kubuntu/manage-software/" target="_top">Managing Software</a> for information
on removing packages.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Delete files that are no longer needed.
</p><div class="caution" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Caution</h3><p>
Be careful not to delete files that are still needed!
</p></div></li></ul></div><p>
Compress and archive old, rarely-used documents:
</p><div class="procedure"><ul class="procedure"><li class="step"><p>
Select the files and folders to be compressed, <span class="mousebutton">right
click</span> one of them and select
<span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenu">Compress</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">As ZIP/TAR
Archive</span></span> or any of the other choices.
</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="partitioning-device"></a>Partitioning a device</h3></div></div></div><p>
<span class="application">Partition Manager</span> can be used to partition storage
devices. <a class="ulink" href="apt:partitionmanager" target="_top">Install the <span class="application">Partition
Manager</span> package</a> first, as it is not installed by default
in <span>Kubuntu</span>. Once installed, open <span class="application">Partition Manager</span>
by going to <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenu">Kickoff Application Launcher</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">Applications</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guisubmenu">System</span></span> &#8594; <span xmlns:doc="http://nwalsh.com/xsl/documentation/1.0" class="guiitem"><span class="guimenuitem">Partition Editor (KDE Partition Manager)</span></span>.
</p><div class="caution" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Caution</h3><p>
Be careful when altering disk partitions, as it is possible to lose data by
deleting or changing the wrong partition.
</p></div><p>
For more information on using <span class="application">Partition Manager</span> to
resize, copy, or install a new operating system, please review <a class="ulink" href="http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-sysadmin/partitionmanager/index.html" target="_top">http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-sysadmin/partitionmanager/index.html</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="partition-formatting"></a>Formatting a partition</h3></div></div></div><p>
<span class="application">Partition Manager</span> can be used to format disk
partitions. Please review <a class="ulink" href="http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-sysadmin/partitionmanager/index.html" target="_top">http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-sysadmin/partitionmanager/index.html</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="to-format-meaning"></a>What is formatting?</h3></div></div></div><p>
To format a hard disk, device or partition means to prepare that particular
device to store data.
</p><p>
When a hard disk or partition is formatted, a specific data-storage format is
applied to that device; this format is the <span class="quote">&#8220;<span class="quote">filesystem</span>&#8221;</span>.
</p><p>
A newly purchased disk is usually not formatted, and cannot yet be used for
storing data. After the device has been formatted, the free space on it is less
than the original size. Some of the disk space is used to make the device
usable; this space is occupied by the filesystem. Also, disk manufacturers use
different standards to express disk capacity, which results in further
discrepancies.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="what-is-filesystem"></a>What is a filesystem</h3></div></div></div><p>
A filesystem is a particular way of storing and organizing files on a storage
device such as a hard disk, and is an important part of an operating system.
Without a filesystem, accessing and storing files would be difficult.
</p><p>
There are different types of filesystem. The most common are:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
ext2, ext3, and ext4: these are usually found on GNU/Linux operating systems.
<span>Kubuntu</span> uses <span class="emphasis"><em>ext4</em></span> as its default filesystem.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<acronym class="acronym">FAT16</acronym> and <acronym class="acronym">FAT32</acronym> are Microsoft Windows
filesystems found on older computers. To share data between two computers, the
<span class="emphasis"><em><acronym class="acronym">FAT32</acronym></em></span> format is a good choice.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<acronym class="acronym">NTFS</acronym> is the filesystem type used by more modern
versions of Microsoft Windows.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<acronym class="acronym">HFS+</acronym> is the Mac OS X default filesystem type.
</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="partition-meaning"></a>What is a partition?</h3></div></div></div><p>
A partition is a means of dividing the storage capacity of a device, such as a
hard disk, into several parts which can then be treated as separate storage
devices (<span class="quote">&#8220;<span class="quote">logical devices</span>&#8221;</span>).
</p><p>
Each logical device is seen by the operating system as a distinct device, and
thus is treated as an independent disk.
</p><p>
Partitioning a hard disk can be done for several reasons:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc"><li class="listitem"><p>
To retrieve free space
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
To install different operating systems
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
To organize data better on the hard disk
</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="mount-and-umount"></a>Mounting and unmounting devices</h3></div></div></div><p>
When a removable storage device is connected to a computer, it must be
<span class="emphasis"><em>mounted</em></span> by the operating system so the files on the
device can be accessed.
</p><p>
When files are copied to a storage device, they are not always written to the
device immediately. Instead, they are often stored in a queue so that they can
all be transferred to the device at the same time (for efficiency). If the
device is disconnected before all of the files have been transferred, some
or all of the files may be lost. To prevent this, a storage device must be
<span class="emphasis"><em>unmounted</em></span> before being disconnected.
</p><div class="procedure"><a name="idp3671576"></a><p class="title"><b>Procedure 3. Mounting a device</b></p><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li class="step"><p>
Plug in the removable storage device.
</p></li><li class="step"><p>
A notification menu and blue circle icon will appear in the bottom right corner
of the screen. By <span class="mousebutton">clicking</span> the device in the popup
menu, the device will be <span class="emphasis"><em>mounted</em></span>. As soon as it is mounted,
either the file manager will appear or a dialog will be presented that contains
a list of options for the device.
</p></li></ol></div><div class="procedure"><a name="idp3673768"></a><p class="title"><b>Procedure 4. Unmounting a device</b></p><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li class="step"><p>
In the system tray, there is an icon that looks like a computer monitor that
represents the Device Notifier. <span class="mousebutton">Click</span> on the icon,
and a popup menu will appear.
</p></li><li class="step"><p>
Hovering above the device description with the cursor will display an eject icon
on the right side. <span class="mousebutton">Click</span> on the icon to
<span class="emphasis"><em>unmount</em></span> the removable device.
</p></li></ol></div></div></div></div><div id="footer"><div class="navCenter"><table class="navigation"><tr><td class="prevCell"><a accesskey="p" href="proprietary.html">Prev</a></td><td class="upCell"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a></td><td class="nextCell"><a accesskey="n" href="laptops.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td class="prevCell">Proprietary Devices </td><td class="upCell"> </td><td class="nextCell"> Laptops</td></tr></table></div><div id="footer_text"><br><a href="mailto:ubuntu-docs@lists.ubuntu.com" class="footer_email">
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