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→Accessing the Windows Partition from Fedora Linux
In the [[Allocating a Windows Disk Partition to Fedora Linux | next chapter]] we will look at the steps necessary to remove a Windows partition from a dual boot configuration and assign that partition to Fedora Linux.
== Manually Partitioning the Disk for Windows/Fedora ==
Before moving on to the next chapter we will quickly look at the steps involved in manually resizing a Windows partition to make room for Fedora in advance of running the installer. The reason for including this information is that it can be helpful to understand what happens behind the scenes of the installer and also to provide an alternative mechanism should the installer fail to perform the resize operation.
Linux includes a powerful disk partitioning tool called ''GParted'' which will need to be installed before it can be used in the live system. To perform the installation, select the ''System->Administration->Add Remove Software'' menu option and wait for the application to start and populate the package list. Enter ''GParted'' into the text field, click ''Find'' and wait for the package to appear in the list. Click the check box next to the package name and initiate the installation.
Once installed, to launch ''GParted'' click on the ''Applications'' desktop menu and from the ''System Tools'' sub-menu, select ''GParted''. Once running, the ''GParted'' main screem will appear displaying a graphical representation of the disk partition layout:
[[Image:fedora_linux_gparted_main.jpg| Fedora GParted displaying Windows Partition]]
The above ''GParted'' session shows a Windows NTFS formatted partition which is taking up most of the available disk space. In order to make space for a Fedora Linux installation the next step is to resize the Windows NTFS partition. The objective is to reduce the size of the Windows partition from the current size of approximately 15Gb to 8Gb. This will create 7Gb of unused space for the Fedora installation. Select the NTFS partition in the ''GParted'' window and click on the ''Resize/Move'' toolbar button to invoke the ''Resize/Move'' dialog:
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[[Image:fedora_gparted_resize.jpg|Fedora Resize Windows Partition]]
Change the ''New Size'' field to 8000 MiB and click on the ''Resize/Move'' button at the bottom of the dialog. The Resize action will then appear in the ''Pending'' panel at the bottom of the main GParted screen and the new space will be displayed in the graphical representation of the disk as ''Unallocated space'':
[[Image:fedora_gparted_resize_pending.jpg]]
To commit the resize click on the ''Apply'' button in the toolbar and confirm the resize in the subsequent warning dialog. The ''Apply pending operation'' dialog will appear and display the progress of the resize. Once the resize is completed successfully, close the dialog and exit ''GParted''.
The disk is now partitioned with the existing Windows installation and unallocated space suitable for the installation of Fedora Linux. Launch the installer as previously outlined and select the ''Use free space'' option when prompted for partitioning information.
