NTFSRESIZE(8)                                     NTFSRESIZE(8)





NAME
       ntfsresize - resize an NTFS filesystem without data loss

SYNOPSIS
       ntfsresize [OPTIONS] --info device
       ntfsresize [OPTIONS] [--size size[k|M|G]] device

DESCRIPTION
       The ntfsresize program non-destructively resizes Windows
       XP/2000/NT4,  Windows  Server 2003 or Longhorn Beta NTFS
       filesystems. It can be used to  shrink  or  enlarge  any
       NTFS  filesystem located on an unmounted device (usually
       a disk partition). The new  filesystem  will  have  size
       bytes.   The size parameter may have one of the optional
       modifiers k, M, G, which means  the  size  parameter  is
       given  in kilo-, mega- or gigabytes respectively.  ntfs-
       resize conforms to the SI, ATA, IEEE standards  and  the
       disk manufacturers by using k=10^3, M=10^6 and G=10^9.

       If  both  --info  and  --size  are omitted then the NTFS
       filesystem will be enlarged  to  the  underlying  device
       size.

       The  ntfsresize  program  doesn't manipulate the size of
       partitions.  To do that you have to use  a  disk  parti-
       tioning tool, for example fdisk(8).

       IMPORTANT!   Generally it's a good practice making regu-
       lar backups of your  valuable  data,  especially  before
       using  any  partitioning  tools.  To do so for NTFS, you
       could use ntfsclone(8).  It's also included in the  ntf-
       sprogs(8) package.

SHRINKAGE
       If you wish to shrink an NTFS partition, first use ntfs-
       resize to shrink the size of the  filesystem.  Then  you
       may  use fdisk(8) to shrink the size of the partition by
       deleting  the  partition  and  recreating  it  with  the
       smaller size.  But be careful, do not make the partition
       smaller than the new size of the NTFS filesystem  other-
       wise  you  won't be able to boot and you might lose your
       data.

ENLARGEMENT
       To enlarge an NTFS filesystem, first  you  must  enlarge
       the  size  of the underlying partition. This can be done
       using fdisk(8) by deleting the partition and  recreating
       it  with  a  larger size.  Make sure it will not overlap
       with an other existing partition.   Then   you  may  use
       ntfsresize to enlarge the size of the filesystem.

PARTITIONING
       When  recreating  the  partition  by a disk partitioning
       tool, make sure you create it  with  the  same  starting
       disk  cylinder  (sector)  and  partition type as before.
       Otherwise you may lose your entire filesystem.

       Also make sure you set the bootable flag for the  parti-
       tion  if  it  existed before. Failing to do so you might
       not be able to boot your computer from the disk.

OPTIONS
       Below is a summary of all the  options  that  ntfsresize
       accepts.  All  options  have  two  equivalent names. The
       short name is preceded by - and the long  name  is  pre-
       ceded by --.  Any single letter options, that don't take
       an argument, can be combined into a single command, e.g.
       -fi is equivalent to -f -i.

       -i, --info
              By  using  this  option ntfsresize will determine
              the theoretically  smallest  shrunken  filesystem
              size  supported.  Most  of the time the result is
              the space already used on the filesystem. Ntfsre-
              size will refuse shrinking to a smaller size than
              what you got by this option and depending on sev-
              eral  factors  it  might be unable to shrink very
              close to  this  theoretical  size.  Although  the
              integrity  of  your data should be never in risk,
              it's still strongly recommended to  make  a  test
              run  by  using the --no-action option before real
              resizing.

              Practically the smallest shrunken size  generally
              is  at  around "used space" + (20-200 MB). Please
              also take into account that  Windows  might  need
              about 50-100 MB free space left to boot safely.

              This  option  never  causes  any  changes  to the
              filesystem, the partition is opened read-only.

       -s, --size size[k|M|G]
              Resize  filesystem  to  size[k|M|G]  bytes.   The
              optional  modifiers k, M, G mean the size parame-
              ter is given in kilo-, mega- or gigabytes respec-
              tively.   Conforming to standards, k=10^3, M=10^6
              and G=10^9.  Use  this  option  with  --no-action
              first.

       -f, --force
              Forces  ntfsresize  to  proceed  with  the resize
              operation if the filesystem is marked "dirty" for
              consistency check.

              Please note, ntfsresize always marks the filesys-
              tem "dirty" before a real resize operation and it
              leaves  that  way  for extra safety. Thus if NTFS
              was marked by ntfsresize then it's  safe  to  use
              this  option. If you need to resize several times
              without booting into Windows between each  resiz-
              ing steps then you must use this option.

       -n, --no-action
              Use  this  option to make a test run before doing
              the real resize operation.  Volume will be opened
              read-only  and  ntfsresize displays what it would
              do if it were to resize the filesystem.  Continue
              with  the  real  resizing  only  if  the test run
              passed.

       -P, --no-progress-bar
              Don't show progress bars.

       -v, --verbose
              More output.

       -h, --help
              Display help and exit.

EXIT CODES
       The exit code is 0 on success, non-zero otherwise.

KNOWN ISSUES
       No reliability problems are known or has been  reported.
       If  you  need  help  please try the ntfsresize FAQ first
       (see below) and if you don't find your answer then  send
       your  question,  comment  or  bug report to <linux-ntfs-
       dev@lists.sourceforge.net>.  No subscription  is  needed
       but  the  mailing list is moderated and it can take some
       time to approve your post.

       There are some very rarely met limitations  at  present:
       filesystems having bad sectors, highly fragmented Master
       File Table (MFT), relocation of the first MFT extent and
       resizing  in  the  middle of some metadata in some cases
       aren't supported  yet.  These  cases  are  detected  and
       resizing  is  refused,  restricted to a safe size or the
       closest safe size is displayed.

       ntfsresize schedules an NTFS consistency check and after
       the  first boot into Windows you must see chkdsk running
       on a blue background. This is intentional.  Windows  may
       force a quick reboot after the consistency check.  More-
       over after repartitioning your disk and depending on the
       hardware  configuration, the Windows message System Set-
       tings Change may also appear. Just  acknowledge  it  and
       reboot again.

AUTHOR
       ntfsresize  has  been  written  by  Szabolcs  Szakacsits
       <szaka@sienet.hu>.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
       Many thanks to Anton Altaparmakov and Richard Russon for
       libntfs,  the  excellent  documentation and comments, to
       Gergely Madarasz, Dewey M. Sasser and Miguel Lastra  and
       his  colleagues  at  the University of Granada for their
       continuous and highly valuable help, furthermore to Erik
       Meade,  Martin  Fick,  Sandro  Hawke, Dave Croal, Lorrin
       Nelson, Geert Hendrickx,  Robert  Bjorkman  and  Richard
       Burdick  for  beta  testing  and  to Theodore Ts'o whose
       resize2fs(8) man page formed the basis of this page.

AVAILABILITY
       ntfsresize is part of the ntfsprogs(8)  package  and  is
       available   from  http://linux-ntfs.sourceforge.net/  as
       source and precompiled binary.  ntfsresize related news,
       example  of  usage,  troubleshooting,  statically linked
       binary and FAQ (frequently  asked  questions)  is  main-
       tained at
       http://mlf.linux.rulez.org/mlf/ezaz/ntfsresize.html

SEE ALSO
       fdisk(8),  cfdisk(8),  sfdisk(8),  parted(8), mkntfs(8),
       ntfsclone(8), ntfsprogs(8)




ntfsprogs version 1.9.0     Mar 2004              NTFSRESIZE(8)
