Bug#239208: Sarge beta 3: Error when using installer to resize partition

[Anton Zinoviev <anton@lml.bas.bg>]

Hi!

Thanks a lot for your installation report.

On 21.III.2004 at 15:56 you wrote:
>
> I get an dialog stating:
> 
> "Before the resize operation takes place, the changes have to be written
> to the storage devices.
> 
> This is a strange dialog because I am not changing a partition table I am
> changing the suggestion done by the installer. But since the disk is empty
> I select Yes to proceed.
>
> Expected behaviour: No write to disk (and thus no dialog).

Currently the operation for changing the size of a partition resizes a
real partition that already exists on the disk.  You are right that
resizing of newly created partitions that do not contain any file
system yet should not require the changes to be written.  ("changes"
here means the changes made by the automatical partitioning.)
You will receive a notification when this problem is fixed.

> I continue an change the size value into "512 MB" and select Continue.

You discovered a bug in the partitioner -- it had to check that 512mb
is more than the maximal allowed value.

> What appears to happen is the installer tries to extend the 214 MB swap
> partition to 512 MB which of course exceeds the disk size.

Exactly.

> Expected behaviour: The installer shrinks the root partition with 512 -
> 214 MB and increases the size of the swap to 512.

This is not easy to be implemented.  Meanwhile the user is expected
first to shrink the root partition, second to remove the existing swap
partition and third to create a new swap partition in the free space.
The resizing always preserves the start of the partition.

> Note: I applaud the efforts to create a user friendly partitioning systems
> as is present in most other modern distros, but when you do this it can't
> be just a wrapper around cfdisk, it has to be as flexibel as say Partition
> Magic.

We are open for any suggestions.

Anton Zinoviev