Cannot unmount primary to re-partition from live USB GParted

[jonsalt1973]

I have one single LVM with Ubuntu MATE installed as my only OS (see pic) which I wish to split into two, one for the OS and one for my data. I have tried to re-partition from the live USB using GParted but am unable to unmount the volume. If I close GParted I can eject/unmount from the file explorer, but then when I open Gparted again the volumes are locked (with the key icon) and have disappeared from the file explorer menu.

I would appreciate any help with this.

Thanks (hopefully) in advance.

[wolfman]

Hi @jonsalt1973,

did you first unmount the 3rd partition (/dev/sda5) and then /dev/sda2 which is the extended partition, both have to be unmounted before you can do anything!.

See also (it may not help because there is no info about LVM partitions!):

GParted partition guide for Linux and Windows users

Linux beginners should also look here: You can only partition on an unmounted drive using an installation disk of your Linux flavour with a partitioning tool included, use the Gparted tool in live mode, or you can download a copy of Gparted from the link below and create your own Gparted disk: http://gparted.org/download.php WARNING BEFORE YOU START TO PARTITION YOUR DRIVE: MAKE SURE YOU DEFRAGMENT YOUR WINDOWS DRIVE BEFORE YOU START RESIZING THE WINDOWS PARTITION AS IT MAY WELL LEAD …

This may also be of some help?:

Install Ubuntu (Mate) using "Something else" method

Hi all, this guide can be used on any Ubuntu based system and is intended for people who have a basic working knowledge of an Ubuntu installation and wish to keep the contents of their home folder after doing a re-install. This guide is also intended for those that already have an existing swap, root and home partition setup!!. If you have not done/never done any pre-partitioning, please see this guide about using Gparted partition editor: See also: https://help.ubuntu.com/community…

[jonsalt1973]

Thanks but that didn’t work for me. I have had to bite the bullet and backup, wipe it all, and start from scratch by partitioning and then a clean install.

[wolfman]

Okay, at least you have it up and running again in the meantime I assume?.

I have marked this thread as solved!.

[jonsalt1973]

Thanks.
Ironically it seems the LVM, which advertises itself in making guided partitioning easier, is the thing that prevents the volumes from being unlocked. I did a clean install without using LVM, and was then able to resize and create partitions at will from the live USB. All good now. I appreciate the help.

[wolfman]

HI @jonsalt1973,

I personally don’t use LVM partitions as I have often had trouble in the past, for the same reason; I don’t use encryption either!.