Free Tool To Resize A Partition
I recently wanted to resize an existing Windows NTFS partition to install Kubuntu Linux on a laptop. The problem I was running into was I didn’t want to pay $50 for Partition Magic or some other software for maybe 2 uses.
Back up anything you want to keep. Never trust any partitioning software to maintain your data.
The solution I found was to use qtpartedon a bootable KnoppixLinux distribution.
First thing is to download and create a Knoppix CD to boot from. If you don’t have software to burn the .iso to disk, just Google free windows burning software.
Once the disk is burned, restart the computer and boot to the CD.
Follow the instructions on the splash page to start Knoppix.
After Knoppix has started, start qtparted by choosing the Knoppix icon->System->qtparted.
Starting Qtparted
When Qtparted starts there will be a listing of drives in the left.
Listing Of Drives
hda should be the primary hard drive, assuming there is one hard drive in the system. The drive name can vary depending on the system. Once the correct drive is chosen, the details window will show a partition of Type NTFS with a Windows icon next to it.
hda Selected With NTFS Partition
Select the NTFS partition, right-click on it, choose Re-size. The re-size window will come up allowing changes to be made either by dragging the right side of the bar representing the partition or manually entering the sizes.
Options For Re-sizing The Partition
The details screen will show the changes after sizing the partition and selecting OK.
Showing Resized Partition
The changes must be committed to take affect. This is done by choosing File -> Commit.
Commit Finished
Shut down Knoppix. Remove the Knoppix disk. Restart the PC. Once Windows starts up it might want to run Scandisk. After that was done, use the Windows Disk Management to verify the free partition space.
Windows Disk Management Showing Free Space
Installing Acrobat Reader for Ubuntu Linux
I recently ugraded the version 7.04 of Ubuntu Linux. One of the problems I came across was that the Adobe Acrobat Reader was uninstalled when I told the upgrade to uninstall applications that were no longer supported by Ubuntu. The previous version I had used the Add/Remove Applications to do the installation. This was no longer an option with 7.04. These are the steps I took to install the version of Acrobat Reader that is available from their site.
- Go went to Adobe.com and downloaded the .tar.gz version, instead of the .rpm one.
- Using the File Browser, navigate to where the download exists. If the download location preferences have not been changed in Firefox the default location is the desktop.
- Double clicking on the AdobeReader_enu-(followed version info).tar.gz file will automatically launch File Roller (if your using Gnome) or something similar.
- Extract the AdobeReader folder to someplace that can be easily remembered.
Tip: clicking on the pencil and paper icon in the upper left portion of the File Browser will change the path between text and button based location bar.
Paper and Pencil Icon That
Changes the Location Bar - Open a shell by going to Application ->System Tools->Konsole
- Use the su command and type in the root password to change to that user.
- Change directories to the location of the uncompressed AdobeReader folder. ex: cd /home/yourHome/downloads/AdobeReader
- Run the install file by typing sh INSTALL
- A series of questions like the End User License and where to install the program will be asked. I chose the default by pressing Enter when asked where to install.
- After the browser install is done, the installation will ask if you want to do a manual install. I chose no for this. I didn’t see a need for it.
It seems a bit lengthy, but it was relatively easy. The only problem that might be encountered is the INSTALL file is not executable. This is fixed by doing a chmod 755 filename.
Installing GIMP for Windows
GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring. It works on many operating systems, in many languages.
Because I don’t use Linux as my primary operating system, shame on me 
, I needed to install it on my Windows machine.
- Go to the GIMP for Windows site and download the latest stable version of GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment and GIMP for Windows. I find if you choose to “Select a different mirror” and choose “Auto select” the downloads tend to be faster.
- The downloaded files are zipped and will need to be extracted. Where doesn’t matter as long as you remember where you put them. I use WinRAR, but Windows comes with an unzipping tool built in.
- Install GTK+ 2 first. The installation has the usual acceptance of the license agreement, selecting destination location (I usually keep the default).
I want to have translations into local languages, no particular reason. Otherwise uncheck the Translations option.
The ready to install screen will come up describing what is being installed. Choose “Install”. Finish the installation by choosing “Finish”.
- Time for GIMP. Open the extracted GIMP setup executable. The installation is similar to GTK+ 2 in that there is the accepting the license agreement and selecting where to do the installation.
Again, I am doing the full installation because it only takes up 32 MB of drive space, which is nothing really. The only component I would consider optional is the Translation.
Because I have other programs I prefer to use for viewing files I chose not to associate any file types. If GIMP is going to be the primary graphics editing and viewing programs, then either “Select All” or individual image file types from the list. Worldstart lists some image file types as well as their strengths and weaknesses if your interested.
- When it comes to “Select Start Menu Folder”, I go with the default.
- Lastly before the installation page, the “Select Additional Tasks” screen offers to put an icon on the desktop and quick launch areas. Personally I like an uncluttered screen. I unchecked these.
- Select “Install” on the “Ready to Install” screen.
The GIMP installation is done. Start GIMPin’.