I'm adding a 500GB drive to my (Fedora 8) desktop and want to extend the root file system (journaled ext3) to use the new drive. I've been reading all the FAQs and HOWTOs, and they mention the program ext2online for the final step in the process. But I can't find it anywhere. Is there a package that needs installing?

Reading the man page on resize2fs, it notes: "As of this writing, the Linux 2.6 kernel supports on-line resize for filesystems mounted using ext3 only." Yet when I used the LVM GUI app, it choked at this step, saying it couldn't unmount the root filesystem. That's understandable, but it raises the question: can one use resize2fs from a commandline while running fedora with the root filesystem mounted?

Duane Clark wrote: > Kirk Lowery wrote: >> >> Reading the man page on resize2fs, it notes: "As of this writing, the >> Linux 2.6 kernel supports on-line resize for filesystems mounted >> using ext3 only." Yet when I used the LVM GUI app, it choked at this >> step, saying it couldn't unmount the root filesystem. That's >> understandable, but it raises the question: can one use resize2fs from >> a commandline while running fedora with the root filesystem mounted? > > In a similar situation, I booted from the DVD in "linux rescue" mode. > I found that when it asked whether I wanted it to find and mount > partitions, I needed to hit "skip". If I allowed it to mount the root > partition, I could not unmount it. > > In rescue mode, the vgscan, etc commands are not directly present, but > the executable lvm is, which can do all those things. When you run lvm, > you will get a new prompt, where you type lvm commands. > I was able to resize the mounted filesystem without going into rescue mode. This was a remote system where "hands on" was not available. I exited the GUI with the LV at the desired size. I then did a resize2fs /dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 from the command line as root. It warned me but did it. It took a while. I used up a good amount of Tums but it worked as advertised.