How to create a partition size larger than 2 TB on linux
Hard disks larger than 2 TB are now common. However, fdisk cannot manage partitions on disks larger than 2 TB because it supports only the now-outdated MBR partitioning format. We need a tool supporting the Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT), which supports disks larger than 2 TB.
Many partitioning tools now support GPT. One I recommend trying is gdisk. It works much like fdisk, but can partition disks larger than 2 TB and create up to 128 partitions.
Install and use gdisk
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Install the EPEL repository first. Find the download URL at RPM repository of RPM add-on packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS.
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Install gdisk with:
[[email protected] ~]# yum install gdisk -
Run gdisk to partition the disk. The example below uses sdb.
[[email protected] ~]# gdisk /dev/sdb GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.4 Partition table scan: MBR: protective BSD: not present APM: not present GPT: present Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT. -
Press o to create a GUID partition table.
Command (? for help): ? b back up GPT data to a file c change a partition's name d delete a partition i show detailed information on a partition l list known partition types n add a new partition o create a new empty GUID partition table (GPT) p print the partition table q quit without saving changes r recovery and transformation options (experts only) s sort partitions t change a partition's type code v verify disk w write table to disk and exit x extra functionality (experts only) ? print this menu Command (? for help): o This option deletes all partitions and creates a new protective MBR. Proceed? (Y/N): y -
Press n to create a partition, followed by 1, then Enter twice to use all space. Press Enter if using Linux; for other uses, press L to view partition types. This example creates only one partition:
Command (? for help): n Partition number (1-128, default 1): 1 First sector (34-19393401950, default = 2048) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: Last sector (2048-19393401950, default = 19393401950) or {+-}size{KMGTP}: Current type is 'Linux filesystem' Hex code or GUID (L to show codes, Enter = 8300): L 0700 Microsoft basic data 0c01 Microsoft reserved 2700 Windows RE 4200 Windows LDM data 4201 Windows LDM metadata 7501 IBM GPFS 7f00 ChromeOS kernel 7f01 ChromeOS root 7f02 ChromeOS reserved 8200 Linux swap 8300 Linux filesystem 8301 Linux reserved 8e00 Linux LVM a500 FreeBSD disklabel a501 FreeBSD boot a502 FreeBSD swap a503 FreeBSD UFS a504 FreeBSD ZFS a505 FreeBSD Vinum/RAID a800 Apple UFS a901 NetBSD swap a902 NetBSD FFS a903 NetBSD LFS a904 NetBSD concatenated a905 NetBSD encrypted a906 NetBSD RAID ab00 Apple boot af00 Apple HFS/HFS+ af01 Apple RAID af02 Apple RAID offline af03 Apple label af04 AppleTV recovery af05 Apple Core Storage be00 Solaris boot bf00 Solaris root bf01 Solaris /usr & Mac Z bf02 Solaris swap bf03 Solaris backup bf04 Solaris /var bf05 Solaris /home bf06 Solaris alternate se bf07 Solaris Reserved 1 bf08 Solaris Reserved 2 bf09 Solaris Reserved 3 bf0a Solaris Reserved 4 bf0b Solaris Reserved 5 c001 HP-UX data c002 HP-UX service ef00 EFI System ef01 MBR partition scheme ef02 BIOS boot partition fd00 Linux RAID Hex code or GUID (L to show codes, Enter = 8300): 8300 Changed type of partition to 'Linux filesystem' -
Press p to inspect the partition you created.
Command (? for help): p Disk /dev/sdb: 19393401984 sectors, 9.0 TiB Logical sector size: 512 bytes Disk identifier (GUID): E7327A36-2410-419C-96F1-4874EE7CAEED Partition table holds up to 128 entries First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 19393401950 Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries Total free space is 2014 sectors (1007.0 KiB) Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name 1 2048 19393401950 9.0 TiB 8300 Linux filesystem -
Press w to save.
Command (? for help): w Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING PARTITIONS!! Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): y OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/emcpowera. The operation has completed successfully. -
Check the partition table again with:
[[email protected] ~]# gdisk -l /dev/sdb GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.4 Partition table scan: MBR: protective BSD: not present APM: not present GPT: present Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT. Disk /dev/sdb: 19393401984 sectors, 9.0 TiB Logical sector size: 512 bytes Disk identifier (GUID): E7327A36-2410-419C-96F1-4874EE7CAEED Partition table holds up to 128 entries First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 19393401950 Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries Total free space is 2014 sectors (1007.0 KiB) Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name 1 2048 19393401950 9.0 TiB 8300 Linux filesystemYou can see that one partition has been added. You can now format it with the filesystem you want.
