5.3. Removing a Partition

	Warning
	Do not attempt to remove a partition on a device that is in use.

Before removing a partition, boot into rescue mode (or unmount any partitions on the device and turn off any swap space on the device).

Start parted, where /dev/hda is the device on which to remove the partition:

parted /dev/hda

View the current partition table to determine the minor number of the partition to remove:

print

Remove the partition with the command rm. For example, to remove the partition with minor number 3:

rm 3

The changes start taking place as soon as you press [Enter], so review the command before committing to it.

After removing the partition, use the print command to confirm that it is removed from the partition table. You should also view the output of

cat /proc/partitions

to make sure the kernel knows the partition is removed.

The last step is to remove it from the /etc/fstab file. Find the line that declares the removed partition, and remove it from the file.