How to Easily Make a GParted Live USB Bootable Drive

Easily Create a GParted Live USB flash drive from Windows using YUMI to perform the task. A popular graphical partition editor headed by Curtis Gedak, this free and powerful open source USB partition tool can be used to create, reorganize, and or delete disk partitions. Other notable features include the ability to create multiple partitions, enable or disable the boot flag, resize a partition, format a drive, and more.

GParted Live Running on a USB Flash Drive

Distribution Website: Project Home Page
Author: Curtis Gedak
Persistent Feature: No (not necessary)

GParted Free Open Source GNOME Partition Editor

GParted is a free open source partition editor software used for graphically managing and manipulating hard drive partitions. It stands for "GNOME Partition Editor" and is part of the GNOME desktop environment. This powerful tool is often used by IT professionals, system administrators, and home users for managing partitions.

Available for Linux, Windows, and macOS, it can be used to quickly create, resize, delete, move, and copy partitions without data loss. It supports a variety of file systems, including NTFS, FAT16/FAT32, ext2, ext3, ext4, hfs/hfs+, linux-swap, reiserfs/4, ufs, xfs, and many more file systems. It can also detect RAID devices.

The software UI is intuitive and very user-friendly. Novice and experienced users should have no problem navigating and using it. It can also be run as a live USB, which allows you to use the software without installing it on a computer. It is often included in Linux distributions but can also be downloaded as a stand-alone ISO file from the official website.

Key Features of GParted

This popular Free USB partition tool is most commonly used for the following tasks:

Create Partitions: Easily create new partitions on your disk.
Resize Partitions: Resize existing partitions without losing data.
Delete Partitions: Safely remove partitions that are no longer needed.
Move Partitions: Reorganize partitions for better disk usage.
Format Drives: Format partitions with a variety of file systems, including NTFS, FAT, ext4, and more.
Manage Boot Flags: Enable or disable the boot flag for partitions.
Clone Partitions: Duplicate partitions for backup or migration purposes.

Prerequisites to make a GParted Live USB

Windows, Linux or macOS
Fast SSD USB drive
GParted ISO file
YUMI Multiboot Windows USB Booter (or by using DD in Linux/macOS)

How to Create a GParted Live USB from Windows

To create a GParted Live USB from within Windows:

Download and run YUMI Windows USB Booter
(1) Choose your USB flash drive.
(2) Select * GParted (Partition Tools) from the list.
(3) Browse to your ISO file and then click Create.
Reboot your PC and set your system BIOS or Boot Menu to boot from the USB device, save your changes and reboot booting from the memory stick.

Note: You can now use WINE to run YUMI from Linux. * If "GParted" does not exist in the distribution dropdown list, use the "Try unlisted ISO" option, instead.

How to Make a GParted Bootable USB from Linux

WARNING: The following dd method will wipe your chosen drive clean. It essentially overwrites the contents with that of the ISO file. Before proceeding, make sure you don't have anything left on the flash drive that you want to keep. And make sure to use the right device letter.

To create a GParted bootable USB from within Linux (Ubuntu was used for this test),

Insert a USB flash drive into your PC.
Download GParted Live ISO and move it to your Desktop.
Open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T)
To find your USB device, type the following and press enter.
```
sudo fdisk -l
```
Make note of which device belongs to your USB drive. For example /dev/sdX.
Type the following command to change your current directory to Desktop.
```
cd Desktop
```
Type the following command replacing X with your actual USB device letter from step 4.
```
sudo dd if=gparted-live*.iso of=/dev/sdX status=progress
```
Reboot your PC and set your BIOS or Boot Menu to boot from your USB drive.

Upon reboot, you should successfully be up and running GParted from your USB flash memory stick.

How to Put GParted on USB from macOS

To put GParted on USB from macOS, follow these steps:

Insert your USB flash drive into your Mac.
Download the GParted Live ISO from the website.
Open the Terminal on macOS.
Use the following command to identify your USB drive:
```
diskutil list
```
Unmount the USB device (replace "X" with your USB drive identifier, e.g., /dev/disk2):
```
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
```
Write the GParted ISO to the USB drive using the `dd` command (replace "X" with your USB identifier):
```
sudo dd if=/path/to/gparted-live.iso of=/dev/rdiskX bs=1m
```
Once the process is complete, eject the USB drive with:
```
diskutil eject /dev/diskX
```
Reboot your Mac and hold the Option key to select the USB drive as the boot device.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is GParted, and why would I use it?: GParted (GNOME Partition Editor) is a powerful, open-source tool used to manage disk partitions. It allows you to resize, delete, move, or create partitions without data loss. You might use it if you need to reorganize or format partitions on your hard drive or external storage devices.
What file systems are supported by GParted?: GParted supports a wide range of file systems, including NTFS, FAT16/FAT32, ext2, ext3, ext4, HFS/HFS+, Linux-swap, ReiserFS/4, UFS, XFS, and others.
How to check my selected drive before making the GParted Live USB?: It's important to double check the device name (e.g., /dev/sdX) using fdisk (on Linux) or through the YUMI interface (on Windows) to ensure that you're selecting the correct USB drive. Choosing the wrong drive can result in unrecoverable data loss.
Can I use a USB drive with a persistent partition?: You could technically create a persistent partition on your USB if you need to save settings or data across sessions. However, persistence is typically not necessary for USB partitioning tools.

Troubleshooting Tips

My system doesn't boot from the USB drive after following the steps.

Ensure the boot order in your BIOS or UEFI settings is configured to boot from the USB device first.
If using a legacy BIOS, check if the system supports booting from a USB device.
Try using a different USB port or a different USB drive to rule out hardware issues.

GParted doesn't appear in YUMI's distribution list.

If GParted is not listed in the YUMI dropdown, choose the Try unlisted ISO option and manually browse to your downloaded GParted Live ISO.
Ensure you have the correct ISO file downloaded, and that it's not corrupted.

The dd command in Linux is failing or taking too long.

Double check that you've selected the correct device letter ('/dev/sdX') in the dd command.
Make sure the ISO file is not corrupted, and try using the status=progress option to monitor the progress.
If the process is extremely slow, try a faster USB drive or port (USB 3.0 or higher recommended).

The USB drive becomes unreadable or unusable after creating the GParted Live USB.

This is expected if you've used the dd method, as it completely overwrites the contents of the USB drive.
You can format the USB drive again using any partition tool or operating system to make it usable for other purposes.

I can't find the GParted ISO file after downloading it.

Check your browser's download folder or settings to locate the ISO file.
You can also use your system’s search functionality to find it on your computer.
Make sure you've downloaded the correct file for creating the bootable USB (i.e., a '.iso' file).

GParted Live USB is not detecting my hard drive or partition.

Ensure that the hard drive is properly connected and recognized by the system’s BIOS/UEFI.
If you're using RAID or special configurations, check if GParted supports your device by reviewing the list of supported systems on the official website.
Sometimes, you may need to update the version of your GParted Live USB in order to support newer hardware.