GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 608308
fix documentation - Copying and Pasting a Partition
Last modified: 2012-02-22 00:53:54 UTC
in http://gparted.sourceforge.net/docs/help-manual/C/gparted_manual.html under "Copying and Pasting a Partition" it is unclear whether the duplicate partition problem which gparted creates is something which gparted should solve as a default option in gparted, (hint, hint) or whether this is only a problem on next boot or only a problem on next rescan. documentation isn't specific enough as to where the problem lies. And wouldn't it be better to fix the problem anyway? you don't say *how* to change the UUID of the partition or how to change the label of the partition. please explain how with at least 1 example for each. please do the same with the next item. by the way, when you say "label", a windows user thinks "title of a disk" (since in the UNIX world a label is something totally different, and I forget what it is). I don't think that is what you are trying to get across. since UNIX and windows and MAC filesystems are being thrown around, I suggest you use more descriptive language. it saves people from using glossaries, and it usually works out better if done right. for example, if by label you mean title of a disk just say "label (meaning title of a disk)".
This report is related to bug #608310.
Updated doc URI: http://gparted.sourceforge.net/display-doc.php?name=help-manual&lang=C#gparted-partitions The existing documentation is clear to someone who already knows the details of how disk partitions and filesystems work but not to the average user. It would be helpful to add a link to a discussion of the effects and remedies, like this Ubuntu bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gparted/+bug/737387
Thank you Jim and Steve for your suggestions for improving the documentation. An enhancement to address these concerns has been committed to the Gnome git repository for inclusion in the next release of GParted. The relevant git commit can be viewed at the following link: http://git.gnome.org/browse/gparted/commit/?id=c304afe9949a2b2a7cce03cb630f7586151ec35d The important updates are that links to how to change the UUID and the label of a partition have been added to the documentation. A description of the problem that occurs when duplicate UUIDs or labels exist has also been added. The terminology for a partition label has not been changed. At the moment partition label is the best terminology I can find that can mutually apply to Windows, Mac OS, and GNU/Linux. This is also in keeping with the same terminology as it is used throughout the document. The example of "label (meaning title of a disk)" is often not accurate even in the Windows world. This is because the terminology of a drive letter in Windows actually points to a partition, and multiple partitions can be set up on a single physical disk drive. In the GNU/Linux world, a "disk label" is actually a partition table so this terminology does not work here either.
The ability to set a new UUID has been added to GParted. See Bug #667278 - Add support for setting UUID As part of this enhancement, the help manual was updated. This enhancement has been included in GParted 0.12.0 released on February, 21, 2012.