I am unable to delete a partition using fdisk
Issue
I am trying to delete a partition called /dev/sdw8 but unable to delete it.
'fdisk -l /dev/sdw' command display:
fdisk -l /dev/sdw
Disk /dev/sdw (Sun disk label): 30 heads, 128 sectors, 54612 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 3840 * 512 bytes
Device Flag Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdw8 u 0 54612 104855040 f Unknown
deleteting the partition /dev/sdw8.
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sdw (Sun disk label): 30 heads, 128 sectors, 54612 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 3840 * 512 bytes
Device Flag Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdw8 u 0 54612 104855040 f Unknown
Command (m for help): d
Selected partition 4
Saving the changes:
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
When I do 'print' the partition /dev/sdw8 it still appears:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sdw (Sun disk label): 30 heads, 128 sectors, 54612 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 3840 * 512 bytes
Device Flag Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdw8 u 0 54612 104855040 f Unknown
root@ls1oracmdr1sb ~]# fdisk -l /dev/sdw8
Disk /dev/sdw8 (Sun disk label): 30 heads, 128 sectors, 54612 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 3840 * 512 bytes
Device Flag Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdw8p8 u 0 54612 104855040 f Unknown
Trying to create a new partition to see if it takes
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (1-8): 1
Other partitions already cover the whole disk.
Delete some/shrink them before retry.
So I am unable to delete the partition. How do I fix this problem.
Environment
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
Subscriber exclusive content
A Red Hat subscription provides unlimited access to our knowledgebase of over 48,000 articles and solutions.
Welcome! Check out the Getting Started with Red Hat page for quick tours and guides for common tasks.
