looking for a disk partition ("slice") editor

[Chad Perrin]

On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 09:19:40AM -0500, Scott Bennett wrote:
> >
>      Ah, but I do.  My current problem is a case in point.  I have a drive
> that I'm not currently using, but that has stuff on it I don't want to lose
> (e.g., the images of another system).  I want to set it up for use.  I do not
> want to shut everything down just so that I can set it up for use.  Right now
> the nine or ten partitions on it include three or four (I don't remember
> right now) FreeBSD slices.  (The FreeBSD slices are further subdivided into
> FreeBSD partitions, but that is irrelevant because I intend to wipe out
> their contents anyway.)  With the exception of the partitions holding
> backup images of another system, nothing is arranged on that drive the way
> I want it arranged now, so I need to be able to rearrange it without
> disturbing everything else currently running on the system.  There are other
> situations, too, that arise from time to time that I would like to be able
> to deal with and not have to shut down FreeBSD to do that.
>      Anyway, back to my original question for anyone who can help:  does
> anyone know of a disk partition editor that will allow me to manipulate
> the logical partitions, as well as the primary partitions, and that runs
> under FreeBSD?

Perhaps, if there's some *good* reason why we *shouldn't* want to "mess
with slices" while the system is running, someone can explain why.  For
instance -- even if I only have one HDD in the system -- we could assume
a setup like this:

  slice
    / partition
    /etc/ partition
    /usr/ partition
    /var/ partition
  /usr/home/ slice
  C:/ slice for MS Windows primary partition

Why, for the love of Gob and all that's Wholly, shouldn't I be able to
wipe out my MS Windows primary partition, create a BSD slice, and use the
extra space for /usr/local/share/ if I suddenly find I need the space?

I, too, would like to know if a partition/slice tool such as what Scott
seeks exists.  In fact, it would be nice to discover such a tool that not
only handles partitions/slices, but also logical/BSD partitions.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ content licensed PDL: http://pdl.apotheon.org ]
Albert Camus: "An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself."
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