John Ogle
330cd6f92b
- Add comprehensive BOOT_EXPANSION_PLAN.md with step-by-step instructions for safely expanding /boot from 100MB to 1GB - Temporarily reduce configurationLimit to 1 to resolve immediate /boot space crisis - Plan supports 20 generations (configurationLimit = 20) after expansion - Uses safe approach: shrink /games partition, create new EFI partition - Includes full recovery context and troubleshooting information 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
284 lines
8.0 KiB
Markdown
284 lines
8.0 KiB
Markdown
# NixOS /boot Partition Expansion Plan
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## CRITICAL CONTEXT & PROBLEM STATEMENT
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**System:** `zix790prors` - Dual-boot Windows 11 + NixOS on Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB
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**Problem:** Current /boot partition (/dev/nvme0n1p1) is only 100MB, insufficient for multiple NixOS generations
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**Goal:** Create 1GB /boot partition to support 20+ NixOS generations (~38MB each)
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**Current Partition Layout:**
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```
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Device Start End Sectors Size Type
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/dev/nvme0n1p1 2048 206847 204800 100M EFI System (/boot)
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/dev/nvme0n1p2 206848 239615 32768 16M Microsoft reserved
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/dev/nvme0n1p3 239616 1953316863 1953077248 931.3G Microsoft basic data (Windows)
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/dev/nvme0n1p6 1953316864 3906394111 1953077248 931.3G Linux filesystem (/nix/store)
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/dev/nvme0n1p5 3906394112 7812548607 3906154496 1.8T Linux filesystem (/games - btrfs)
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/dev/nvme0n1p4 7812548608 7814031359 1482752 724M Windows recovery environment
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```
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**Strategy:** Shrink /games partition (p5) by 1GB and create new 1GB EFI partition
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---
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## PLAN A: DETAILED STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
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### PREREQUISITES
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1. **Boot from NixOS live USB** (build with `./build-liveusb.sh`)
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2. **Have Windows recovery media ready** (just in case)
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3. **Backup important data** (though this shouldn't affect user data)
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### PHASE 1: PREPARATION & BACKUP
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```bash
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# 1. Connect to internet
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sudo systemctl start wpa_supplicant
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# OR for ethernet: sudo systemctl start dhcpcd
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# 2. Mount current filesystems
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sudo mkdir -p /mnt/{boot,nix,games}
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p6 /mnt/nix
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p5 /mnt/games
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# 3. Backup current /boot contents
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sudo mkdir -p /tmp/boot-backup
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sudo cp -a /mnt/boot/* /tmp/boot-backup/
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sudo ls -la /tmp/boot-backup/ # Verify backup
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# 4. Record current UUIDs for later
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sudo blkid /dev/nvme0n1p1 > /tmp/original-boot-uuid.txt
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cat /tmp/original-boot-uuid.txt
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```
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### PHASE 2: SHRINK /games PARTITION
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```bash
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# 1. Check /games filesystem
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sudo btrfs filesystem show /mnt/games
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sudo btrfs filesystem usage /mnt/games
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# 2. Shrink btrfs filesystem first (by 1.1GB for safety margin)
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sudo btrfs filesystem resize -1200M /mnt/games
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# 3. Verify shrink was successful
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sudo btrfs filesystem usage /mnt/games
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# 4. Unmount to resize partition
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sudo umount /mnt/games
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# 5. Note current partition end sector
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sudo fdisk -l /dev/nvme0n1 | grep nvme0n1p5
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# Current: 3906394112 7812548607 (note the END: 7812548607)
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# 6. Calculate new end sector (subtract ~2M sectors for 1GB)
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# New end should be approximately: 7812548607 - 2097152 = 7810451455
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```
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### PHASE 3: RESIZE PARTITIONS
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```bash
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# 1. Use parted to resize /games partition
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sudo parted /dev/nvme0n1
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# In parted shell:
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print # Show current layout
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resizepart 5 7810451455 # Resize partition 5 to new end
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print # Verify the change
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quit
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# 2. Verify partition table
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sudo fdisk -l /dev/nvme0n1
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```
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### PHASE 4: CREATE NEW 1GB EFI PARTITION
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```bash
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# 1. Create new partition in freed space
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sudo parted /dev/nvme0n1
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# In parted shell:
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print free # Show free space
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mkpart primary fat32 7810451456 7812548607 # Create new partition
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set 7 esp on # Set ESP flag (assuming it becomes p7)
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print # Verify
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quit
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# 2. Format new partition as FAT32
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sudo mkfs.fat -F32 -n "NIXBOOT" /dev/nvme0n1p7
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# 3. Get new partition UUID
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sudo blkid /dev/nvme0n1p7
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```
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### PHASE 5: COPY BOOT CONTENTS
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```bash
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# 1. Mount new boot partition
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sudo mkdir -p /mnt/new-boot
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p7 /mnt/new-boot
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# 2. Copy all boot contents
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sudo cp -a /tmp/boot-backup/* /mnt/new-boot/
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# 3. Verify copy
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sudo ls -la /mnt/new-boot/
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sudo du -sh /mnt/new-boot/*
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```
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### PHASE 6: UPDATE CONFIGURATION
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```bash
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# 1. Mount root filesystem
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p6 /mnt/nix
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p6 /mnt # For nixos-enter
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# 2. Mount other needed filesystems for chroot
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sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
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sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
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sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p7 /mnt/boot # Mount NEW boot partition
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# 3. Enter NixOS environment
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sudo nixos-enter
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# 4. Inside chroot - update hardware configuration
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# Edit /etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix or check current fstab
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NEW_UUID=$(blkid /dev/nvme0n1p7 | grep -o 'UUID="[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f2)
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echo "New boot UUID: $NEW_UUID"
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# 5. Update boot partition UUID in configuration
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# This step depends on your current setup - likely in hardware-configuration.nix
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```
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### PHASE 7: REGENERATE BOOTLOADER
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```bash
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# Still in nixos-enter chroot:
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# 1. Rebuild bootloader configuration
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nixos-rebuild switch --install-bootloader
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# 2. Exit chroot
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exit
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# 3. Update EFI boot variables (if needed)
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sudo efibootmgr -v # Check current entries
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```
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### PHASE 8: VERIFICATION & CLEANUP
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```bash
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# 1. Unmount everything
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sudo umount /mnt/new-boot
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sudo umount /mnt/boot
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sudo umount /mnt/nix
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sudo umount /mnt/games
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# 2. Remount /games with new partition size
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sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p5 /mnt/games
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sudo btrfs filesystem resize max /mnt/games # Expand btrfs to use available space
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# 3. Final verification
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sudo fdisk -l /dev/nvme0n1
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sudo lsblk
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```
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### PHASE 9: TEST BOOT
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```bash
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# 1. Reboot and test
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sudo reboot
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# 2. After successful boot, update NixOS config
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# Change configurationLimit to 20 (perfect for 1GB /boot)
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# In /home/johno/nixos-configs/machines/zix790prors/configuration.nix:
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# boot.loader.systemd-boot.configurationLimit = 20;
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# 3. Test rebuild
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sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#zix790prors
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```
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---
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## PLAN B: TROUBLESHOOTING & CONTEXT FOR ADDITIONAL HELP
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### IF THINGS GO WRONG
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**Scenario 1: System won't boot**
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- Boot from live USB
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- Mount old boot partition: `sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot`
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- Check if bootloader entries exist: `ls /mnt/boot/loader/entries/`
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- Regenerate from live USB using `nixos-install` with `--root /mnt`
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**Scenario 2: Partition operations fail**
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- **STOP IMMEDIATELY**
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- Document exact error message
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- Use `sudo fdisk -l` and `sudo parted /dev/nvme0n1 print` to check current state
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- Do NOT proceed without understanding the error
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**Scenario 3: Btrfs resize fails**
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- Check available space: `sudo btrfs filesystem usage /mnt/games`
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- May need to balance first: `sudo btrfs balance start /mnt/games`
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- Or defragment: `sudo btrfs filesystem defragment -r /mnt/games`
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### RECOVERY INFORMATION
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**Original partition layout (before changes):**
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```
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/dev/nvme0n1p1: 100M EFI (/boot) - sectors 2048-206847
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/dev/nvme0n1p5: 1.8T btrfs (/games) - sectors 3906394112-7812548607
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```
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**Key files to check:**
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- `/etc/fstab` - filesystem mount configuration
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- `/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix` - NixOS hardware config
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- `/boot/loader/loader.conf` - systemd-boot config
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**Important UUIDs (save these before starting):**
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```bash
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# Run these BEFORE making changes:
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sudo blkid /dev/nvme0n1p1 # Current boot partition
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sudo blkid /dev/nvme0n1p5 # Games partition
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sudo blkid /dev/nvme0n1p6 # Nix store partition
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```
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**Emergency boot options:**
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- Boot from Windows (should be unaffected)
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- Boot from NixOS live USB
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- Use systemd-boot menu to select older generation (if available)
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### ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES IF PLAN A FAILS
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1. **Expand into Microsoft reserved instead** (lower risk, less space)
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2. **Use external USB for /boot** (temporary solution)
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3. **Recreate partition table** (nuclear option, requires full backup)
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---
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## TECHNICAL DETAILS FOR CLAUDE CODE ASSISTANCE
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**Repository:** `/home/johno/nixos-configs` - NixOS flake-based configuration
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**Machine config:** `machines/zix790prors/configuration.nix`
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**Current configurationLimit:** 1 (temporarily reduced from 2)
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**Target configurationLimit:** 20 (requires ~1GB /boot)
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**Key commands for status checking:**
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```bash
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# Partition info
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sudo fdisk -l /dev/nvme0n1
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sudo parted /dev/nvme0n1 print free
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sudo lsblk
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# Filesystem info
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sudo btrfs filesystem show
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sudo btrfs filesystem usage /games
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df -h /boot
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# Boot info
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sudo efibootmgr -v
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ls -la /boot/loader/entries/
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```
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**This document created:** 2025-10-02 by Claude Code
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**Hardware:** Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB, NixOS + Windows 11 dual boot |