I was wondering if it is possible to convert my boot system from xfs to ext4. If it is possible, how do I do so?
3 Answers
You can do this using fstransform, which is a tool to convert a filesystem type into another:
fstransform /dev/sda1 ext4
Currently it supports all main Linux filesystems i.e. ext2, ext3, ext4, jfs, ntfs, reiserfs, xfs.
-
If I execute this one then possibility to data loss ? If not then this is safe ? Sep 14, 2017 at 9:42
-
There is always the possibility of data loss. Backup the data you cannot risk to lose. See the readme.md on GitHub.– dr_Sep 19, 2017 at 11:29
There is an old post on serverfault.com, hope you will find your answer here:
changing filesystem format from xfs to ext4 without losing data
To quote the top answer:
i am unaware of any way to non-destructively convert a file system. this does not mean it is impossible, but i would put it at very low odds.
you can, for example, convert from ext2 to ext3 without wiping the disk, and from ext3 to ext4.
but to go from something like jfs to ext4 seems highly improbable, without first copying your
/home
files to another partition or external hard disk.even then, you would want to create a new user on your system, with a home directory somewhere like
/tmp/tempuser
or copy your configurations for your user, usually the 'dot' files (files beginning with .) in your home directory to a new location off /home and updating/etc/passwd
to use the new home directory, so you can log in as a normal user while you're performing this update.then, back up your files, unmount
/home
and format it using/sbin/mkfs.ext4
or whatever tool you plan to use. mount the fresh partition at /home and copy your files back.also, i would recommend something 'intelligent' like
rsync
to copy your files, to assure you preserve your permissions and all that jazz.
Used fdisk to convert it.
fdisk /dev/sdb
Enter d (to delete a partition)
now fdisk /dev/sdb and create a partition
mkfs -t <filesystem_new> /dev/sdb
NOTE: This will result in data loss as we are deleting.