Can't Extend Zorin Partition – Unallocated Space Blocked by EFI

[hasban]

Hello,

I have Windows 11 and Zorin OS installed as a dual boot. Windows 11 is installed on an SSD, while Zorin OS is installed on a 200 GB partition on my HDD.

I wanted to allocate more space to Zorin OS, so I used Windows Disk Management to shrink a volume and created 300 GB of unallocated space. This unallocated space now shows up correctly in GParted.

However, I can’t extend the Zorin OS partition (probably /dev/sda3). In GParted, when I try to resize it, the minimum and maximum sizes are the same — so it seems I can’t expand it.

I’m using Zorin OS 17.1 Pro. The disk is GPT partitioned, and there's only one HDD. From what I can see, there’s a small EFI partition between the Zorin partition and the unallocated space.

In this case, do I need to use GParted Live USB to move the EFI partition and then extend /dev/sda3? How can I do this safely, without data loss?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Aravisian]

You can see in the partition manager that your ext4 partition, Zorin OS, is not adjacent to the Free Space.
The EFI system partition sits in between them, blocking your resizing.

To resolve this, you would need to move a partition entirely, not just resize. This means creating a new partition, writing that data you are moving to it, then deleting the old partition. Given that is your EFI system partition, I would consider it the riskiest to move...

[hasban]

Thank you very much for your detailed explanation and advice!

After considering the risks involved with moving the EFI partition, I’ve decided to go with a clean reinstall of Zorin OS. It seems like the safest and most straightforward option for my situation.

Really appreciate your help!