My laptop is Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04 dual boot. How can I assign more SSD space to Ubuntu (i.e. from Windows)?

You can do this safely, but do it in the right order. Below is the recommended, low-risk method for a Windows 11 + Ubuntu 24.04 dual-boot system.

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⚠️ Before you start (important)

1. Back up important files (both Windows and Ubuntu).

2. Turn off Windows Fast Startup

   • Windows Settings → System → Power & sleep → Additional power settings

   • Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings currently unavailable

   • Uncheck “Turn on fast startup”

This prevents filesystem corruption.

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✅ Overview of the process

You will:

1. Shrink the Windows partition (from Windows)

2. Boot into Ubuntu live USB

3. Expand the Ubuntu partition using GParted

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🧩 Step 1: Shrink Windows partition (from Windows)

Never shrink Windows from Linux.

1. Boot into Windows 11

2. Press Win + X → Disk Management

3. Right-click the Windows (C:) partition

4. Choose Shrink Volume

5. Enter how much space to shrink (in MB)

   • Example:

     • 50 GB → 51200

     • 100 GB → 102400

6. Click Shrink

👉 You will now see Unallocated space on the disk.

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🧩 Step 2: Boot Ubuntu Live USB

You cannot resize Ubuntu while it’s running.

1. Insert Ubuntu 24.04 USB

2. Reboot → press F12 / F10 / Esc / Del (depends on your laptop)

3. Choose the USB

4. Select “Try Ubuntu”

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🧩 Step 3: Resize Ubuntu partition (GParted)

Ubuntu live includes GParted.

1. Open GParted

2. Select your SSD (top-right dropdown, e.g. /dev/nvme0n1)

3. Identify partitions:

   • EFI (small, ~100–500MB)

   • Windows NTFS

   • Ubuntu ext4

   • Swap (if present)

Case A: Unallocated space is next to Ubuntu

1. Right-click Ubuntu partition → Resize/Move

2. Drag to take the unallocated space

3. Click Apply

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Case B: Unallocated space is not adjacent

You must move partitions (slow but safe).

Typical order:

1. Move swap partition (if exists)

2. Then resize Ubuntu

⚠️ Do not move the EFI partition

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🧩 Step 4: Reboot

1. Close GParted

2. Reboot

3. Remove USB

Ubuntu should now have more space 🎉

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🧪 Verify in Ubuntu

df -h

or

lsblk

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❗ Common mistakes to avoid

❌ Shrinking Windows from Linux
❌ Forgetting to disable Fast Startup
❌ Interrupting GParted while it’s working
❌ Touching EFI partition

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🧠 Extra tips

• If Ubuntu uses LVM, the steps are slightly different

• If you use BitLocker, suspend it before shrinking Windows

• NVMe SSDs are fine; just make sure you select the correct disk

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If you want, you can:

• Tell me whether your Ubuntu uses LVM or normal ext4

• Paste the output of:

lsblk

(from Ubuntu live)

and I’ll give you exact, partition-by-partition instructions tailored to your laptop.