Before deleting a partition, run the following command to list the partitions:
sudo fdisk -l
returns:
Disk /dev/sda: 1.84 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors Disk model: CT2000MX500SSD1 Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disklabel type: gpt Disk identifier: 2300B8B9-F7DD-4E5C-B2EF-84A5EC8D5D66 Device Start End Sectors Size Type /dev/sda1 2048 1050623 1048576 512M EFI System /dev/sda2 1050624 2098202623 2097152000 1000G Linux LVM /dev/sda3 3727806464 3728855039 1048576 512M EFI System /dev/sda4 3728855040 3907028991 178173952 85G Linux filesystem Disk /dev/sdb: 14.57 TiB, 16000900661248 bytes, 31251759104 sectors Disk model: ST16000NM001G-2K Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disk /dev/sdc: 14.57 TiB, 16000900661248 bytes, 31251759104 sectors Disk model: ST16000NM001G-2K Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
NOTE: The /dev/sda or /dev/sda represent physical disks.
Common disk names on Linux include:
| Type of disk | Disk names | Commonly used disk names |
| IDE | /dev/hd[a-h] | /dev/hda, /dev/hdb |
| SCSI | /dev/sd[a-p] | /dev/sda, /dev/sdb |
| ESDI | /dev/ed[a-d] | /dev/eda |
| XT | /dev/xd[ab] | /dev/xda |
The number 1 in /dev/sda1 indicates the partition number.
Make a note of the number of the partition you intend to delete.
Select the disk that contains the partition you intend to delete.
sudo fdisk /dev/sdb
returns:
Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.34). Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them. Be careful before using the write command. The old ext4 signature will be removed by a write command. Device does not contain a recognised partition table. The size of this disk is 14.6 TiB (16000900661248 bytes). DOS partition table format cannot be used on drives for volumes larger than 2199023255040 bytes for 512-byte sectors. Use GUID partition table format (GPT). Created a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0xe8d6d674. Command (m for help):
ALERT: Before deleting a partition, back up your data. All data is automatically deleted when a partition is deleted.
To delete partition, run the d command in the fdisk command-line utility.
The partition is automatically selected if there are no other partitions on the disk. If the disk contains multiple partitions, select a partition by typing its number.
Command (m for help): d Selected partition 1 Partition 1 has been deleted.
Print the partition table to verify that the partition has been deleted.
Command (m for help): p
Run the w command to write and save changes made to the disk.
Command (m for help): w