gnome-disk-utility, a graphical disk management tool, can be used for partitioning, monitoring health status, and creating disk images

O&M Operations
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gnome-disk-utility, a graphical disk management tool, can be used for partitioning, monitoring health status, and creating disk images.

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In the openEuler system, no suitable graphical disk information viewer was found, so the gnome-disk-utility tool from the GNOME UI was built into an RPM package using the spec file provided by the openEuler official website.

After testing, it works properly under the UKUI graphical environment. Download the RPM package here: https://gitcode.com/micoder/gnome-disk-utility
Source code and RPM download address

The uploaded archive is theoretically compatible with openEuler 2203 and later versions.

yum install libcanberra-gtk3
rpm -ivh gnome-disk-utility-46.1-2.x86_64.rpm

gnome-disk-utility (commonly known as GNOME Disks) is the official graphical disk management tool for the GNOME desktop environment. It is powerful and enables disk partitioning, health monitoring, and disk imaging.

1. Installation

If the tool is not available on your system, install it using the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install gnome-disk-utility

2. Launching and Interface

After installation, you can launch the tool in one of the following ways:

  • Graphical Interface: Search for and open the application named Disks or Disk in the application menu.

  • Command Line: Enter the following command in the terminal and press Enter:

gnome-disks

3. Core Features and Operations

GNOME Disks focuses on disk and partition management, health monitoring, and advanced operations.

A. Partition Management

This is the most commonly used feature, allowing you to partition and format selected disks.

  • View Information: The left panel lists all connected storage devices. Select any disk or partition to view detailed information on the right, including device path (/dev/sda), capacity, partition table, and filesystem type.

  • Create Partition: On unallocated space of a disk, click the + button and follow the wizard to set partition size, filesystem type (e.g., ext4), and partition name. Note: Partitioning operations are irreversible—always back up your data first.

  • Format and Modify: Select an existing partition and click the gear icon ⚙️ to choose Format Partition... or Edit Partition... to change the filesystem or partition label.

  • Mount and Unmount: Select a partition and use the :play_button: (Mount) or :stop_button: (Unmount) button to temporarily mount or unmount it. For automatic mounting at boot, use Edit Mount Options... in the gear menu.

B. Disk Health Monitoring (S.M.A.R.T.)

This feature checks disk health and provides early warnings for potential failures.

  • View S.M.A.R.T. Data: Select the target disk, click the menu or gear icon ⚙️, and choose S.M.A.R.T. Data and Self-Test....

  • Run Self-Test: In the new window, you can run different types of S.M.A.R.T. tests:

    • Short Self-Test: Quickly checks electrical and mechanical performance and a small portion of data areas—typically under 2 minutes.

    • Long/Extended Self-Test: Performs a comprehensive scan of the entire disk surface. No time limit; may take several hours, depending on disk size and speed.

  • Interpret Attributes: Pay close attention to key attributes such as Reallocated Sector Count (Reallocated Sector Count). If this value is non-zero, it usually indicates physical bad sectors—immediately back up your data and consider replacing the disk.

C. Disk Imaging and Backup

This feature allows you to create a complete backup (image file) of a disk or partition, or restore data from an image.

  • Create Disk Image: Select the disk to back up, click the menu button (hamburger icon ☰) in the top-right corner, and choose Create Disk Image.... This generates a .img file.

  • Restore Disk Image: Similarly, select Restore Disk Image... from the menu, choose the previously created .img file, and specify the target disk.

  • Important Reminder: This operation performs a bit-by-bit copy. The resulting image file will be the same size as the source disk or partition. Ensure the destination storage has sufficient space before proceeding.

D. Benchmarking

This feature tests disk performance.

  • Click the gear icon ⚙️ and select Start Benchmark.... You can customize the number of samples and data size. After testing, performance metrics such as read response time and read/write speed are displayed in charts.

4. Useful Command-Line Options

The gnome-disks command supports various options to launch specific tasks directly:

  • gnome-disks --block-device /dev/sda: Launch GNOME Disks and directly select the /dev/sda disk.

  • gnome-disks --restore-disk-image /path/to/backup.img: Open the “Restore Disk Image” dialog directly.

Summary

gnome-disk-utility (GNOME Disks) is a critical tool for interacting between hardware devices and the operating system. For everyday tasks such as partition management, disk health monitoring, and system-level backup and recovery, it is a reliable and convenient choice.