How to remove a swap partition in Linux

Swap partitions provide a dedicated area on your hard drive where the operating system can temporarily store data that is not actively being used in RAM. This feature can be essential for systems with limited physical memory. However, if you find you have an unnecessary or oversized swap partition, or if you decide to transition to a swap file or another storage solution, you may wish to remove your swap partition.

While most modern Linux distributions manage swap spaces efficiently, there might be instances where manual intervention is necessary. Whether you're trying to reclaim disk space or configuring swap differently, understanding how to safely remove a swap partition is a valuable skill for every Linux user.

Before you proceed, ensure you've backed up any essential data and understand the implications of altering disk partitions.

1. Open a terminal.
2. Disable the swap space.

   $ sudo swapoff /dev/sdXy

   Replace /dev/sdXy with the correct partition identifier for your swap partition.

3. Confirm the swap is disabled.

   $ free -m

   You should see '0' in the 'Swap' row under the 'used' column.

4. Edit the fstab file to remove the swap entry.

   $ sudo nano /etc/fstab

   Find the line referencing the swap partition and comment it out or delete it. It typically contains 'swap' in the third field.

5. Delete the swap partition using a partition manager. For command line, you can use fdisk.

   $ sudo fdisk /dev/sdX

   Choose the 'd' option to delete a partition and then select the number corresponding to your swap partition. After that, choose 'w' to write changes to disk.

6. If desired, you can now expand existing partitions or create new ones using the freed-up space.

   $ sudo resize2fs /dev/sdXz

   Replace /dev/sdXz with the partition you wish to resize.

7. Optionally, create a swap file if you still need swap space but prefer a file-based solution.

   $ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1M count=1024
   $ sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
   $ sudo mkswap /swapfile

   This creates a 1GB swap file. Adjust the 'count' value to alter the size.

8. If you've created a swap file, enable it.

   $ sudo swapon /swapfile

After these steps, your system will no longer have a dedicated swap partition, and you will have reclaimed valuable disk space. Ensure to monitor your system's performance and adjust swap configurations as necessary.