[linux-lvm] retro fit lvm?

[Kirk Reiser <kirk braille uwo ca>]

Hi Folks:  It seems to me this should be a FAQ but I couldn't find any
reference to it in any of the how-to's.

Is it possible to retrofit lvm onto an already existing file system?

The reason I am asking is I already have an ext3 set of disks and
partitions quite full of valuable data.  I would like to change those
partitions over to lvm because it would solve one problem in
particular I am having which is a partition with many entries which
can not easily be split into separate partitions.  My data is
currently about 280gb and I don't have the room to off load recreate
the partitions with lvm and then reload the data.  So I was wondering
if I could retrofit lvm onto the already formatted and filled
partitions.

Any suggestions and pointers would certainly be appreciated.

  Kirk