"Memory Transfer"

[Rage for order]

I Partitioned my hard drive into "G" Operating system=6 GB, "C" Programs=20.9
GB, "D" Data=11.4GB. Me being a numpty thought that the operating system
would not need more than 6GB to operate? It now tells me after a year of use
that the system is short of memory! I've deleted Folders such as
$NtUninstallKB42773$ etc, but still no joy. Is there any way I can allocate
more memory to the "G" partition from the "D" or "C" partition? Or will I
have to Format again?

 

[Leonard Grey]

You can format your hard disk or use third-party partitioning software.

P.S. You haven't accomplished anything by separating your system and
applications in two partitions. All but the simplest of programs install
components in the system folders and registry.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I Partitioned my hard drive into "G" Operating system=6 GB, "C" Programs=20.9
GB, "D" Data=11.4GB.

How did you come up with that partitioning scheme? There's almost
never any advantage to separating installed programs from the
operating system. Except for those dual-booting, it's almost always
best to have no more than two partitions.

Read my thoughts on partitioning at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=326

Me being a numpty thought that the operating system
would not need more than 6GB to operate? It now tells me after a year of use
that the system is short of memory!

Is it telling you that the system is short of *memory* or is it
telling you that the partition containing Windows is short of disk
space? Do not mix the two up. Memory (RAM) is very different from disk
space.

I've deleted Folders such as
$NtUninstallKB42773$ etc, but still no joy. Is there any way I can allocate
more memory to the "G" partition from the "D" or "C" partition? Or will I
have to Format again?

Unfortunately, no version of Windows before Vista provides any way of
changing the existing partition structure of the drive
nondestructively. The only way to do what you want is with third-party
software. Partition Magic is the best-known such program, but there
are freeware/shareware alternatives. One such program is BootIt Next
Generation. It's shareware, but comes with a free 30-day trial, so you
should be able to do what you want within that 30 days. I haven't used
it myself (because I've never needed to use *any* such program), but
it comes highly recommended by several other MVPs here.

Whatever software you use, make sure you have a good backup before
beginning. Although there's no reason to expect a problem, things
*can* go wrong.

 

[Rage for order]

Hi Ken Blake:
You are right, I should have just had two partitions. I did toy with the
idea of installing Windows 2000 also, but decided against it. The Data
partition was simply to be able to retrieve data if the system failed? The
message I recieved was that the drive "G" is running low on space.

I've looked at DR Thomas Pabst book "Tom's Hardware Guide" to no avail, to
see if it is possible to allocate more memory from another drive. So I
thought I'd try this group. Many thank's to you and Leonard Grey for taking
an interest in my problem. I glean from your answers that I shall have to
re-format the hard drive. it's no problem just annoying to have to re-install
all progs etc. What a numptie I am.

 

[Leonard Grey]

Why reformat when you can use third-party partitioning software? True,
you have to pay for it but you don't have to start from scratch. How
much is your time (and possible frustration) worth to you?

Partitioning a hard disk is complicated. Prepare very carefully before
you repartition.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi Ken Blake:
You are right, I should have just had two partitions. I did toy with the
idea of installing Windows 2000 also, but decided against it. The Data
partition was simply to be able to retrieve data if the system failed?

That's fine, but whenever anyone says that, my concern is that he
doesn't have in place a program of regular backups to external media.
If you don't, you're kidding yourself by thinking your data is safe
just because it's in a separate partition. If you care about your
data, backup is required.

The
message I recieved was that the drive "G" is running low on space.

I've looked at DR Thomas Pabst book "Tom's Hardware Guide" to no avail, to
see if it is possible to allocate more memory from another drive. So I
thought I'd try this group. Many thank's to you and Leonard Grey for taking
an interest in my problem. I glean from your answers that I shall have to
re-format the hard drive.

No, I didn't say that. I pointed out there *are* third-party solutions
to your problem, and I even mentioned two.

it's no problem just annoying to have to re-install
all progs etc. What a numptie I am.

It's much easier to use a third-party repartitioning program.