Merging HD Partitions?

[Keith]

I have an 80GB HDD which I originally partitioned to 2 x 40GB for various
reasons.

Is there any way of merging it back to a single drive without erasing the
whole drive?

The file organisation (folder names etc) on each partition is totally unique
so there would be no duplication if they could be merged.

Any ideas?

Both formatted NTFS.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

A 3rd party partitioning program would be the best way to go:

Acronis PartitionExpert - http://www.acronis.com/products/partitionexpert/
Partition Magic - http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic/

 

[Guest]

Not without 3rd party software, and even then it is not 100% guranteed
flawless.

 

[Harry Ohrn]

As others mentioned you need third party software to do this. Be careful
with the "Merge" feature that Partition Magic offers as it can go astray.
Ensure you have updated your third party software to the latest update patch
before running it. If your data is very important then you must back it up
before you try the merge.

In my experience, rather than merging, it is better to delete one partition
and then resize the other partition to utilize the new free space created.
This will mean losing data on the partition that is deleted so you must back
that data up first.

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


| I have an 80GB HDD which I originally partitioned to 2 x 40GB for various
| reasons.
|
| Is there any way of merging it back to a single drive without erasing the
| whole drive?
|
| The file organisation (folder names etc) on each partition is totally
unique
| so there would be no duplication if they could be merged.
|
| Any ideas?
|
| Both formatted NTFS.
|
|

 

[Guest]

You will also have issues with any programs that were installed on the
"removed" partition. I.E. lets say you have a C and a D partition, and have
XYZ Program installed on the D partition. You successfuly merge the
partitions into one. When you attempt to launch XYZ Program, it in all
liklihood, will not work because it will look to the now non-existent D
drive. You will need to reinstall all programs that are installed on the
partitions you are looking to get rid of. Just something to think about.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have an 80GB HDD which I originally partitioned to 2 x 40GB for various
reasons.

Is there any way of merging it back to a single drive without erasing the
whole drive?

Only with a third party partition manager - eg Partition Magic 8, or
BootIT NG, from http://www.BootitNG.com ($35 shareware - 30 day full
functional trial)