After shrinking drive C, cannot allocate the new partition

[Guest]

After I shrunk the C drive, I got an empty 53,57 unallocated space on drive 0.
When I choose the "new simple volume" option, It proceeds normally until the
last step and then I end up with the following error report:

"There is not enough free space on the disk to complete this operation"

Anybody can help ?

By the way, I'm trying to install "Windows 2000" on a 2nd partition
(actually its the fifth partition). I want to run programs that do not run
properly under Vista.

Thanks, Mike

 

[Kerry Brown]

You can only have four partitions on a drive. If you want more then one of
the four partitions has to be an extended partition which can then be
divided up into logical drives.

 

[Lucvdv]

After I shrunk the C drive, I got an empty 53,57 unallocated space on drive 0.
When I choose the "new simple volume" option, It proceeds normally until the
last step and then I end up with the following error report:

"There is not enough free space on the disk to complete this operation"

Anybody can help ?

57.3 what? K, M?

If the system says it's too small, maybe it just is.
The "last step" is usually formatting: try FAT instead of NTFS, see if
that will fit.

By the way, I'm trying to install "Windows 2000" on a 2nd partition
(actually its the fifth partition). I want to run programs that do not run
properly under Vista.

Is it the 5th partition the system says there's no free space for, and
is it a basic disk?

You can only have 4 primary partitions on a disk. If you want more
partitions, you'll have to make the 4th partition an extended one
containing all the remaining space, and create the additional
partitions in that extended partition.

 

[Andy Sweet [MSFT]]

Mike:
Be advised that installing an older OS (eg W2K) after you've installed a
recent OS (eg Vista) will mean your computer won't recognize the Vista boot
manager, and you won't be able to start Vista.

The W2K boot manager will stomp on the Vista boot manager--it won't know
what Vista is and will claim boot manager duties for itself, so to speak,
which is why for multiboot scenarios MS recommends installing the
oldest/earliest OS on the box first, and then later ones. (Windows is
designed to recognize earlier versions of itself on the disk and let them
be.)

If you decide to proceed and you get in a jam, you can try running Startup
Repair from the Vista disc, but it's not guaranteed to work. Others on the
forum may also point you to third-party solutions, or you can refer to the
Knowledge Base for help, e.g. KB 919529. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

No, I have a 160 gB disk, of witch at 20 gig (at the most) is occupied.
Thanks, Mike

 

[Guest]

Thanks Andy,
Maybe I should then reformat the whole disk, install Windows 2000 and then
reinstall Vista ? I hope I don't have problems reinstalling Vista (with the
reinstallation disk). Hope it works ok. What do you think ?

 

[Guest]

How do I create an extended partition ? Do I have to expand again my C
partition (to go back to 4 partitions) before proceeding ? Btw, the 5
partitions I have now are:

1) 55MB (EISA configuration) - this one appeadered aferte shrinking
2) Recovery (D 10 gB NTSF
3) OS (C 83,43 gB NTSF
4) 53,57 gB unallocated
5) 2 gB free space - This one also appeared after shrinking.

If it were not of the (1) and (5) partitions, I wouldn't have more than 4
partitons. Can I delete them - it would be simpler.

Mike

 

[Kerry Brown]

I don't know what 1 is. It's probably a diagnostic partition from the
manufacturer. I wouldn't delete 1 or 2 as you may need them to get back to
the factory setup. Can you delete 5? This may allow you to combine 4 and 5
to create a 4th partition. You may want to use a more sophisticated
partition management program like Acronis Disk Director or BootitNG.

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/diskdirector/

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html

With the disk management console in Vista your options are limited. When you
shrink partitions you may end up with unusable space if there is unallocated
space that is not adjacent etc..

 

[Alun Harford]

No, I have a 160 gB disk, of witch at 20 gig (at the most) is occupied.

Note that we're not interested in how much is used by files.
We're interested in the size of the remaining space for partitions.

Is that 57.3KB, 57.3MB, or 57.3GB of unallocated space?
If it's 57.3KB or 57.3MB this would explain your problem.

Assuming it's 57.3GB then there's another issue.
You cannot have more than 4 primary partitions on a 'basic' disk. If you
want more than that you'd need to either use an extended partition or
dynamic disk. To make an extended partition you'd need to delete one of
your primary partitions and lose all the data on it, so you might want
to use a dynamic disk - although it means only Win2K, WinXP and Vista
operating systems can read the disk.

Alun Harford

 

[Lucvdv]

I don't know what 1 is. It's probably a diagnostic partition from the
manufacturer.

Yes, that's what I think too.

Some years ago (long before the merge with HP), some Compaq computers
used to have their BIOS setup program on harddisk instead of in ROM.

I suspect that this is something similar.


Probably the Vista setup (OEM, including extra drivers etc.),
pre-installed on HD instead of provided on a separate DVD.

 

[Aman Khan]

Sub: After shrinking drive C, cannot allocate the new partition - Mightymike
Hi Mike, I just got my new dell lap top and had the same problem, but by going through your message and other's reply on the board, I got the clue and deleted the inbuilt 4th volume. After shrinking C drive it was simple to follow the guidelines of wizard. now I have only 4 drives which include mine marked F. So far no problem.
Thanks for your query which resulted in such a good response on the board. Good luck.

EggHeadCafe.com - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com

 

[kimjiongs]

After I shrunk the C drive, I got an empty 53,57 unallocated space on drive 0.
When I choose the "new simple volume" option, It proceeds normally until the
last step and then I end up with the following error report:

"There is not enough free space on the disk to complete this operation"

Anybody can help ?

By the way, I'm trying to install "Windows 2000" on a 2nd partition
(actually its the fifth partition). I want to run programs that do not run
properly under Vista.

Thanks, Mike

Try this partition software: http://www.disk-partition.com/help/create-partition.html it is a tutorial about create partition.