Reallocate space from one partition to another

[sjbadog]

I havea disk that is set-up as basic with a partition C: and D: with C being
NTSF and D Fat32. They both have equal amounts of volume at 10GB each. I am
out o f space on C and have 7+GB free on D. I want to extend the volume on C
with an additional 6GB.
I checked help and followed the directions to extend on DiskPart, but after
doing the procedure, it says that the process failed. I'm not adept enough to
figure out why it failed.
Any suggestions???

 

[JS]

Suggest you purchase a larger hard drive as a 20GB
is very small these days. If that is not possible then
read info below:

You will need a third party utility like Partition Magic, Acronis Disk
Director,
BootIt Next Gen (which has a free trial) or Super Fdisk (worth a look).

PartitionMagic 8.0
http://www.symantec.com/norton/partitionmagic

Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/diskdirector/partitioning.html

BootIt: http://www.bootitng.com/
Acronis:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/diskdirector/partitioning.html
Partition Magic:
http://www.powerquest.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=sp&pvid=pm80
Super Fdisk Partition Utility:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Super_Fdisk_d4985.html

Warning:
As always backup any important data files (documents, photos, music, etc.),
before using such a tool as there is always a small chance that something
can go wrong.

Better still backup (Image backup) your entire C: partition to an
external drive, a second internal drive or in a pinch use DVD media.
You can use Acronis True Image to do this as True Image 2009
has a 15 day trial version available.
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

(Acronis "Trial version" can create a Restore CD/Rescue Media,
"but I have not verified this yet". See the User's manual as you
will need to create this CD and use it should any problems occur)
User's Guide: http://us1.download.acronis.com/pdf/TrueImage12_ug.en.pdf

 

[SC Tom]

As JS stated in his reply, you'll be much better off with a new, larger
drive.
Another problem you'll run into even with 3rd party software is the fact
that your C: partition is out of space. Most repartitioning programs require
at least 25% free in order to enlarge or reduce the partition size (at least
they used to). Plus the fact that one partition is NTFS and the other is
FAT32. You may run into problems with that set-up, also.

SC Tom

 

[Don Phillipson]

I havea disk that is set-up as basic with a partition C: and D: with C being
NTSF and D Fat32. They both have equal amounts of volume at 10GB each. I am
out o f space on C and have 7+GB free on D. I want to extend the volume on C
with an additional 6GB.
I checked help and followed the directions to extend on DiskPart, but after
doing the procedure, it says that the process failed. I'm not adept enough to
figure out why it failed.

Everyday operation requires at least 10 per cent free
space on your C: drive. Repartitioning requires yet
more free space (unavailable on your HDD which is
probably why repartitioning failed.)

Two commonsense actions are
1. Disk Cleanup, an automatic Windows procedure
among your Disk Management accessories (documented
in the Help file.) This identifies wasted space and clears
it on your OK.
2. WinXP uses a paging file = swap file = "Virtual
Memory" (also documennted in the Help file.) If you
relocate the paging file to drive D: instead of drive C:
this may free enough space on C: for normal operation.

 

[JS]

Here some things you can do that just might
buy you some time and after doing so you
just might not have any need to repartition..

Sorry; I should have included the tips below
in my first post.

First use Windows 'Disk Cleanup' to create more space on your C: drive.
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

Next: Empty the Recycle Bin.

If you recently installed Windows XP Service Pack 3:
Look for an odd folder name which is located here
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\cf8ec753e88561d..........\
Note: the apparent random set of letter and number may vary from my
example above but whatever the name is, it will be more than
600MB in size and can be safely deleted.
You may also see a number of other folders or files located in the:
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ directory
They also can be deleted.

You can also free up more disk space by reducing
the number of 'System Restore' points:
Select Start/Control Panel/System, then in the System Properties window
click on the System Restore tab.
Next select the drive letter where Windows is installed (usually C,
Then click on the Setting button
Now in the Drive Settings window move the Disk space usage slider to the
left to reduce the amount of drive space System Restore points will use.
This will remove some of the older restore points and free up some space.

Disable Hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys file (If you have it enabled):
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/...sys-hibernation-file-in-windows-xp-and-vista/
and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/hibernate.mspx
and: http://www.softwarepatch.com/tips/hiberfil-sys-xp.html

If you are using IE7 and then installed SP3 read the info below.
IE7 users will find the folders listed below on their hard drive:
$NtServicePackUninstallIDNMitigationAPIs$
$NtServicePackUninstallNLSDownlevelMapping$
They are needed to uninstall IE7. However, if you installed IE7 and
then installed XP SP3 you can no longer uninstall IE7 and these
folders can also be deleted.

Note: The recommended procedure before installing XP SP3 is to
uninstall IE7, then install XP SP3. Now you still have the ability to
install and uninstall IE7.

Next if you still need more space:
Remove the files used to uninstall updates to Windows
These folders and associated files in these folders are safe to remove,
however once deleted you will no longer be able to un-install a patch or
update that was associated with the deleted folder/files.
I would keep the most recent set (last two months just in case) of folders
and delete the older updates.
As a safety net I burned these folders to a CD before deleting them.
These files are located in the Windows folder and have folder names
like $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$.
They are hidden folders so enable viewing of hidden files in Windows
Explorer.
Warning: One folder you should not delete is: $hf_mig$
Also See the following web pages on this issue:
http://www.pagestart.com/ntuninstall.html
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

If you upgraded your PC from Windows 98 to Windows XP.
The $Win98UpdateUninstall$ can be deleted.

You can reduce the size of the Internet Explorer Disk Cache:
How and Why to Clear Your Cache:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/customizing/clearcache.mspx
Just follow the instructions but instead of increasing the size
(as stated in the article) decrease it.

Finally: Check the Recycle Bin one more time and empty it
if necessary as some of those files you deleted in the steps
mentioned above may find there way into the recycle bin.

If you have more than one partition or drive then:
How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307971/en-us

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
(Example: move it to the D drive)
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310147
Also:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_move_my_documents.htm

How to move the Spool folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q308666

 

[Bill in Co.]

And probably an inexpensive 80 GB drive would serve his needs well. If he
split in in half and set aside 40 GB for the C: partition (with all the
programs, etc), he'd probably be home free - for a long, long time. Those
smaller hard drives aren't very expensive anymore.

 

[JS]

Good idea, just one point on the 50/50 split.
If his old drive is FAT32 and he creates an
Image backup then the restore must be to
a FAT32 partition.

In which case he needs a 32GB C: partition
and one or more FAT32 or NTFS partitions.

He could try cloning but it doesn't always work.

 

[Bill in Co.]

I thought his old drive has NTFS for the C: partition, and FAT32 for the D:
partition?? So its basically NTFS (referring to the primary system
partition).

As for the 32GB "limitation", that's only if he uses native WinXP to create
the FAT32 partitition. Of course he could do that initially, and then
resize it later with some third party software like Partition Magic, or
Easeus PM.

wrote:

 

[JS]

You're correct, I'm off the mark.
His C: partition is NTFS.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I havea disk that is set-up as basic with a partition C: and D: with C
being
NTSF and D Fat32. They both have equal amounts of volume at 10GB each. I
am
out o f space on C and have 7+GB free on D. I want to extend the volume on
C
with an additional 6GB.
I checked help and followed the directions to extend on DiskPart, but
after
doing the procedure, it says that the process failed. I'm not adept enough
to
figure out why it failed.
Any suggestions???

Yes. Don't waste your time on this disk.

A disk of that size is not only too small, it is near the end of its working
life - 20 gig disks haven't been made for some years, and they *do* wear
out.

Get another much larger one and clone the existing drive to it, adjusting
the partition sizes as you go. You can do this with the free Acronis
TrueImage trial version in Manual mode.

HTH
-pk

 

[Paul]

Yes. Don't waste your time on this disk.

A disk of that size is not only too small, it is near the end of its working
life - 20 gig disks haven't been made for some years, and they *do* wear
out.

Get another much larger one and clone the existing drive to it, adjusting
the partition sizes as you go. You can do this with the free Acronis
TrueImage trial version in Manual mode.

HTH
-pk

Another point, is disks with the ribbon cable interface,
are not going to be available forever. I bought two this
week, and as I was paying for them, the sales guy said
they were getting harder to find. So even if a person
doesn't install their IDE ribbon cable disk today, it
would still pay to buy one and put it in a safe place.
There are drives for sale below $50, so they don't cost
a lot.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148236

If the drive type is SATA, with the thin data cable, those
will be around for a long time.

Paul