un-partitioning a hard drive

[Tearose]

While upgrading a 4 year old computer to XP, I realized too late that the hard drive had 2 partitions. I have no need for D:, so how can I put all that space into the C: partition, without starting over? Is there a way to do it with existing OS software, or do I need Partition Magic? My copy of that is from the W2K vintage- would it still work on XP?
Thanks,
Jill

 

[wolluf]

You do need 3rd party software like PM - what version of PM do you have? I think PM6 onwards ok (though may be a restriction on PM6 - size of partitions it can handle) - but usual considerations apply - backup anything you can't afford to lose.

Another approach - if you have something like ghost - create image of XP partition (on CD/DVD or another hard drive) and then restore it to whole drive.

 

[Tearose]

It is PM6, but I can't find a way to get it to put all or any of the part of the drive that isn't in C: into C:. It will make partitions of the unallocated space, and resize them, but won't let me resize C:. It's probably a problem because C: is in NTFS, which it says can cause PM not to perform as desired, but it's perfectly willing to make the unallocated space into an NTFS partition. Any ideas? I don't have a lot of familiarity with all aspects of Partition Magic.
Thanks,
Jill

 

[kestrel1]

Have you made the Partition Magic boot floppies? If so, you may be able to resize the C: partition if you boot with them.
An upgrade to Partition Magic 8 would be a good idea though.
PM6 is now very old.

 

[Tearose]

No floppy drive on the computer in question.

 

[kestrel1]

OK download 911 rescue CD:

http://www.911cd.net/

You can create a bootable CD with various tools on it, as long as you own them, or some are free to download.
Partition Magic is one such utility. I use this a lot. Very good. Follow the instructions & you shouldn't go wrong.

 

[wolluf]

Jill,

Are the 2 partitions different filestore types then?
(PM won't allow you to combine them if they are). Having read what it says about ntfs, I would be inclined to avoid what you're looking at doing if they are (I've had problems with PM8 combining 2 partitions after converting one to same filestore type as other - so I'd expect PM6 to be worse!)

I'd be tempted to start again! Backup, install after wiping partitions and creating new one with XP's install tools. Without something like ghost, its a bit of a faff copying current partition somewhere else & then restoring it.

 

[Tearose]

C: is ntfs. At the moment the rest of the drive isn't anything. Should I try making it fat32? It acts like it's willing to make it drive D:, with ntfs, but when I tell it to actually do it, it can't. There may also be a problem caused by Windows firewall. I'll get back to this next week.
Jill

 

[Freestone]

It sounds like you are trying to perform the resize while in the XP environment since you mentioned XP's Firewall. If so, this may be the reason why it won't resize C:. If you are in XP, PartitionMagic can't lock the partition to apply the changes.

I vaquely recall that if one was in XP or 2000, PartitionMagic 8 would write a script file containing the actions you wanted, then boot into DOS to perform these changes. I am doubtful version 6 was this sophisticated.

You most likely have to boot into a DOS environment so PartitionMagic has free reign over the C: partition. Without a floppy to make and run PartionMagic's boot floppies, an approach could be to make a DOS boot CD that also contains PartitionMagic's DOS files.

 

[Freestone]

An alternative to creating the DOS boot CD, see kestrel's earlier comment regarding the 911 rescue CD.

 

[kestrel1]

THat is what I expect. If you are trying to do this in XP or any OS, I don't think you will be able to with PM6. As Freestone says PM8 does reboot to a DOS environment & perform the resize from there.
It is a long time since I used PM6, but I suspect it is unable to do this, that is why I suggested the 911 CD.
Mind you, the 911 CD is excellant if you can afford all the tools to go on it. I have a fair few & find it very useful.

 

[Tearose]

You know, I think I will just let this one go. 10gigs is a bit small for most users of XP, but the user who's getting this one is the accounting clerk, and the files she works with are on the server, so she'll have enough room for her programs and email. If size becomes problematic in the future, I'll start from scratch and remove that partition then. I'll look into the 911 CD for future reference, but the CD player on this one isn't very good, either- it was an effort to get the OS to load. For the other programs I put on it from CD, I used a network share and installed from my own computer CD drive.
Thanks for the help and suggestions.
Jill