[Daflippa]

Hi,

I just bought a new pc and I wanted to start making partitions. HD is 500G and to start i want to make 3 partitions:

1 C 50G for windows and basic software
1 M 100G for Music
1 R 30G for my Recovery files i make
(other space is not planned yet)

On my old pc i started making partitions from 0: I made a full format and than choosed wich partitions i wanted, but i had the original Windows cd to install again. Now my new windows vista is already installed on my new pc so i cant do a full format.
Whenn i tried to make new partitions i can't put the C-drive to 50Gig. Minimum for Cdrive seems to be 228G.

1) How can i manage my C drive to get to only 50Gig?

2) as you can see below, i started to make my other partitions to try. Legend has colors with different meanings, i have 5 different types: (translated from dutch to english here)
- non allocated
- primary partition
- extended partition
- free space
- logical station

My C has the color for primary partition. My M also had the primary partition sign, the Recover has the color for logical station and than i have the free space in green. I didn't choose wich partition had to be a specific type, so i guess it came automaticaly. Is it important wich partition i give specific type? and on base of what do i decide this?


3) I also have a partition without a name with message "EISA-configuration" in it, wich i didn't make myself. What does this mean, and how can i delete this? (as i only get the "help" if i click right moust)
Thanks a lot!
Greetz

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by Daflippa, 12 November 2007 - 09:08 AM.

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The size of the C: partition cannot be changed once windows has been installed on it. This is common to both XP and Vista systems since if that was allowed it would destroy the operating system files. Also, where a recovery cd is provided or a recovery partition (a 'ghost' image) exists on the disk, making the C: partition smaller would mean the recovery ghost image wouldn't fit on it when de-compressed, so the recovery would no longer work.

The C: drive, by the way, if it has Windows installed on it, is always a primary partition by default.
The computer's input/output system driver (ntio.sys) allocates drive letters for partitions in the following manner, starting with C::

Primary Partitions take priority over logical partitions and are allocated drive-letters first (even if they are on separate physical disks).
Logical partitions (within extended partitions), if any exist, are then allocated drive letters.

If you only have one physical disk with one primary and (for example) two logical partitions, the resulting sequence of drive letters will be fine (C,D,E,F), but if you were partitioning two physical disks it's important to remember that all primary partitions are allocated drive letters first, otherwise you could end up with a confusing sequence of drive letters, not knowing (apart from C:) which partition was on which disk.

But the bottom line is you can't alter the existing size of your C: partition (nor should you attempt it) if your PC has a Recovery method in place, since the recovery process expects to find a C: partition at least the same size as it was when it left the factory (larger is okay, smaller is not).

There is some software called 'PartitionMagic' which allows you create, merge and enlarge partitions without destroying your Windows installation, but even then it will render your computer's Recovery method (if it has one) unusable for the reasons I've outlined above. If this is not an issue for you, PartitionMagic is here: http://www.symantec....v...p&pvid=pm80

I have used used it in the past (before Symantec acquired it) and it did indeed allow me to enlarge the C: drive without 'breaking' Windows. But that was on XP, not Vista.

Edited by pip22, 14 November 2007 - 10:22 AM.

[pip22]

The size of the C: partition cannot be changed once windows has been installed on it. This is common to both XP and Vista systems since if that was allowed it would destroy the operating system files. Also, where a recovery cd is provided or a recovery partition (a 'ghost' image) exists on the disk, making the C: partition smaller would mean the recovery ghost image wouldn't fit on it when de-compressed, so the recovery would no longer work.

The C: drive, by the way, if it has Windows installed on it, is always a primary partition by default.
The computer's input/output system driver (ntio.sys) allocates drive letters for partitions in the following manner, starting with C::

Primary Partitions take priority over logical partitions and are allocated drive-letters first (even if they are on separate physical disks).
Logical partitions (within extended partitions), if any exist, are then allocated drive letters.

If you only have one physical disk with one primary and (for example) two logical partitions, the resulting sequence of drive letters will be fine (C,D,E,F), but if you were partitioning two physical disks it's important to remember that all primary partitions are allocated drive letters first, otherwise you could end up with a confusing sequence of drive letters, not knowing (apart from C:) which partition was on which disk.

But the bottom line is you can't alter the existing size of your C: partition (nor should you attempt it) if your PC has a Recovery method in place, since the recovery process expects to find a C: partition at least the same size as it was when it left the factory (larger is okay, smaller is not).

There is some software called 'PartitionMagic' which allows you create, merge and enlarge partitions without destroying your Windows installation, but even then it will render your computer's Recovery method (if it has one) unusable for the reasons I've outlined above. If this is not an issue for you, PartitionMagic is here: http://www.symantec....v...p&pvid=pm80

I have used used it in the past (before Symantec acquired it) and it did indeed allow me to enlarge the C: drive without 'breaking' Windows. But that was on XP, not Vista.

Edited by pip22, 14 November 2007 - 10:22 AM.