[trnstar]

I want to shrink my partition that has the operating system on it but it only allows my to shrink it by 195 mb when I have over 30 gb of free space. I searched arround on the internet and decided that I think I have to convert my disk to dynamic (please correct me if I am wrong), but what I am wondering is if I do this will I lose my operating sytem or any data on my drive? I did more searching on that and I think the answer is no but I'm not sure. I only have 1 partition and 1 disk if this is information needed to answer my question. Please help, thanks.

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ok I went ahead and converted it to dynamic... but that didn't solve my first problem. So now I need to know why it only let me shrink by 196 mb (it was actually 196 not 195 as mentioned above)

[trnstar]

ok I went ahead and converted it to dynamic... but that didn't solve my first problem. So now I need to know why it only let me shrink by 196 mb (it was actually 196 not 195 as mentioned above)

[Titan8990]

Start by backing up everything. When it comes to resizing partitions, there is always the risk of unrecoverable error.

Convert you filesystem back to basic. Run defrag on your system.

Download http://www.puppylinux.org/

Burn it to a CD and boot from it (post back if you do not know how to do this).

In Puppy Linux there is a start menu in the bottom left like in windows. I don't have an available copy to look at but somewhere is a utility called "gparted". It has a GUI so it shouldn't be too difficult to use.

Many Linux installers use gparted so if you are shrinking it for a Linux installation then you will probably be able to resize partitions from the installer.


It's not recommended that you have a partition that is more the 85% full. This is most likely why you are unable to do it through a Windows utility.

Also, I can only guess at the actual size of your HDD....

Edited by Titan8990, 13 August 2008 - 03:00 PM.

[trnstar]

actually the reason I wanted to shrink my partition and make a second one is so I can do something like this http://lifehacker.co...work-230605.php only I was planning on putting all my media on the second partition incase I ever had to reinstall the OS. can I use the linux option without installing linux? my hard drive is 160 gigs.

Edited by trnstar, 13 August 2008 - 03:20 PM.

[trnstar]

also I am trying to avoid wiping the hard drive, otherwise I would be able to make two seperate partitions without all this mess.

[shard92]

yes you can use puppy option even if you are not installing linux but remember...back up first as it may muff the whole thing....

[Titan8990]

Also, you are not going to be able to repartition space that has data on it.

From the looks of that article you don't actually need a separate partition. A network drive in windows can simply be a folder.

[trnstar]

I tried to do it on the c partition already and for some reason it didn't work out right. So I figured I probably better do it like they said but then again I may have done something wrong.

[The Skeptic]

how did you set your network drive? You should open My Computer > tools > Map Network Drive. Browse for a folder (or create one) that you want to be used as Network drive and that's it. Now you can direct every computer on the network to the chosen folder by going through the same procedure.

Notes:

1: Your hard disk is relatively small. Downsizing the main partition can create space problems.

2: Resizing is not trivial. Quite often it fails with disastrous results.

3: Changing a drive letter is not trivial. It's very easy to do but can create tons of problems.