Disk Management - Shrink Partition

How to Shrink and Create a Partition with Disk Management in Vista

information   Information
It is possible in Vista to repartition your hard disk by using the Shrink feature in Disk Management. You can shrink an existing partition (volume) to create unallocated disk space, from which you can Create a new partition (volume). For more information, see: Windows Help and How-to: Partition and Understanding Disk Partitioning

Partition Type

Description

Primary Partition

A type of partition created on a hard drive that can host an operating system and functions as though it were a physically separate hard drive. Also called a volume. Only up to four primary partitions, or 3 primary partitions and 1 extended partition can be created on a single hard drive. Primary partitions can be used to install and start an operating system. If you want to create more than three partitions, the fourth partition is created as an extended partition. See: Windows Help and How-to: What are system partitions and boot partitions? and The Storage Team at Microsoft - File Cabinet Blog : Understanding the error message "There is not enough space available on the disk(s) to complete this operation" when you create a volume

Extended Partition

A type of partition on a hard drive that should be used if you want to create more than four Primary partition. Extended partitions can contain multiple logical drives that can be formatted and have drive letters assigned to them. An extended partition is a container that can hold one or more logical drive. Logical drives function like primary partitions except that they cannot be used to start an operating system. This option has been removed in Disk Management for Vista. For how, see: The Storage Team at Microsoft - File Cabinet Blog :How to create an extended partition in Windows Vista (Click Yes for Security Information)
warning   Warning
You will not lose any data on the partition (volume) that you are shrinking. You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.
Tip   Tip
The default location for Disk Management is C:\Windows\System32\diskmgmt.msc.


EXAMPLE: Before and After with a New Partition Volume
One_Volume.jpg
New_Volume.jpg




STEP ONE
To Shrink a Partition

1. Open the Control Panel. (Classic View)​
A) Click on the Administrative Tools icon.​
B) Click on Computer Management.​

2. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.​
3. In the left pane, click on Disk Management under Storage. (See screenshot below step 4)​
4. Right click on the volume (EX: C:\ ) your want to shrink and click on Shrink Volume.​
Disk_Management_Shrink.jpg

5. You will now see this for a moment. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: It is verifying that there is enough free space on the disk to create a new partition.
Querying.jpg

6. Enter the amount of space in MB (1024 MB = 1 GB) to shrink by, from the available free space on this volume, for the new partition and click Shrink. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: The value in the Total Size Before Shrink box indicates the current size of the partition and the value in the Size of Available Shrink Space indicates the maximum size that you can allocate to the new second partition.
warning   Warning
The size of the available space can be restricted by the amount of space currently allocated to on the hard drive for the virtual memory page file, System Restore max size, and hibernation files. The location of the files on the hard drive plays a big part here because these files are marked as unmovable, and Disk Management is unable to relocate them. As such, if these unmovable files are located in the middle of the total amount of free space on the disk, then only the amount of free space on the other side (to the right) of these files will actually be available for the new partition. This will result in you showing that you have x amount of free space, but not being able to use it for your partition. The only way around this is to use a 3rd party hard drive partition management program, or setup the partition when installing Vista.
warning   Warning

If you wish to force the partition to shrink, then see: the How-To Geek: Working Around Windows Vista's "Shrink Volume" Inadequacy Problems
Shrink.jpg

7. After a few minutes, you will see the new unallocated (unformated) partition. (See screenshot below)​





STEP TWO
To Create a New Partition from Unallocated Space

8. Right click on the new Unallocated partition and click on New Simple Volume. (See screenshot below)​
Disk_Management_Simple.jpg

9. The New Simple Volume Wizard will now appear. Just click on Next. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: This wizard will make the new unallocated partition usable when finished.
Simple_Wizard_Welcome.jpg

10. Enter the volume size you want for the new partition and click Next. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: Unless you are going to shrink this new partition, you should use the Maximum disk space in MB.
Specify_Volume_Size.jpg

11. Dot Assign the following drive letter. (See screenshot below)​
A) Select a drive letter for the new partition.​
B) Click on Next.​
Drive_Letter.jpg


12. Dot Format this volume using the following settings. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: This may take a while to format the new partition volume.
A) Enter a name for the new partition under Volume label.​
B) To save time, check Perform a quick format.​
C) Click on Next.​
Format_New_Partition.jpg


13. Click on Finish when the Succesfully Completed window pops up. (See screenshot below)​
Completing_Wizard.jpg

14. You will now see the Disk Management console with the new partition volume ready to be used. (See screenshot below)​
Disk_Management_New_Partition.jpg

15. Close Computer Management.​
16. Click on Computer in the Start Menu and see your new partition volume. (See screenshot below)​
New_Volume.jpg

That's it,
Shawn




 
Last edited by a moderator:
hi, i did this step by step but when i tried formatting my new partition it gives error and says low disk space to complete the task.
i have 11 GB free in my C: .
 

My Computer

Hi Paras,

Welcome to the forum. :party:

See the Warning under step 6 above. This may be causing this problem for you to. 11 GB is not much for a partition, but you may only be able to do it while reinstalling Vista or by a 3rd party partition management program. (EX: Partition Magic)

Sorry,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
if i reinstall vista, i will be losing all my data in c: which i dont want , is there any way out that i only format that unallocated space using my vista CD
Hi Paras,

Welcome to the forum. :party:

See the Warning under step 6 above. This may be causing this problem for you to. 11 GB is not much for a partition, but you may only be able to do it while reinstalling Vista or by a 3rd party partition management program. (EX: Partition Magic)

Sorry,
Shawn
 

My Computer

Sorry Paras,

Not without a 3rd party partition management program.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hey Brink, I just wanted to say that with the help of this well written and easy to follow Tutorial, I now have a new 200GB Volume M:. I have started adding music to it 10GB so far. I also want to say thank you for all the Tutorials. It is very evident that you did a very good job on them !!! You have made my life much easier. :shock: Thanks, Bare Foot KId
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
Your welcome Bare Foot Kid. If you ever find a problem with any of them or they do not appear clear enough, please drop me a PM so that I can update them.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I have been trying to create a partition on my laptop with the windows feature. When I have tried to shrink the C drive, it gives the following error "An unexpected error has occured. Check the Syetm Event log for more information.Close the disk management console, then restart Disk Management or restart the computer". Even after restarting, the error still appears.I have tried this multiple times.

I have checked with the system event log. It does not have any error. The information which I cld see in the event log is,
"The Virtual Disk service entered the stopped state."

The steps I executed were exactly the same as mentioned in this article. I was successful till step 6. The 'Shrink C:' window was shown. When I clicked on 'Shrink', I received the error which I mentioned earlier.

I tried shrinking the volume after the defragmentation. However the error continues to be there.


Any ideas on how this can be resolved?
 

My Computer

Hi Premkumar Subramanian,

The error may have been cause by unmovable files that Disk Management cannot help with. For example, the Virtual Memory Page file, Shadow Copies, etc...

You will most likely have to use a 3rd party Disk Partition Management program to create your partition in this case. You can use Acronis Disk Director Suite that includes the Partition Expert for a 15 day trial. It should allow you to create the partition.

Acronis Partition Manager - disk partitioning for Windows (Vista/XP/2000): resize disk partition, copy, move, split and merge partitions

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Thanks Brink :).

I just wonder how third party softwares can resolve such issues when the issue is not resolvable by the feature provided by Windows.

Would it help if we report this issue with MS Support ?

Thanks & Regards,
Premkumar Subramanian


Hi Premkumar Subramanian,

The error may have been cause by unmovable files that Disk Management cannot help with. For example, the Virtual Memory Page file, Shadow Copies, etc...

You will most likely have to use a 3rd party Disk Partition Management program to create your partition in this case. You can use Acronis Disk Director Suite that includes the Partition Expert for a 15 day trial. It should allow you to create the partition.

Acronis Partition Manager - disk partitioning for Windows (Vista/XP/2000): resize disk partition, copy, move, split and merge partitions

Shawn
 

My Computer

Your welcome Premkumar.

MS probably restiricts the Disk Manager to help prevent potential data loss and make the program easier to use, where the 3rd party pay for programs do include the full features. Plus, I would imagine that MS would get slapped with another anti-trust lawsuit if they included a full featured disk management program by the other program makers. ;)

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hello,

Good tutorial, but i have a question. I'm trying to shrink one of my partitions and take the space at add it to another partition, already created with data on it. Is this posible with Vista's tool or do i have to use a 3rd party program?
 

My Computer

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I was logged as admin and computer management was launched explicitly as admin by UAC. After msg about counting possible size and confirming new one, I got repeatedly access denied msg when trying to shrink Vista64 system partition. I was able to shrink vista64 system partition only in Safe mode.
 

My Computer

I tried to shrink my partition and althought on hard disk properties I have 60 gb free space on a 250gb stat drive, it shows 0 amount in mb to reduce/shrink and the shrink option is therefore ghosted. Can you help?
 

My Computer

So you must have any unmovable files at the end of partition. Try to set temporary pagefile to different partition, or at least set to other size. run "powercfg -h -off" to (temporary) turn off hibernation file. ( when succesful at resizing, you can run "powercfg -h -on" to turn it back on ). Try to delete your restore points. Reboot. Try resize again. If does not help, so I recommned you 3rd party defragmenters for partition offline/boot defragmentation like Raxco Perfectdisk. Some partition managers can do partition offline resize too.
 

My Computer

Thanks Poutnik, unfortunately despite removing all my restore points, closing hibernation and removing everything during disk clean that was safe to do, I scrapped 10gb which in my opinion is shameful.
The drive is a Maxtor 250gb Sata HD and going to my computer, properties and checking on free space, shows that 160gb is being used and that I have 60gb free, so why can I only return 10gb?
I was considering using partition manager but am I mistaken in thinking this is no good for a Vista home premium 64 bit os? Another thing is, if partition manager is suitable to correct this issue, why can't vista's own system sort it out? I have tried everything I can think of after doing lots of solutions discussed on the web but nothing as yet. As they say in Star wars, "Help me Vistax64, your my only hope"
 

My Computer

Hi Carnage,

I'm not sure what brand of Partion Manager you are referring to, but the Acronis and Paragon brand will work with Vista 64 bit and do what you are wanting.

The Disk Manager feature in Vista is a slimmed down free version that is limited to not beng able to move the type of files that you ran into. Only the pay for 3rd party programs can move these unmovable files that Disk Manager cannot. It is all part of the antitrust issues that Microsoft is having about the alleged unfair business practices of including features or programs for free in the OS in an attempt to kill the sales of other software companies.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Mentioned items are not the only unmoveable files in NTFS partitions,
just those one can easily temporary throw away.
Some were left in their places.

PerfectDisk defragmenter has a special boot driver, that moved these files before windows startup and lock them.
Some partition manager does the same, or provides a boot CD, that defragment system partition unmounted, "from outside".
( like paragon partition manager - I used great PPM 8 boot CD, but unfortunately it does not see my new SATA drive)

some other maybe - not sure - use some maintenance partition to boot here, and run from this place.
 

My Computer

Shawn,

I'm trying to partition my HDD to get 20 Gigs out of the C: drive but there are immovable system files near the end of the drive. I got a free trial of Acronis Disk Director Suite and made a partition using that but before i restarted to make sure it worked i looked at the drive map using Perfect Disk 2008. It was disturbing becuase it said that 90% of my files were "excluded" or files locked by the windows OS. So i un-did the partition in fear of making windows crash on the next re-boot. Should i have gone thru with it to see if it would have worked?

Thanks in advance for any insight
Bryan
 

My Computer

Back
Top