Vista - newbie: how to repartition/resize hd

hi,

just a tourist here but i would appreciate help and constructive
comments as how to setup a multi-boot laptop with one hd (C: is 221G
with 152 free. there is also a D:recovery of 11.7G with 1.99 free).

so ,
1) does MS-Vista have tools to setup a multi-boot disk or should I use
ca_thy's suggested free-ware tool?

2) would a second disk be a better choice?

while we are at it, I defrag'd the disk in preparation and was a bit
disconcerted with the lack of a progress graph with the defrag tool,

3) is there a way to have a graph or meter display?

tia,
peter

Vista does have tools to create/shrink/enlarge partitions but, while the
process is relatively easy, you do need to know what you are doing. The
tools are available by clicking the Start button and then clicking Control
Panel. In control panel, Click the Administrative tools icon. When the
administrative tools window opens, Click Computer management and then, in
the next window, Click disk management. Right that's the easy bit.

To create a new partition you need 'unallocated space' Your C: drive is, as
you say, 221GB in size and has 152GB free. Your next partition, the D: drive
is a recovery partition, so leave that well alone. From the information you
provided I am assuming, rightly or wrongly, that the C and D partitions take
up 'all' of your hard drive space? So you don't have any 'unallocated space'
left. This means that you need to 'shrink' part of the C: drive to give you
some unallocated space; sadly, though, Vista isn't very good at this.
Personally I always prefer third party partitioning software such as Acronis
Disk Director to perform these tasks. I'm not sure what ca_thy suggested so
I can't comment on the 'free-ware tool'

On the your second point, a second disk drive is always useful but (there's
always a but) you have a laptop which means you could only use a removable
USB/Firewire drive and trying to install a second operating system onto a
removable drive would only result in an error message saying that the
procedure is not supported. People have done it, but it isn't as simple as
one imagines.

Finally, the graphic display for defragmenter was removed from Vista because
Microsoft believe it isn't necessary. Many people disagree. If you want a
graphic display for defragmenting then you need to go for third party
software - the best free defragmenter is Auslogic Disk Defrag
(http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag/index.php)

Some useful links from my websites:

http://vistasupport.mvps.org/install...ning_vista.htm

http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how..._boot_syst.htm

This link from the Elder Geek's website will explain more about creating a
partition and show you what I mean about 'unallocated' space.

I will have to get round to writing an article for my website on the actual
partitioning procedure as it is difficult to explain fully in a newsgroup
post. You really need screenshots to explain it more fully.

Hope this helps


--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"peter" <pm@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news40Jk.3560$c45.2529@xxxxxx

"John Barnett MVP" <freelance@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OMxJlXgLJHA.1304@xxxxxxTwo points here: many modern laptops now have the facility to replace the
DVD/CD drive with a HDD and secondly, many of the modern Linux Distros
specifically allow booting from an external device as long as the BIOS
supports it...

How would you install any new programs if you remove the DVD/CD drive and
replace it with another hard drive. Just curious is all as I see nothing but
problems in doing so.

--

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience


"Gordon" <gordonbparker@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uf1CkfgLJHA.5704@xxxxxx

"Richard Urban" <richardurbanREMOVETHIS@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OYNlxigLJHA.1156@xxxxxxExternal CD drive or network location....

John Barnett MVP wrote:I used the SCO Xenix tool "divvy" years, (decades?) ago...you had to be
very careful with that one as there was NO conflict checking and no
pretty graphs THIS IS CORRECT

? This means that you need to 'shrink'yes, this is the term i heard used but thought it was jargon
MS does like providing power user or admin tools does it?


Personally I always prefer third partyback on 10/13/2008 she offered this link
http://www.partition-tool.com/easeus...-partition.htmmy kid's friend has a similar HP laptop and it has 2 internal hd's (at
least it show 2 discrete hd's in the disk management tab) so I thought I
could add one.
I wonder why it is not an option...
Ifthis is familiar. I think I used this tool quite awhile agoi took a look at these...are you from MS or a third partyit does

thanks,
peter

Peter, the word 'newbie' in your posts subject line gave me the impression
that you weren't too familiar with the way Windows works. Obviously this was
slightly wrong on my part and you do know more than your 'newbie' tag
suggests. From your reply, therefore, you seem more than able to perform the
tasks you wish to do without me having to be too cautionary.

As I pointed out in my original post you are going to have to get some
unallocated space from somewhere and it looks like you will have to 'shrink'
your C: drive in order to create another partition. How much you shrink the
C: drive will depend upon what you want to run on XP when you have installed
it (this link should help when you decide to install XP:
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/install...ning_vista.htm
) I personally run XP on virtual machine software (VMware Workstation) and
allocate a 20GB partition (although you don't need a partition with VM
because it simply creates a file on your C: drive.)

The software ca_thy recommended I can honestly say I have never used, but
reading the details it looks as if it will do the job you need it to do. As
I pointed out in my previous post Vista is quite capable of shrinking the
partition, but it can be very temperamental and, again personally, I
wouldn't trust it to do that task.

As to your second hard drive as Gordon has pointed out you could remove the
CD/DVD drive and insert a suitable hard drive (I've never tried it, so can't
really comment on its viability), but, as Richard points out, you have lost
your CD/DVD drive then and without that you are not going to be able to use
your XP CD to install the software. Of course a removable CD/DVD would be a
suitable option, but that is simply more expense.

And finally, no I am not from Microsoft. I am a Microsoft MVP but am not
employed in any way, shape or form, by Microsoft. My contributions to this
and other newsgroups are, like all other MVPs, totally voluntary.


--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..




"peter" <pm@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Ne2Jk.3535$ZP4.2166@xxxxxx

As a slight afterthought, while thinking about Virtual Machine software you
might also like to take a look at this link from my website:
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/creatin...ith_vmware.htm

VM is an option and although VMware Workstation isn't free you can actually
download Microsoft's VPC 2007 which is free. It doesn't have USB support
like VMware Workstation but the end result is basically the same.


--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"peter" <pm@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Ne2Jk.3535$ZP4.2166@xxxxxx

you can use disk management option to resize the HDD partitons. to access it, type diskmgmt.msc in the Start menu search box. then you can right click on the partition to either shrink or extend or even delete the partition.

"Richard Urban" <richardurbanREMOVETHIS@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OYNlxigLJHA.1156@xxxxxxmaybe 2 HDDs and a USB CD/DVD
might as well just use a USB HDD as #2...
either way would work
I have used a shared CD/DVD or even a FDD in a networked machine for
installing to a machine with neither.