Increasing Partitions the EASY way...

AstaLaVista

Lost in Cyberspace
Vista Pro
It seems today is my day for asking goofy questions :o :p

My windows 7 dual boot OS is the one I use to play all my games now, which by the way, I did not know this would be the case, hence, why I only made it about 40 GBs, leaving the Vista partition the bigger of the two.

Well, it has come time to install, yet, another game but I only have about 5 GBs left and the game needs 10GBs to install. Sure, I could uninstall the other 2 games I have already installed but, I am only half way done with them.

Anyways, I have plenty of space on my Vista partition and I would like to know if Acronis Disk Director is as easy to use as I have read. Aside from this, do I need to be worry about loosing any info (images, documents, etc, etc) on my Vista OS once I start the process or should I stop worrying so much.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of the weekend folks
 

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Did you try the disk management method?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq Presario C700
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 1.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel GM965
    Memory
    2.5 GB (2 GB Transcend + 512MB Hyundai)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Intergrated 965 Express Graphics
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    Conexant High Definition
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    Integrated Web-Camera
    (P.S. Have another custom-built PC with Win7 x64)
Did you try the disk management method?

As in the one that probably comes with Vista or windows 7? if so... Nope.

The question still stand though... am I safe to run it w/o having to make a complete or some sort of back up?

Edit: I did check it out but it seems this only works for Offline files and not for making a partition bigger... did I look in the wrong section?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq Presario C700
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 1.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel GM965
    Memory
    2.5 GB (2 GB Transcend + 512MB Hyundai)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Intergrated 965 Express Graphics
    Sound Card
    Conexant High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    160 GB Compaq
    Keyboard
    Compaq
    Mouse
    Alps Pointing Device Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    2 Mbps Download, 512 Kbps Upload
    Other Info
    Integrated Web-Camera
    (P.S. Have another custom-built PC with Win7 x64)
Ok, thanks... I'll try that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
Your welcome, AstalaVista
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq Presario C700
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 1.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel GM965
    Memory
    2.5 GB (2 GB Transcend + 512MB Hyundai)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Intergrated 965 Express Graphics
    Sound Card
    Conexant High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    160 GB Compaq
    Keyboard
    Compaq
    Mouse
    Alps Pointing Device Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    2 Mbps Download, 512 Kbps Upload
    Other Info
    Integrated Web-Camera
    (P.S. Have another custom-built PC with Win7 x64)
I am sorry it took a while to comeback to this, I have been unable to try this until today and just when I was ready to do it, I had another question that I want to ask before I cry the weekend away.

I read on that tutorial that you won't loose any data, which is great, but I also read that it will create a new partition and that is not what I really want.

Keeping with my initial request, if I were to shrink the partition on Vista (80.4GB), would that increase the partition I already have on win 7 (38.1GB) or would it just create a new partition leave win 7 the same size?

In other words, what I really want to do is increase the Win 7 partition w/o loosing anything on the Vista OS.

Sorry again for going on tangents, I know how much of a pita I can be trying to explain what I want.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
Hi astalavista

Using the built in windows partition manager you can shrink any partitition but you can only extend a partiition to the right. For example if you have two partitions C: containing Vista and D: containg windows 7 then you can shrink either one but youll only be able to extend the C: drive into the new space.

If you want to extend D: then you'll need Acronis Disk Director or something else. I use the one by Acronis and its really simple to use and i didnt lose any data. Im going to do this myself tomorrow as i just installed the Orange box and the hl2 mod and it takes up 32GB :shock: so im running low on space.
 

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Disk management can only add space that is to the immediate right of the partition you want to add the space too. Since shrinking the Vista drive will create unallocated space to the right of the vista partition, you will not be able to add it to the W7 partition. In order to add space to a partition that is to the left of the partition requires a third party partitioning tool. This is because files will need to be moved and disk management can't do that. I use Paragon, but it's not free. Gparted live boots from CD if I remember correctly. So could try that. I recommend a backup if moving stuff around. Just in case.
 

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Hi AstaLaVista,

The best of doing it free may be;

1. use Vista Disk Management to shrink Vista partition the required amount. Leave it as unallocated space.

2, Download Gparted free, burn the .iso image to cd .

SourceForge.net: GParted: Downloading ...

SourceForge.net: GParted: Files

Boot the Gparted cd and use it to incorporate the unallocated space you just created into the 7 partition . It may take a while to complete.

3. Boot the 7 dvd and do a startup repair.
 

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System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Vista
    CPU
    Intel E8400
    Motherboard
    ASRock1333-GLAN R2.0
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    4gb DDR2 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia 9500GT 1gb
  • Operating System
    win7/vista
    CPU
    intel i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    ballistix 2x8gb 3200
Hi astalavista

Using the built in windows partition manager you can shrink any partitition but you can only extend a partiition to the right. For example if you have two partitions C: containing Vista and D: containg windows 7 then you can shrink either one but youll only be able to extend the C: drive into the new space.

If you want to extend D: then you'll need Acronis Disk Director or something else. I use the one by Acronis and its really simple to use and i didnt lose any data. Im going to do this myself tomorrow as i just installed the Orange box and the hl2 mod and it takes up 32GB :shock: so im running low on space.

OK, I have Acronis suite & Disk Director and I have used it a couple of times to make an image of my fresh install but never
to make a partition so I am a little skeptical to use it but, hey... you only live once, right! :p ;)


Hi AstaLaVista,

The best of doing it free may be;

1. use Vista Disk Management to shrink Vista partition the required amount. Leave it as unallocated space.

2, Download Gparted free, burn the .iso image to cd .

SourceForge.net: GParted: Downloading ...

SourceForge.net: GParted: Files

Boot the Gparted cd and use it to incorporate the unallocated space you just created into the 7 partition . It may take a while to complete.

3. Boot the 7 dvd and do a startup repair.

Hmmmm, I also have Gparted since I used it to make my Dual Vista + Windows 7 boot but, I was following a HOW TO and I didn't really care if I botched the thing cos I had nothing to loose.

This time around though, I do and it doesn't look to be to user friendly for a layman like me... Arrrggghhhh, I so want to try that new cinematic mod for HL2 but I don't want to make a backup or anything, I am to stressed out this week.

I may just installed the game on my other drive even if is not as fast as the velociraptor.

Thanks folks, don't think that I am an ingrate, I really, really do appreciate all the help I get from you all.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
Heres what i did today, its dead simple:

  1. Defraged both my partitions fully with PerfectDisk
  2. Launch Acronis Disk Director and choose Automatic mode
  3. Click Increase Free Space on the left hand side
  4. Click on D: drive as i wanted to make it bigger and then clicked Next
  5. Click on C: drive then click Next
  6. In the box that then appears i typed in the size i wanted D: drive to be (or you can use the slider) and then clicked Next
  7. Then click on Finish and it will take you back to the start page where there is a checkered flag. Click on it to confirm the changes and your system will reboot and begin the process of changing the partition sizes.
And thats it, its so simple it should have been built into Vista in the first place.
 

My Computer

Heres what i did today, its dead simple:

  1. Defraged both my partitions fully with PerfectDisk
  2. Launch Acronis Disk Director and choose Automatic mode
  3. Click Increase Free Space on the left hand side
  4. Click on D: drive as i wanted to make it bigger and then clicked Next
  5. Click on C: drive then click Next
  6. In the box that then appears i typed in the size i wanted D: drive to be (or you can use the slider) and then clicked Next
  7. Then click on Finish and it will take you back to the start page where there is a checkered flag. Click on it to confirm the changes and your system will reboot and begin the process of changing the partition sizes.
And thats it, its so simple it should have been built into Vista in the first place.

My word, why didn't I even think about that?? :( I've used that like so many times, and I never even thought about it. Sorry AstalaVista, I could have said this long ago, but say your thanks to Stew here, doing a great job everyday. ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq Presario C700
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 1.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel GM965
    Memory
    2.5 GB (2 GB Transcend + 512MB Hyundai)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Intergrated 965 Express Graphics
    Sound Card
    Conexant High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    160 GB Compaq
    Keyboard
    Compaq
    Mouse
    Alps Pointing Device Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    2 Mbps Download, 512 Kbps Upload
    Other Info
    Integrated Web-Camera
    (P.S. Have another custom-built PC with Win7 x64)

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq Presario C700
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 1.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel GM965
    Memory
    2.5 GB (2 GB Transcend + 512MB Hyundai)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Intergrated 965 Express Graphics
    Sound Card
    Conexant High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    160 GB Compaq
    Keyboard
    Compaq
    Mouse
    Alps Pointing Device Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    2 Mbps Download, 512 Kbps Upload
    Other Info
    Integrated Web-Camera
    (P.S. Have another custom-built PC with Win7 x64)
Tomorrow is Fathers Day and the wife has told me she has something special planned for me, hinted that the kids will be out of the house after lunch, and since I almost know what it is, I will try to do this during the week, otherwise, if I botch this and loose any of her pictures or documents, I will miss out on some serious adult time... I am sure I don't have to draw you married man a picture, right? :o :p ;)

You have my thanks gentleman :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
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