Solved Disk Management - Shrink Partition in Vista

sassofalco

What bad, bad,habit?
Vista Guru
I refer specifically to this Tutorial;
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/95398-disk-management-shrink-partition.html

A bit of background first. I have recently had installed a new 320GB Hard-drive to my Laptop [see my Specs]. The allocation of partition [volume] space has been divided evenly between the C:[Acer] - 139GB, and the D:[Data] - 138GB, Drives on the HD.

This is what I have;Drives C and D.JPG

Questions;

  • Question 1; Is this setup division just the 'norm' for allocating volume space for each drive? In this case it is more or less a 50:50 share of the available space [PQ Service on a hidden partition takes up the rest]....why not 65%[C]:35%[D]?
  • Question 2; Is it necessary for the partition volume of the Data drive to more or less mirror that of the Acer drive?
  • Question 3; If answer to Q2 is 'not necessarily so', am I then able to partition the Data drive to create a new drive partition of about 60GB, or are there any pitfalls in playing around with this particular drive?
If possible, I'd like to create a new drive on the HD for personal data storage. That's it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Notebook 5633WLMi.[5630 Series]
    CPU
    Intel Centrino Duo Processor - Intel Core 2 CPU.
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 [3.07GB maximum real available]
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce Go 7300, 128MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio, Ver. 6.0.1.5717, 2.08MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Aspire Notebook - 15.4"; Acer LCD Monitor X223Wsd - 22".
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800x60Hertz [max.]
    Hard Drives
    Notebook - Samsung HM320JI 320GB HD installed 07 August 2009.
    External HDs [4];Maxtor One Touch4 - 500GB External HD [Drive M:\].Western Digital WDXMS1200TA - 120GB External HD [Drive G:\ - Windows Defender Backup Files only]. Two x LaCie 320GB Mobi
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless V320 for Notebooks - Model M/N: M-RCD125
    Internet Speed
    Down 20000kb/sec / Up 1000kb/sec [Bigpond-Aus]
    Other Info
    Brother MFC-465CN; PC to Fax/Scan/Copy/Photo MFC. Epson Perfection V300 Photo Scanner. Siemens Speedstream 6520 Router. Wacom 'Bamboo Fun' CTE-650 PC Tablet, Stylus and Mouse. UAC - On;Activated. Browsers; [1] FireFox v3.6[2] IE8. Honorary R.S.M. to the 4th [Assault Pioneer] Troop Pune Sepoys , and 3rd Troop Jodhpur Bengali Lancers.
Hi Tony,

On a drive with a single partition hosting the OS, the amount of space that you can carve off it can vary. Did you run Disk Cleanup and Defragmenter first? You can sometimes get a few more GB if you do that. However, 50-50 looks fairly reasonable. You can change the ratio if you want, but you can't shrink the partition any further than what Disk Management permits, so I would leave this as it is.

You can then repeat the process on your other partition (the one you created from your original). Again, run Disk Cleanup and Defragmenter on this partition to maximise the potential new partition space. Remember, you can always reduce the size of a new partition to be smaller than that suggested by Disk Management but you cannot make it larger.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
G'Day Dwarf, and thanks for your response.

However, you're dealing with 'as thick as two Doncaster bricks' here, as I still can't get my head around this. For starters, I don't even know which of the two Hard Disk Drives is the host of my Operating System, but I'm guessing that it is the HD (D:) Drive.

My current Partition details are here for your info;

Disk Management - Shrink Partition.JPG

First of all tho', in reply to some of your points;

  • Through my system setup, in Properties, both of the Hard Disk Drives (C: and D:) are automatically scheduled for weekly defragmentation.
  • As you can see, I have plenty of free space on both Drives, so that is not an issue or of concern.
For the purposes of this exercise, what I would like to do is use some of the free space available on the HD (D:) Drive Partition, to create a new internal Hard Disk [which I will name as (K:) Drive]. I'm thinking in terms of using about 40% of the total volume....say 55000MB, to allocate to the newly created Partition and internal HDD.

This will all depend of course, on whether or not you would recommend or sanction using the (D;) Drive Partition free space in the first place. If I cannot use it, or you recommend that I leave well alone, then I will file the idea under three thick Doncaster bricks.

If I am able to do it, then I will be using Brinks Tutorial to do the business [refer my first post in this thread], as his guide is much clearer and easier to follow than the procedures given in Windows Vista - Help and Support.

Cheers Mate.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Notebook 5633WLMi.[5630 Series]
    CPU
    Intel Centrino Duo Processor - Intel Core 2 CPU.
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 [3.07GB maximum real available]
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce Go 7300, 128MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio, Ver. 6.0.1.5717, 2.08MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Aspire Notebook - 15.4"; Acer LCD Monitor X223Wsd - 22".
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800x60Hertz [max.]
    Hard Drives
    Notebook - Samsung HM320JI 320GB HD installed 07 August 2009.
    External HDs [4];Maxtor One Touch4 - 500GB External HD [Drive M:\].Western Digital WDXMS1200TA - 120GB External HD [Drive G:\ - Windows Defender Backup Files only]. Two x LaCie 320GB Mobi
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless V320 for Notebooks - Model M/N: M-RCD125
    Internet Speed
    Down 20000kb/sec / Up 1000kb/sec [Bigpond-Aus]
    Other Info
    Brother MFC-465CN; PC to Fax/Scan/Copy/Photo MFC. Epson Perfection V300 Photo Scanner. Siemens Speedstream 6520 Router. Wacom 'Bamboo Fun' CTE-650 PC Tablet, Stylus and Mouse. UAC - On;Activated. Browsers; [1] FireFox v3.6[2] IE8. Honorary R.S.M. to the 4th [Assault Pioneer] Troop Pune Sepoys , and 3rd Troop Jodhpur Bengali Lancers.
Hi Tony,

There will be no problem in you partitioning D to give you another drive. Whether or not you can carve off a partition of the size you were thinking about, I cannot say - this depends on what Disk Management says is available. As I said previously, to maximise this space, run Disk Cleanup and Defragmenter on D prior to partitioning it.

This will not affect your OS as this is on C.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Thanks Dwarf,

I've just lifted three thick Doncaster bricks from off of my head....well that was where the idea did originate.

So now it's off to Brink's Tutorial for a thorough read, after I light up a couple of joss-sticks!

Thanks also for clarifying the location of my OS as well. Another system function bit learned.

Will post the outcome when done.:geek:
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Notebook 5633WLMi.[5630 Series]
    CPU
    Intel Centrino Duo Processor - Intel Core 2 CPU.
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 [3.07GB maximum real available]
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce Go 7300, 128MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio, Ver. 6.0.1.5717, 2.08MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Aspire Notebook - 15.4"; Acer LCD Monitor X223Wsd - 22".
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800x60Hertz [max.]
    Hard Drives
    Notebook - Samsung HM320JI 320GB HD installed 07 August 2009.
    External HDs [4];Maxtor One Touch4 - 500GB External HD [Drive M:\].Western Digital WDXMS1200TA - 120GB External HD [Drive G:\ - Windows Defender Backup Files only]. Two x LaCie 320GB Mobi
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless V320 for Notebooks - Model M/N: M-RCD125
    Internet Speed
    Down 20000kb/sec / Up 1000kb/sec [Bigpond-Aus]
    Other Info
    Brother MFC-465CN; PC to Fax/Scan/Copy/Photo MFC. Epson Perfection V300 Photo Scanner. Siemens Speedstream 6520 Router. Wacom 'Bamboo Fun' CTE-650 PC Tablet, Stylus and Mouse. UAC - On;Activated. Browsers; [1] FireFox v3.6[2] IE8. Honorary R.S.M. to the 4th [Assault Pioneer] Troop Pune Sepoys , and 3rd Troop Jodhpur Bengali Lancers.
You're welcome, Tony. ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Dwarf Mate....You're a legend!!

My sincere thanks for all your patience, understanding and valuable advice. Isn't this just so,....so,....partitioned?:D

Sassofalco Data HD K Drive.JPG

I am absolutely rapt. Those joss-sticks are sure powerful stuff, and a big "TICK" can now be placed to the start of this thread.:party:

Kudos to Shawn too for a very concise, clear and easily followed Tutorial on this subject.

.........now for a good, strong black plunger coffee, with just a wee dash of Drambuie;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Notebook 5633WLMi.[5630 Series]
    CPU
    Intel Centrino Duo Processor - Intel Core 2 CPU.
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 [3.07GB maximum real available]
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce Go 7300, 128MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio, Ver. 6.0.1.5717, 2.08MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Aspire Notebook - 15.4"; Acer LCD Monitor X223Wsd - 22".
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800x60Hertz [max.]
    Hard Drives
    Notebook - Samsung HM320JI 320GB HD installed 07 August 2009.
    External HDs [4];Maxtor One Touch4 - 500GB External HD [Drive M:\].Western Digital WDXMS1200TA - 120GB External HD [Drive G:\ - Windows Defender Backup Files only]. Two x LaCie 320GB Mobi
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless V320 for Notebooks - Model M/N: M-RCD125
    Internet Speed
    Down 20000kb/sec / Up 1000kb/sec [Bigpond-Aus]
    Other Info
    Brother MFC-465CN; PC to Fax/Scan/Copy/Photo MFC. Epson Perfection V300 Photo Scanner. Siemens Speedstream 6520 Router. Wacom 'Bamboo Fun' CTE-650 PC Tablet, Stylus and Mouse. UAC - On;Activated. Browsers; [1] FireFox v3.6[2] IE8. Honorary R.S.M. to the 4th [Assault Pioneer] Troop Pune Sepoys , and 3rd Troop Jodhpur Bengali Lancers.
Marked for you, Tony. Just a simple question: What do you call a wee dash?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Marked for you, Tony. Just a simple question: What do you call a wee dash?

:huh:Aaaaaaaah!....and simply put - several things, actually;

  • a pit, or comfort stop.
  • Master or Miss dash.
  • "Dot" [n.,fem.,sing], or "Dotty", [adj., neurological condition].
  • The 3Ps - Pointing Percy at Porcelain.
  • in snow - a yellow line.
  • for aged humans - a relief valve.
  • for me - a frantic and anxious chance to renew an old acquaintance.
and finally,

  • Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrggghhhh!:shock:
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Notebook 5633WLMi.[5630 Series]
    CPU
    Intel Centrino Duo Processor - Intel Core 2 CPU.
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 [3.07GB maximum real available]
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce Go 7300, 128MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio, Ver. 6.0.1.5717, 2.08MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Aspire Notebook - 15.4"; Acer LCD Monitor X223Wsd - 22".
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800x60Hertz [max.]
    Hard Drives
    Notebook - Samsung HM320JI 320GB HD installed 07 August 2009.
    External HDs [4];Maxtor One Touch4 - 500GB External HD [Drive M:\].Western Digital WDXMS1200TA - 120GB External HD [Drive G:\ - Windows Defender Backup Files only]. Two x LaCie 320GB Mobi
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless V320 for Notebooks - Model M/N: M-RCD125
    Internet Speed
    Down 20000kb/sec / Up 1000kb/sec [Bigpond-Aus]
    Other Info
    Brother MFC-465CN; PC to Fax/Scan/Copy/Photo MFC. Epson Perfection V300 Photo Scanner. Siemens Speedstream 6520 Router. Wacom 'Bamboo Fun' CTE-650 PC Tablet, Stylus and Mouse. UAC - On;Activated. Browsers; [1] FireFox v3.6[2] IE8. Honorary R.S.M. to the 4th [Assault Pioneer] Troop Pune Sepoys , and 3rd Troop Jodhpur Bengali Lancers.
Re: Disk Management - Shrink Partition in Vista; Post-modification Backup Failure

Hi Tony,

There will be no problem in you partitioning D to give you another drive. Whether or not you can carve off a partition of the size you were thinking about, I cannot say - this depends on what Disk Management says is available. As I said previously, to maximise this space, run Disk Cleanup and Defragmenter on D prior to partitioning it.

This will not affect your OS as this is on C.

G'Day Dwarf,.......and it didn't, however,

....after the success of creating the new internal Hard Disk Drive, there just had to be something to initiate that "...one gigantic topple backwards for sassofalco" !:shock:

Simmering hot with confidence first thing today, I attempted to do an incremental backup of my Files, as I usually do, to my WD 120GB external drive, via Start>Control Panel [Classic View]>Backup and Restore Center>Backup Files>Backup Files Button, etc.

The Backup started normally, but a few minutes later as it progressed through scanning Shadow Files, the backup came to an abrupt halt, signified by that nasty "dang" sound. This window appeared on screen;

Backup Failure.JPG

So off I went to see Mr. Google with my Error 0x8000FFFF in hand, but after more than an hour of searching, I could find nothing that would even remotely help me.

I ran the incremental Backup procedure again, and again was able to reproduce the same Error.

I then focused in on the use of the word 'catastrophic', and figured that since it could refer to a major modification within my system, then it would seem logical that in creating the new internal Hard Disk Drive [Partition], I had generated the source for the Error message.

I figured that since the new Partition had drastically modified the state of the Hard Disk, then it followed that an incremental Backup would not, and could not be recognised by the modified system. The incremental backup command was therefore invalid.

With that in mind, I then deduced that a solution could be possibily be found by completing a Full and New Backup of my Files. And the result? Well, you can see for yourself;

Backup 2.JPG

I suspect that the Error Message 0x8000FFFF will always present in any combined situation where a Hard Disk Drive [Partition] is modified to any degree AND a post-modification attempt is made to do an Incremental Backup of Files.

If my suspicions are correct, then it may help end Users in future, if a warning about the nature of this Error message, could also be included within the appropriate Tutorial. Say something along the lines of;

WARNING - Post-modification Backups.
If you attempt to do an incremental Backup of your Files after changing the configuration of your Hard Disk, you may receive an Error message 0x8000FFFF.
In that case, complete a Full and New Backup of your Files, and when finished, delete the previous [earlier] Backup Folder from your system.


That's it. Toodle-pip.:geek:
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Notebook 5633WLMi.[5630 Series]
    CPU
    Intel Centrino Duo Processor - Intel Core 2 CPU.
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 [3.07GB maximum real available]
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce Go 7300, 128MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio, Ver. 6.0.1.5717, 2.08MB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Aspire Notebook - 15.4"; Acer LCD Monitor X223Wsd - 22".
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800x60Hertz [max.]
    Hard Drives
    Notebook - Samsung HM320JI 320GB HD installed 07 August 2009.
    External HDs [4];Maxtor One Touch4 - 500GB External HD [Drive M:\].Western Digital WDXMS1200TA - 120GB External HD [Drive G:\ - Windows Defender Backup Files only]. Two x LaCie 320GB Mobi
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless V320 for Notebooks - Model M/N: M-RCD125
    Internet Speed
    Down 20000kb/sec / Up 1000kb/sec [Bigpond-Aus]
    Other Info
    Brother MFC-465CN; PC to Fax/Scan/Copy/Photo MFC. Epson Perfection V300 Photo Scanner. Siemens Speedstream 6520 Router. Wacom 'Bamboo Fun' CTE-650 PC Tablet, Stylus and Mouse. UAC - On;Activated. Browsers; [1] FireFox v3.6[2] IE8. Honorary R.S.M. to the 4th [Assault Pioneer] Troop Pune Sepoys , and 3rd Troop Jodhpur Bengali Lancers.
Back
Top