hard disk partition

shashank646 · 23 Apr 2011

Hi,

I have windows 7 operating system running on my laptop. I am planning to install windows vista as second operating system in different drive.

I have 2 drives C: (279 GB) and D: ( 10GB). If I need to install windows vista in D: drive, I need to increase its capacity to atleast 20 GB. C:drive has empty space of 119GB. My questions are

1) The maximum shrink volume for C:drive is 5 gb. Why doesn't it allow me to shrink more than 5gb when I have enough empty space in C:drive. Please let me know of any instructions to shrink it to more volume.

2)If you see the attachment of JPEG image, on left i have D: drive which volume has to increase.C: drive is on right.When I shrink C: the volume of unallocated space is shifted to right. How to merge D:drive volume with the unallocated space volume.
If I ca shrink c: drive to more than 5 volume the i can delete D: drive by which my problem ca be resolved. Incase if I cannot shrink C: to more than 5gb I need to find a way to merge D: drive volume with the unallocated space volume.

Please do give a clear instructions on how to proceed and do't forgot to see the attachment which helps in showing the drive locations.

Mike Connor · 23 Apr 2011

What you want to do is unnecessarily difficult with Windows disk management.

Use this;

Best FREE Partition Manager Freeware for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 32 bit & 64 bit. EASEUS free Partition Manager Software Home Edition.

and it is quite easy.

However, I would question the value of using a single drive in this manner.

Regards....Mike Connor

Orbital Shark · 23 Apr 2011

Hi, welcome to the forums :)

Aside from the advise above you may want to run Disk Cleanup and skip to step 8. You may also want to go to the following 2 locations and delete ALL files...

c:\users\[you]\AppData\Local\Temp

Note

You will need to enable Hidden Files & Folder to view Appdata\Local\Temp

c:\windows\temp

Note

You will be prompted by UAC to access the windows temp file, just click continue

Next, run a defrag if needed and try to shrink C: again.

OS

JOHN47 · 23 Apr 2011

Shashank646
With the advices from other users on the forum, HDD’s are very sheep today.
Why don’t you consider making an image of your system and then rearranging what you like on a larger HDD?
Best Regards

Bare Foot Kid · 23 Apr 2011

Hello shashank646, welcome to Seven Forums!

The best way to get this accomplished to me would be to use Windows 7 disk management to delete all the partitions except the Windows 7 partition, they will then be unallocated space and retsart the PC to let it accept the changes.

First use the Partition Wizard Bootable Disk to resize the C: partition to the left to include that unallocated space back into the C: Windows 7 partition and restart the PC after those changes have been made.

Then use Windows disk management to extend the C: partition to the right to reincorporate that space into the C: partition.

Once you have a single Windows 7 partition, use the PWBD to shrink/resize the right side of the C: partition to at least 50GB, that should be plenty for Vista to be installed to.

This tutorial at the link below will give you the basic idea how to use the PWBD.

Partition Wizard : Use the Bootable CD

Be sure to get the PWBD and not the installed version; scroll down to see the download link for the bootable CD ISO file at this link below and download the ISO file to the desktop.

Partition Wizard Free Bootable CD

Then use ImgBurn to burn the ISO to a CD, at no greater than 4x speed with a verify; it was designed for use and works best from a CD rather that a DVD then boot the created CD to make the changes.

ImgBurn Free ISO Burning Software

Be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.