Need to delete the Boot/system tools partition

ElectricRider said:

Is it possible to cheat even more, by using getting rid of the system primary partition, set up another primary for another os, create with some unused space in that an extended logical partition for windows 7? This would give me 4 primaries for other OS's besides windows which would be stuck off in an extended logicall connected to one of the primaries.

Sorry... I hadn't seen your later post where you described your intent for the additional partition, which was to install yet another OS. I had originally read that you wanted another partition, strictly for data.

However as Greg points out, it is likely that the other OS would want yet another primary partition.

Now, the one or more (i.e. any number) logical partitions you create all fit inside of one "extended partition". However that extended partition is, itself, one of the four allowed primary partitions.

So if you want any number of logical partitions (and, as I said before, Win7 has no problem being installed into a logical partition) you must have the one "extended partition" present as one of your four primary partitions, thus leaving only three real primary partitions for other use.

And since there must be a primary partition as "active" (that's your current 199MB System Reserved partition) where boot manager goes, that leaves only two remaining primary partitions available, which you've already got allocated and in use.

Having said that, it seems that Greg's suggestion of moving the boot manager files over to the Win7 system partition (retained as primary, not changed to logical, since the "active" boot partition MUST be primary) which will require that you also change it to "active" so that the BIOS boots there, which you can do with PW CD. You'd resize the Win7 partition and move it to the right, and then you resize the small 199MB partition to its left to pick up the space freed up by the resize/move of the Win7 partition to the right.

And that will give you your fourth primary partition, in what is currently the System Reserved partition... but enlarged. And the Win7 partition remains primary and becomes "active", and shrinks and moves to the right to free up space to give to the System Reserved partition to its left, for your new OS.

All with PW CD. Win7 System Repair can transplant the boot manager files over to the newly "active" Win7 partition, in the absence of System Reserved.

Should work.

If you delete SysReserved and create a Fourth Primary partition using PW (only), you will not be allowed to have a Logical Extended which must be created as the fourth or less partition.

Disk Mgmt should offer Logical as fourth, while PW will create Logical at any time until there are four Primary partitions when it will refuse.

If offered Dynamic - which is used to span partitions on multiple HD's - do not accept it.

The additional speed gained from having OS in the lowest address (left side) of HD where the disk reader parks is small but we still like to Resize the OS that direction if an opportunity arises, and PW makes it as easy as dragging the grey slider bar.

Be aware if you're booting with GRUB on the same HD that we see Win7 corrupted irreparably by GRUB fairly often here. It's always best if possible to put OS's on separate HD's booted via BIOS boot order and one-time BIOS Boot menu key, not GRUB or even Windows boot manager. This keeps HD's independent to come and go as you please.

Got it. Thanks again for all the info folks. Sorry I haven't been around in a couple of days, been busy with PC-BSD.

You're welcome. Please mark the thread as resolved if you get a moment to spare. Thanks.