Solved Shrink OS Volume

[gregrocker]

Perfect Disk: Rightclick the disk or partition you want to Defrag, select Offline Defrag, then System. It reboots and completes task.

As I said I stopped using it because PW has proved to be the actual Perfect Disk tool.

 

[mjf]

I'm not a Novice to Partition Wizard and have used it often.
However, I used for the first time the other day on my OS (Boot,...) partition to shrink it to a size able to accommodate an SSD. Sorry to say it moved files and screwed up! The MFT wasn't the issue.
I recovered from an image and completed the job. But take WHS's advice early in the thread and basically be prepared to recover from a PW foul up.

Also, if you ever invoke your factory recovery you'll be back to the old partition structure.

 

[CBM]

Well, I decided that I had put off using Partition Wizard for long enough. The process was rather simple really. It performed as stated with one exception. During the resizing operation, before I clicked Apply and started the resizing I was never offered the opportunity to retain or change the partition letter. I was not offered the opportunity to assign a letter after the operation was completed. I've spent the past three hours trying to find an answer to the problem, to no avail.

I'm concerned that without a letter for the OS partition the computer may fail to boot into Windows, even though with this Dell the boot is initiated from the Recovery partition. I've taken all the actions stipulated in the Help menu but "Change Volume Letter" and "Change Drive Letter" are grayed out and not available. I did highlight the OS partition and then clicked on the "Change Volume Label", which was not grayed out, and the OS partition is indeed labeled as "OS" but I'm still a little hesitant to simply exit the application and attempt a boot.

I'm on my laptop now. The desktop, which is where I shrank the OS partition, is sitting there doing nothing, with the Partition Wizard on hold. Oh well, what can I say? I was hoping one of you would still be awake and has encountered this issue in the past and would know either what I'm doing wrong or what I'm failing to do.

I'll let the desktop sit there all night and half of tomorrow with Partition Wizard running if I can overcome this problem, or learning through the past experience of others that the computer will boot properly I'll attempt a boot.

I'm not overly concerned about it. If it doesn't boot properly I can always try a repair with the installation DVD first, and if that fails I can use one of my Acronis or Windows Backup and Restore backups, even though I realize I'll be trying to put an image of a 900GB+ partition onto a 200GB partition. I bet that's going to be a swell deal. If push comes to shove I'll simply do a clean install. I don't get too excited over anything. It accomplishes nothing.

 

[arkhi]

Windows assigns a letter to your primary installation itself. I'm not sure if this is "virtual" or "actual" but in Win7, you will notice that the primary disk that you booted from would always be C:\. This is especially noticeable on multi-boot systems.

Besides, you can also use diskpart later on.

 

[CBM]

Windows assigns a letter to your primary installation itself. I'm not sure if this is "virtual" or "actual" but in Win7, you will notice that the primary disk that you booted from would always be C:\. This is especially noticeable on multi-boot systems.

Besides, you can also use diskpart later on.

Hello, arkhi. I don't know why, but with Dell the Recovery partition is the active partition and the boot is initiated from there. I'm not so sure it will be able to recognize my OS partition. My Recovery partition was not tampered with during the resizing (shrinking) of my OS partition, the OS partition taking up over 900GB on the drive. I shrank it down to 200GB but now it does not have a letter. It is labeled as *. I've learned that many other people have had this problem using Partition Wizard but I have not as of yet seen the answer to the problem. I'll probably just pull the CD, exit the application and see what happens. Live and learn.

I appreciate your input.

 

[arkhi]

If your recovery partitions is not tampered with, and let's assume that it somehow fails to recognize your OS partition because it did not have a letter, the worst that would happen is that when you boot, you will have a message similar to this:

Windows 7 could not start because the below file is missing or corrupt:
C:\Windows\System32\Ntoskrnl.exe

That can be remedied easily by booting to recovery http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/668-system-recovery-options.html
Then, using the following info from technet to assign a letter Assign, change, or remove a drive letter: Storage Services; Local File Systems

But just to be sure, always, ALWAYS backup your data BEFOREHAND by using http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/663-backup-complete-computer-create-image-backup.html

 

[CBM]

Hello again, arkhi. I decided to just go for it. The computer booted in a most excellent manner. Hopefully, I won't experience any problems with all the programs working properly. I think I'm OK. I went to Computer and there it was, labeled as C, just as it is supposed to be.

I now have a 200 GB OS partition (C) and a 700GB+ unallocated partition. Of course, I still have the Dell utility partition, which is first and contains a few MB and the Dell Recovery partition, which is the second and contains a few GB. These three partitions are all primary partitions. In your opinion, would it be better to use Windows Disk Management to format this 700GB+ unallocated space and then shrink it so that I end up with two logical partitions or use Partition Wizard to slice this big partition into two partitions, reboot and then let Windows Disk Management format each partition?

Thank you again for your time and your assistance.

C.B.

 

[whs]

I'm concerned that without a letter for the OS partition the computer may fail to boot into Windows

You worry about the wrong thing. The system will always boot from the active partition - with or without letter.

In your opinion, would it be better to use Windows Disk Management to format this 700GB+ unallocated space and then shrink it so that I end up with two logical partitions or use Partition Wizard to slice this big partition into two partitions, reboot and then let Windows Disk Management format each partition?

I suggest you use Disk Management. If it is unallocated, you just define a first new partition of the size you want. if it is less than 700GB, it will leave the rest still unallocated where you can define a second partition.

As I had said earlier, Partition Wizard has its traps. You are much safer with Disk Management.

 

[CBM]

As always, whs, I appreciate your time and your assistance. I'll do everything from within Disk Management. I'm going to bed. It's been a long day.

C.B.

 

[rraod]

Now you have 3 primary partitions and 700MB of unallocated space.

To create additional partitions in this space, just use windows disk management. Create a simple volume and select the size of the first partiton you wish to have (for ex. 350 GB). An extended partition is created for the entire 700 GB and a logical drive of 350 GB inside this extended partition. Right click again in the free space and select all the available area and a second logical drive of another 350 GB will be created. You can reduce the values and get more logical drives in extended partition if you desire.

You have not mentioned whether MyDefrag did the job of bringing the files together or not?

 

[gregrocker]

During the resizing operation, before I clicked Apply and started the resizing I was never offered the opportunity to retain or change the partition letter. I was not offered the opportunity to assign a letter after the operation was completed. I've spent the past three hours trying to find an answer to the problem, to no avail.

You cannot change the drive letter on the OS partition or it will ruin Win7. I don´t know why you would want to try.

Please post back another screenshot of your full Disk Mgmt drive map with listings. If PW CD disagrees with this in any way, post a camera snap or type out its differing listings.

I am traveling and distracted but growing baffled at why a simple partition shrink which we´ve done here thousands of times has become such a complicated mess. PW CD does this flawlessly without a single documented case of CD failure, irrespective of scares which have been thrown up about occasional failure of its installed version.

I'm not a Novice to Partition Wizard and have used it often.
However, I used for the first time the other day on my OS (Boot,...) partition to shrink it to a size able to accommodate an SSD. Sorry to say it moved files and screwed up! The MFT wasn't the issue.
I recovered from an image and completed the job. But take WHS's advice early in the thread and basically be prepared to recover from a PW foul up.

Also, if you ever invoke your factory recovery you'll be back to the old partition structure.

Did you use the PW CD? While we´ve had failures using PW installed version which must commit to RAM at reboot to complete tasks, I recall no failure reported in thousands of cases where PW CD has been used here to do both simple and complicated partitioning operations.

Please document thoroughly with screenshots any PW boot disk failures, as non-specific comments disparaging the most important tool we use here are not helpful and confuse the OP.

 

[CBM]

OK now; here we go. My sixty-one year old brain has apparently dwindled to the size of a walnut because I can't figure out how to use the multi-quote, and this is after reading several articles about it on the Internet. I will henceforth, to my chagrin, engage in copy and paste.

"You have not mentioned whether MyDefrag did the job of bringing the files together or not?"

rraod, I spent time on the MyDefrag forum and I also read the user manual before running MyDefrag. I ran it with the script "System Disk Monthly". The available shrink space before running MyDefrag was 256,491MB and after running it the available shrink space was 1432MB. I then ran my PerfectDisk 11 Professional to see where on the drive the files were located. I have attached three screenshots showing the results.

"You cannot change the drive letter on the OS partition or it will ruin Windows 7. I don´t know why you would want to try."

gregrocker, I had no intention of changing the letter of my OS partition. I simply wanted to retain it. I was disappointed that PW did not point out, anywhere in the help menu, on the application interface or on its website, that the partition letter would not change and that the inability to change it was in fact a protective measure for the benefit of the user. I spent a lot of time researching the issue on the Internet because I was worried that the letter would change or would be absent after the resizing operation. I used the PW bootable CD that I had burned from the ISO.

I am amazed at the ease of use and simplicity of the user interface of Partition Wizard. It performed flawlessly and did so in a timely manner. I have nothing but praise for the developers of the application. If the PW application was developed by individuals as opposed to a huge corporation I would gladly offer a financial donation as my way of supporting their endeavor. I see no way to do that on the PW website but then again, I could have overlooked it.

I sincerely thank everyone who assisted me with my resizing efforts. Sharing your knowledge and time with a novice is something most people are not willing to do. It says a lot about your character. I have noticed much impatience, frustration and aggravation by others in many forums while attempting to assist a novice such as myself. I experienced none of that in this thread, which again attests to your character and genuine desire to share your knowledge. You have my respect and admiration.

I apologize if my rambling in any of my posts caused any consternation among you. That's my nature; I'm not only a reader but also a person who often talks too much.

C.B.

 

[whs]

Is everything in good order now??

Btw: at your tender age you have plenty of time to learn all that stuff. I started with the PC at age 70.

 

[rraod]

Dear CBM,

We were only anxious about you and your task...and be ready with any other advice you may need in time.

So our requests might have sounded as impatient demands. But in the end all of us were just waiting for you to finish the task and declare the results. so that we can say Yahoo.......

 

[CBM]

Is everything in good order now??

Btw: at your tender age you have plenty of time to learn all that stuff. I started with the PC at age 70.

Everything is fine, whs, and the OS seems to be performing normally. The two main reasons I wanted to shrink the OS partition were to decrease read/write times and the time it took to do backups. I'm going to run an Acronis backup and Windows Backup and Restore backup soon so as to determine if the Acronis backup still takes two hours to complete and the Windows backup one hour to complete. I'm concerned with only one thing when I do a backup and that is the system image. I keep all my data on two external drives. Actually, I see no reason to purchase any more Acronis upgrades.

I'm going to start another thread, if one does not already exist, about any advantages to placing the page file on a partition other than the OS partition.

C.B.

 

[CBM]

Dear CBM,

We were only anxious about you and your task...and be ready with any other advice you may need in time.

So our requests might have sounded as impatient demands. But in the end all of us were just waiting for you to finish the task and declare the results. so that we can say Yahoo.......

I noticed no impatience, frustration or aggravation by any of those who assisted me in this thread. As I stated earlier, all of you have my respect and admiration.

C.B.

 

[whs]

CBM, there is absolutely no gain to be had by moving the pagefile. This file is used so rarely, that it is not worth worrying about it. Go to Resource Monitor > Memory tab on the bottom right is a graph that shows you the activity on the Pagefile (hard faults).

I really do not understand why your backups would take so long. How much data is in your OS Partition ?? My System backs up in about 12 minutes and restores in less than 20. But I use free Macrium. Maybe you should try it. Tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

 

[CBM]

CBM, there is absolutely no gain to be had by moving the pagefile. This file is used so rarely, that it is not worth worrying about it. Go to Resource Monitor > Memory tab on the bottom right is a graph that shows you the activity on the Pagefile (hard faults).

I really do not understand why your backups would take so long. How much data is in your OS Partition ?? My System backs up in about 12 minutes and restores in less than 20. But I use free Macrium. Maybe you should try it. Tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

My Acronis backups always take appx. two hours and tech support at Acronis has never been able to determine why. The only thing I keep on my operating systems on all my computers are the program files; no pictures, no videos, no music, no nothing. My Acronis TIH 2012 seems to be incapable of backing up my email and once again, the Acronis techs can't understand why. My support request on this issue has been open for many weeks and has been bumped up to the senior tech level with no answer provided as of yet. I really don't think much of Acronis TIH. I use Paragon on the laptop. I'll look into Macrium. Thank you for the link.

I'll leave the page file where it is. I have not started a thread regarding this issue and will not do so.

C.B.

 

[mjf]

I'm not a Novice to Partition Wizard and have used it often.
However, I used for the first time the other day on my OS (Boot,...) partition to shrink it to a size able to accommodate an SSD. Sorry to say it moved files and screwed up! The MFT wasn't the issue.
I recovered from an image and completed the job. But take WHS's advice early in the thread and basically be prepared to recover from a PW foul up.

Also, if you ever invoke your factory recovery you'll be back to the old partition structure.

Did you use the PW CD? While we´ve had failures using PW installed version which must commit to RAM at reboot to complete tasks, I recall no failure reported in thousands of cases where PW CD has been used here to do both simple and complicated partitioning operations.

Please document thoroughly with screenshots any PW boot disk failures, as non-specific comments disparaging the most important tool we use here are not helpful and confuse the OP.

(1) I'm at least as technically competent in this area as you are. I also remind you that I am part of this forum so I like to think I am part of the "we".
(2) I provide advice all the time on using the live boot CD when doing partition operations and I tend to follow my own advice. Yes I used the boot CD.
(3) The comment was not "disparaging" it was a statement of fact. I provide advice all the time and if I had more to offer on this matter I would have provided it.
(4) I use Partition Wizard frequently and my advice was to never take a partition operation lightly and assume it could fail. What gives you the right to tell me this advice isn't helpful.

 

[CBM]

CBM, there is absolutely no gain to be had by moving the pagefile. This file is used so rarely, that it is not worth worrying about it. Go to Resource Monitor > Memory tab on the bottom right is a graph that shows you the activity on the Pagefile (hard faults).

I really do not understand why your backups would take so long. How much data is in your OS Partition ?? My System backs up in about 12 minutes and restores in less than 20. But I use free Macrium. Maybe you should try it. Tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

Hello again whs. I noticed this warning in the tutorial and I believe it applies to my situation with my Dell computers having the Recovery partition initiate the boot. I'm going to try it later today. I've had enough of Acronis, although I'm not going to badmouth the product.

Warning
The recovery instructions work perfectly well with a "traditional" installation where the bootmgr resides on the C partition. If, however, you have a seperate 100 or 200MB partition where the bootmgr resides (usually a hidden partition), then you must not mark the C partition as active. Rather mark the partition as primary or logical. Else, your restored system will become unbootable.

My OS partition is already marked as primary. I'll have to check the Macrium help menu and the user interface to determine the initial setting and whether or not I'll have to change anything.

C.B.