Vista - Drive Partitions

Something to test your noodle:

Ok so your using a laptop, Vista Home Premium installed on a single disk from a OEM install.

Your laptop didnt come with a install CD so re-installing Vista is not an option.

Your disk started its life as a single partition, you use Disk Management to 'shrink' the partition and create a second partition on the drive.

You work for a few months and install a few Vista Updates, After a while you notice your system partition is low on space so you move the paging file to the second partition and continue.

However following more updates you realise the drive space is low again.

What is your course of action?

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Comments

dynamik

Well, you obviously have to invent a time machine and prevent yourself from partitioning the drive in the first place.

What's on the second partition? Can't you just delete that partition and extend it back to the full size?

Sie

There is free space available following the second partition but 'Extend Partition' is greyed out in Disk Management.

[Edit - SP]

I have an answer to this just wondered what people would come up with

Lee H

Well then sherlock, been a busy day and am wacked so consider my noodle well tested

Amaze me whats the answer???

Sie

Changed my mind my original answer wouldnt work

Maybe the only answer is to use a Third Party Application like G-Parted and move the Second Partition to the end of the Disk and use 'Extend Volume; within Disk Management to extend to the Free Space. As I believe it is possible to Extend aslong as it is into contiguous space.
(However does Vista still hold the problem that Extend is not available on System Disks?)

Im going to have to test this now

Anyone have any other ideas / have any comments on the above?

Cookie to the first one who comes up with an answer!!

hugolucky

debug shrink /dumbassmove:r /cookie:e

dynamik

I haven't really looked at home premium's partition/disk options. Can you just convert the disk to dynamic and span it to the empty space?

You can shrink/extend the system partition (I did this the other day and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked), but I believe you're right, the space does have to be contiguous.

edit: Guess not. I'm kind of surprised it wasn't included in the Business edition though.

Microsoft wrote:

Only Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate editions support dynamic disks.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/4605a967-060a-490e-808b-f20438f621ce1033.mspx

HeroPsycho

In my experience, you want to avoid using dynamic disks if you can anyway. They're more prone to problems than similarly configured basic disks.

I'd always try to grow my basic disk partitions than convert to dynamic and span.

hetty

Messing about with partitions and your data is too risky IMO. Just transfer the data to another drive, delete the partition and reconfigure it again. Ive lost data restructuring a partition like your trying to do, so ive learned the hard way. think of it as your defraging all of your files as an added bonus.