BleepingComputer.com: Resize Main Partition

Hello I would like to resize my main (and only partition). As it stands I have one partition on my computer. The entire hard drive is there. I would like to resize that partition so that i can store all my personal (hard to replace) files as a safe harbor in case of a system failure.

As I understand it the traditional way to partition a hard drive would be to delete my C: drive then reinstall my OS ( which i cant do b/c i dont think that i got the Vista disk when i bought it) then partition my hard drive into smaller peices. I understand that by doing this i would lose everything on the hard drive and would then have to reinstall all the software/everything aigan.

this is not a viable option at this time b/c i need to amek a comiplation of all the various installs programs etc.

So what I would like to know is.... can I use the resize partition command to shave off some unused GB from my one and only drive to make a small partition without loosing/damage/screwing up anything that is already on that drive?

Yes you can do this.

1. Backup any important data you would not like to lose.

2. Defrag your hard-drive. If you have JkDefrag then use the -a 5 option to force as many files together as possible.

3. Reboot

4. Right click My Computer, select Manage and then select Disk Management

5. You should see you current C: drive. Right click it and select Shrink. You will then be able to shrink the partition. The amount which you can shrink it by is determined by the position of the last file physically on the hard drive. This is why you defragged first - to move as much as possible to the start of the drive.

6. Now you have some unused space on the drive, you can create a partition (or a number of partitions) in this free space.

This should all go without any problems, but just in case, please don't miss step 1 out - it's better to be safe than sorry. That being said, I've done this numerous times and never had any issues but your mileage may vary.

I used Disk Director Suite to make changes to my partition and it is really easy to use.

It does cost $50 but is worth it for the program does all the work after you choose the settings.

Ok so just to be sure I should make an image of my harddrive....

Then I need to run an extreme defrag to get everything together....

After that I should pray to the invisible guy in the sky.....

Then go into disk management and resize my main partition.....

After that I will have some space with which to make a new partition....


All this without loosing a single thing on my main drive?

The key here is making an image of your hard drive. If that's done properly, and you verify the image - you should have everything saved on in that image if you need it.

Then you can do almost anything to your drive - and will still be able to restore it.

The process "should" go seamlessly - but you never know what will happen, that's the reason for the image.