Change size of partitions on hard drive?

[calista]

I have a hard drive with two partitions. One has plenty of space, and the other is very nearly full. It is so full, I cannot even run defrag. There doesn't seem to be anything it would be safe to delete, because they are primarily system files for our retail software. I tried moving some of the files to the other partition, but it wouldn't let me do that.

Is there any way to change the size of the partions without losing the files? I see that I can delete a partition, but then I would lose the files. Any suggestions?

Calista :-X
Jedi Knight,
Champion of the Force

 

[Auger282]

I could be wrong but software like PartitionMagic can change the size of partitions dynamically...

BUT I think the drive has to be initially setup with the software to be able to change the partition in the future.

maybe Bill can shed some light...

 

[bcastner]

I would use a junction or mount point; this freeware makes creating them easy:

http://www.rekenwonder.com/linkmagic.htm

Discussion:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=307889

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/mountvol.mspx

In the alternative, a commercial program such as Partition Magic would permit you to "shrink" the nearly empty volume and add the freed space to the nearly full volume. This can be done even if Partition Magic did not orinally create the partitions.

 

[jlshelton]

This is exactly what Partition Magic is good for, and it is reasonably priced (though it would be nice to have a one-day license for less money.) I've never had PM lose data, and I've done lots of work with it. Old versions may be available used on eBay or similar; the newer versions support larger disks and have a fancier display. Newest versions run while system is booted in Win2K or WinXP, but older versions do fine booted from floppy and DOS (supplied in the old versions.)

 

[twiztwas]

Partition Magic can easily fix your problem; it does not require any preinstallation, and works with NTFS, FAT and FAT-32 partitions, supports Windows and Linux and more. I've used it for years without problems - versions 4,5,6,and 8, both the standard and professional versions. It has a very easy interface. If you want to use it with no hard drive usage it can generate bootable floppy disks.

There are other competiting products, but I haven't used them.
twiztwas