Partitioner

[Clavin12]

Does anyone know of a partition manager that can resize windows partitions without corrupting files?

[ScarleTomato]

if you're using Vista or 7 you can right click on my computer -> manage -> disk management and use the one in there. If you're on XP I like Easeus partition manager. It can resize any of the non-system partitions while windows is running, and has a very easy interface

[Red Spot]

Partition Commander

I use it to set up my HDs, its dos based and allows you to create, resize, delete, format, etc etc ...

edit: one of the advantages of it is that it utilizes more of your HD than the windows partitioner does

[Clavin12]

What I want is to resize my system partition. Can I do that without corrupting files as long as I don't go smaller than the system?

[squirrelof09]

gparted, google it.

[Clavin12]

But will it corrupt my system files?

[sabrebattletank]

It didn't when I used it to shorten my Windows NTFS partition.

But does gparted run on windows?

[TwinShadow]

I use GParted myself. I run it via a LiveCD, and the only down-side I can see is the fact it takes forever to load my 1 TB HDD. -_-

But yes, I recommend GParted as well.

And to answer sabre, it's a LiveCD/LiveUSB thing that boots straight to the CD or USB. I burned it to a disc because I have a ton to spare, so I just do that. There will be no harm to your files so long as you know what you're doing.

[sabrebattletank]

Yup, I'm a linux user m'self. But if you want to edit partitions from within the windows GUI...

[Red Spot]

But will it corrupt my system files?

First create an image of your C-drive, than resize. No matter what anyones experiance may be there is always a risk it wil corrupt/damage your OS ..

[squirrelof09]

Yeah, who knows... Your power may flicker... You might not have a UPS, or could have a faulty UPS :p.  You never want a power failure while resizing your partition.

[Clavin12]

First create an image of your C-drive, than resize. No matter what anyones experiance may be there is always a risk it wil corrupt/damage your OS ..

When you say image do you mean ISO?

[Red Spot]

Afaik you cant make an ISO from your OS as its working when you make it. There are dos-based image programmes that allow you to create images of your OS while it isnt running, they could perhaps save as an ISO though ...

Personally I run these tools in dos as it means there is nothing in use and nothing is loaded into the memory.

Google is your best friend

[Zero Angel]

I think he means back your C: drive up using a program like Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage (that way if something goes awry, then you can always restore your computer back to the state it was in before)

Because no matter what you do, theres always a small risk of something going wrong when it comes to messing with your hard drive partitions (ie: what if the power goes out when its doing something important).

Theres 2 ways of doing it mostly,

1) Go into control panel -> administrative tools -> computer management -> disks -- and do it that way
2) Use a linux livecd, most come with the GNOME Partition Editor (gparted) that will let you shrink and tweak your partitions.

I really can't tell you if the windows partition editor will allow you to shrink partitions, especially ones that are mounted -- but I know for a fact that gparted will let you shrink and create NTFS partitions (which is the best one to use for windows). It can even do so without destroying any of the data on the partitions that it's shrinking.

[Clavin12]

I read up on it. It won't. Happily I just got a memory upgrade and now can run Ubuntu fairly well from CD. In fact I was tempted to resize it last night when I was poking around but I thought better of it and waited to back up my stuff. You know whats a little ironic? Ubuntu runs faster from CD than win2k off the HD. Unfortunately I don't have removable media big enough to support a full backup. Any suggestions?