Partitioning a HD (after OS install)

[wolfhound]

After dealing with yet another crash caused by Kazza. (which won't be installed again!!!) I got my machine up and running.

I had a brain fart and did not partition into 2 20 GB drives. May seem like a lame question but, can I partition after the fact? Or do I have to do an image an then partition?

Any one with any suggestions?

Thanks.

[catch23]

You can with partition magic...I suggest just going back through the installation and re-partitioning though.

[TwoRails]

Hi wolfhound,

If you already have imaging software, like Ghost, then you can save the $70 or so for Partition Magic. Just a thought.



TwoRails

[wolfhound]

I have ghost. What are your suggestions Two Rails?

[not important]

I would assume, TwoRails means to make a ghost image of your drive. Then reformat, make your partitions, and then restore the image you made from ghost.

[TwoRails]

Pretty close, not important. With Ghost, you don't need to format, it does it for you in a fraction of the time. If you Ghost a whole drive that has partitions on it already, it will do that for you, too.

If you want to do different partitions, it as a utility, Gdisk, that can do that also.

TwoRails

[David_Jones]

Hi TwoRails,

Do you mean that GDisk can partition a disk that already has the OS installed?

I wasn't aware that it could do that.

Thanks,

David.

[TwoRails]

Hi David,

Yes. It doesn't care. It's just like Fdisk in that regard, but has more power. Unfortunately, that also means it has a slightly higher learning curve -- one which I have got down yet. I have to whip out the manual for use, 'cause like Fdisk, it's something you don't uese all the time. And, heck, I can't even remember IF I had breakfast, let alone what it was...

TwoRails

[David_Jones]

And.. as a follow up...

Will you lose the OS / Apps that are installed already, or will they simply now reside on a smaller partition than before?

I *REALLY* wish I had partitioned a Win98 box rather than having one big partition, but I thought I would have to re-format, re-install Win98, and then all the applications, user settings etc. and I just cannot be bothered - it would take me ages to get it all settled down again!

So, if I have, say, 2Gb of free space on the drive, then GDisk can take that free space, and make it a separate partition?

If so, how does it know that it is taking the 2Gb that is free, rather than a section of the disk that has the OS or apps on it?

Thanks in advance,

David.

[casey]

Wolfhound,
1. If you have Ghost
2. And you only have a single hard Drive (Drive c
3. And you have a Cd Writer
4. You can do this:
5. Start Ghost (Versions prior to 2003 start in Dos) version 2003 can be run from windows)
6. Make sure you have enough CD's
7. Choose Disk to Image and for the image point to the CD Writer
8. Ghost will guide you. THEN make your image. NEXT
9. Create you partitions. Gdisk or Windows FDISK
10.Ghost again. choose Partition from image. for image insert your first CD in the writer and point to it
11.Choose the partition. should be C: if only one O/S
12.When done restart.
13.Format the other partition (depending on what you want to do with it)

[mike breck]

You could also download the trial version of Partition Magic and use that to do the job.

[highrisemech]

That is not true the demo version will allow you to explore the functionalities of the program, but will not make any changes to your partitions or hard drive.

[mike breck]

I stand corrected highrise.

I suppose because it's a program that most of us use once in a blue moon, they don't do the normal 30 day free trial.

[wolfhound]

Well, thanks to all for the responese to my little problem.

When I get home leter this week I think I have a plan.
Here is what I think I am going to do.

1. Ghost my current C: drive onto CD
2. Fdisk my hard drive so I can have my C: & D: back to 20GB each
3. Then put the ghost image back onto the C: drive
4. Then I should be good to go.

Any thoughts or holes in my plan?

[TwoRails]

Hi wolfhound,

I've never tried a Disk to Disk then restore the Disk to Partition.

I would do a Partition to Partition Image (on CD), make your drive the way you want, then put the Imaged Partition to the new Partition. The reason is if you restore the Disk, you are (in theory, anyway) going to restore your disk the way it was BEFORE you changed it. That is, after all, the whole reason to backup / image the Disk in the first place. Partition to Partition lets you put that saved partition Anywhere you want.

TwoRails

[casey]

Wolfhound,
What you want to do is OK. I have done this countless times.

[mike breck]

I would say the best time to make an image of the OS partition is just after a sucessful, clean install of the OS AND your favourite programs.

That means when you restore the image (either due to problems or just for an 1-2yr clean out) you will be restoring the OS and programs at peak efficiency and without accumulated bloat and debris.

So if you're going down the image route, I would suggest you back up your important data and then format and partition, for optimum use. Then make your images of the partitions you want.

This means will be able to restore optimal images of your OS and programs partitions any time you want. This way, you won't even have reinstall your programs.

It takes a bit more work at this stage, but will save you a lot of time in the future.

[casey]

Mike,
I totally agree with you. Good advice.
Regards
Casey

[TwoRails]

We're talking oranges and apples, yet taking apples and apples at the same time. If an image of each partition is made, then it can be restored to any partition of one's choosing. This will do what is desired. As I admitted, I've never did a complete disk dump (as I have too much info on my pair of 80 gig hard drives, which is why I go by partitions only -- more manageable) so I do not know if you have the option of restoring the complete disk image in pieces (partitions) or you are stuck with the exact partitions (and sizes) that you started out with. If you can choose your partition size(s) with a Complete Disk restore, then it will work just the same.

As far as doing yet another image dump After the system is rebuild, I assumed (hate that word) that it would be done to avoid this again in the near future. I still recommend doing a dump before and after the fact. CDs are cheap. I also recommend doing a dump before and after making any major changes to the system, like a Windows Update or installing other software, especially not-well-known downloads. Making an image before installing Kazza is a perfect example of what I'm getting at. I probably have about 10 image sets laying around at this moment, which is one reason why I started using CD-RW media instead of CD-R. Except for a few image sets, like after a fresh install after all Windows Updates, most are not needed after the install / system changes are in effect and working without problem. Although cheap, RWs are cheaper due to their reuse.

Since I keep data on different logical drives, making a partition dump of these drives is a fast and easy way to do a complete backup. I also keep a separate copy of data, but this is a different topic.

TwoRails

[wolfhound]

Thanks to all that gave their input on this subject.

I went out and got Ghost 2003 and Partition Magic.

Everything went great.

Thanks again. This is a great resource.

[TwoRails]

Hi wolfhound,

Thanks for the update !!

How did Partition Magic work for you??? I'm curious, as I tried Drive Image before I switched to Ghost, and it failed miserably! I give credit to their tech support as they did what they could to get it to run on my system, but to no avail. This make me not want to try PM.

I want to "re-space" my 2nd physical hard drive, and I could easily Ghost it, but it would take more time.

TwoRails

[wolfhound]

Two Rails,

I used PM with no problem. I made the Ghost image and then booted up PM via floppy. Made the two partitoins and then put the Ghost image back on.

I did have one little problem. I had a brain fart and did not activate the C: partition. Make sure you do that via PM.

It will work. No worries.

Wolfhound

[redbaron_snoopy]

Go ahead and use PM. It's intuiative and great for disks that's full of stuff that you want intact. Just a small issue that drive letters may change and impact some programs but there's a fix for that in PM. Haven't use that fix before so can't comment on it.

[TwoRails]

Hi wolfhound and redbaron_snoopy,

Thanks !!

It's good to hear postitive things about PM. Their other product, Drive Image, failed so miserably that I was leary -- but I also didn't want to condem a company based solely on one of their products...

TwoRails

[wolfhound]

Two Rails


Glad I could be the victim for the great experiment. I did learn my lesson and am doing my best to prevent it from happening again.


Wolfhound