partitioning my XP machine

[haggisinlondon]

Hi

I have three drives

c: windows
d: progs
e: photos and music

I want to reinstall my Windows XP. However I want to take some of the space from the d: drive and give it to the c: drive. So windows has more space.

Can I do all this and leave the e: drive intact as all my photos and music are on that drive?

Thanks
Haggis

[Statica]

Yes you can; when you get to the partitioning screen for XP (blue screen stage), select C drive, and delete it (follow prompts for the exact keys you need to use to delete the system drive). Then do the same for D drive. Now you should see a bulk unpartitioned space that should be the size of the previous C:+D: select that unpartitioned space and create new partitions of the sizes you desire.

Mind you this only works if C and D partitions are contiguous - that is if C, D, and E are truly the 1st, 2nd and 3rd partition respectively; and you did not change the drive letter of D to make it seem like E.

Also, needless to say have a backup of E so that you are absolutely sure that some nameless bloke half way across the world isnt giving you bad advice

[Spools]

I was thinking of doing something similar (though I only have 2 partitions). But, I have a question regarding haggisinlondon's scenario:

Does deleting both the C and D drives wipe them clean (as in a format) or will it leave the programs on D in place while allowing you to readjust the partition size? This is assuming you don't try to "move" more than the current amount of free space.

[Statica]

Deleting both of them will clean out your drive. If you are looking to readjust space while keeping your data intact you will have to resort to 3rd party software like Partition Magic.

[steve472]

thanks for the info. you just answered my question that I was going to post.