Disk partitions

[j52c]

Hi all.

I wonder if anyone can help me, here is an image showing my 2 hard disks.



In Win 7 Disk management, there are 3 entries in the top section. To keep things brief, can I use disk management to delete the unallocated block and the healthy primary partition and then stretch the remaining partition so that it resembles drive D:.

The disk was originally in a Dell PC, but is now in a home built system. The reason I ask all this is that I want to replace existing disk with a bigger one. I know that I can use Acronis True Image to make system image backups but, I have been reading a support .pdf file explaining how to put the system image back onto a bigger drive and it seams a very lengthy process restoring the original partitions and then expanding the boot partition.

I though it might make it easier is I could make my C: drive be one partition then I would only have to restore and stretch that partition onto a bigger drive using Acronis.

Am I making this sound more difficult than it is or has someone a better solution.

Any help appreciated.

[Taf]

Free Easus partition manager will do it all easily and AFAIK safely

http://www.partition-tool.com/landing/home-download.htm

[tizmeinnit]

I will put this simply leave it alone.( 55meg part)

If you do what Taf says windows may not boot as the bootloader will be looking for windows on the second partition and you have just deleted it.

So I will say again leave it alone(55meg part)

use disk management to delete the 4.6 gig part then extend using disk management. All the options are there

---------- Post added at 10:43 ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 ----------

another question . Do you really need a larger boot drive? how much space have you used that are not docs? All music photos and everything else are better off on D anyway so all you need on C is OS and Programs.

Maybe replace the second drive with a bigger one and back up everything to there

[Waldo Pepper]

Originally Posted by Taf

Free Easus partition manager will do it all easily and AFAIK safely

http://www.partition-tool.com/landing/home-download.htm

Seconded. I have used this many times at home without issue. I was so impressed I paid the few dollars for the full blown version to create bootable USB sticks etc.

It mirrors HDDs onto SSDs easily. Shrinking the larger HD to fit on the SSD, copying then expanding back out to utilise the full SSD capacity is a breeze.

Don't forget to hit the "Apply" button once you have set things up otherwise nothing will happen. Caught me out the first time.

[idi banashapan]

yep - Easeus is great, as it PartedMagic. either will do what you want.

[tizmeinnit]

and if you mess with the 55 meg partition without altering boot manager then the system will be looking for the OS on the wrong partition.

Just a warning I feel needs repeating

---------- Post added at 15:20 ---------- Previous post was at 15:17 ----------

Also as the OP intends to buy a larger drive all the partition changes can easily be done inside windows

[j52c]

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

I will put this simply leave it alone.( 55meg part)

If you do what Taf says windows may not boot as the bootloader will be looking for windows on the second partition and you have just deleted it.

So I will say again leave it alone(55meg part)

use disk management to delete the 4.6 gig part then extend using disk management. All the options are there

---------- Post added at 10:43 ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 ----------

another question . Do you really need a larger boot drive? how much space have you used that are not docs? All music photos and everything else are better off on D anyway so all you need on C is OS and Programs.

Maybe replace the second drive with a bigger one and back up everything to there

So, leave the Unallocated alone but it is ok to delete the 4.6 mb one and extend the current. Does that mean then when I get the new disk I can restore the system image and then extend that on the new drive.

The reason I want a new drive is that this one is going into slightly lower spec pc which I am giving to an Hospice for children near where I live.

---------- Post added at 17:45 ---------- Previous post was at 17:36 ----------

Originally Posted by Taf

Free Easus partition manager will do it all easily and AFAIK safely

http://www.partition-tool.com/landing/home-download.htm

Thanks. Just downloaded it and having a look.

[tizmeinnit]

I would create a total disk image of the full drive including the small 55 mb partition( after you have extended the 4 gig part) its just to be on the safe side.

Both your drives are the same size why not move the data from the second drive to the new bigger drive and give the hospice that one?

[DABhand]

The 55mb partition is obviously system allocated for info for the boot manager, write caching etc. Like what has already been said.

I am guessing the 4GB+ Partition is a system backup that most brand companies will stick on a drive for system restoration purposes (usually a ghost image).

I would just leave it alone to be honest.

[alferret]

Originally Posted by j52c

The disk was originally in a Dell PC, but is now in a home built system. The reason I ask all this is that I want to replace existing disk with a bigger one. I know that I can use Acronis True Image to make system image backups but, I have been reading a support .pdf file explaining how to put the system image back onto a bigger drive and it seams a very lengthy process restoring the original partitions and then expanding the boot partition.

As the disk was in a Dell PC & is now in a home built then there would be no reason to keep 4.6gb partition as mentioned Easus will do the trick. The 55mb partition is unallocated & whilst you could format to NTFS & merge with C: TBH after overheads you'll only get 50mb & its hardly worth the hassle.
As Tizmeinnit mentioned there is no real need for such a large boot partition, I would delete all partitions & start from fresh & have a primary of about 50gb or less. My opinion of course

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by j52c

The reason I want a new drive is that this one is going into slightly lower spec pc which I am giving to an Hospice for children near where I live.

Bear in mind that unless the MB is the same the installed OS on the HDD will likely not work in a different PC. You have to re-install the OS from the original disks on the new PC. You can't install with the same OS key on more than one system legitemately as the licence/key is for one system only.

[DABhand]

Originally Posted by alferret

As the disk was in a Dell PC & is now in a home built then there would be no reason to keep 4.6gb partition as mentioned Easus will do the trick. The 55mb partition is unallocated & whilst you could format to NTFS & merge with C: TBH after overheads you'll only get 50mb & its hardly worth the hassle.
As Tizmeinnit mentioned there is no real need for such a large boot partition, I would delete all partitions & start from fresh & have a primary of about 50gb or less. My opinion of course

Windows 7 allocates that space for some features, like faster searching etc. Its assigned during its installation. Removing it would only complicate things and of course slow the OS down a bit.

And yes I agree no point having multiple partitions on one drive, HDD prices are falling now and you can easily get a 1TB drive at a nice price.

As for the 4.6GB partition, I would back up whatever image is contained there, or files, its no coincidence that its 4.6GB in size for a DVD-r. Just incase OP decides to put the HDD back into the Dell.

[tizmeinnit]

Dude if it was Windows 7 system partition it would be 100 meg in size and allocated as system reserved

[DABhand]

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

Dude if it was Windows 7 system partition it would be 100 meg in size and allocated as system reserved

Depends on the version of Windows 7, only 3 versions use the 100mb allocated size, the others allocate smaller sizes or similar (depending on what is being installed with Windows 7 as WINre needs that extra info)

[tizmeinnit]

but they are still marked system reserved