Partitioning

MrLogin · 10-05-2009, 08:05 PM

I have win 98 sys and I want to upgrade to XP but only have 9gig c drive partition I need an extra 3-4 gig to fit win XP with my current win98 system. I have tried on a spare drive to increase the drive size fron 8 gig to 13 gig but am unable to restore my backup sucessfully on to this drive and get it to boot up on my computer I have a mobile rack and do set my boot to the desired hhd but it won't boot now ( i did transfer sys files ) I have the delemer of experimenting on my main harddrive and I thought I would ask some one first? I also intend to put another 500 gig drive in I already have one 80 gig one 30 gig and two 40 gig drives an I am wondering what is the best method to partition this drive as well I have partition magic version 7 and the old Fdisk which I could possibly cheat with as I had to when I partitioned my 80 gig drive with it. anyone really experienced with partitioning that can give me some advice I have done it2 etc and had a bit of experience but I am attempting to do somthing I prob shouldn't but I must if I want to save my current system with XP upgrade.
With my 80 gig drive drive c is 9-10 gig and I have a vacant logical drive next to it I want to merge wit it and it should give me about 13-14 gig drive C do you think I will have any problems using partion magic to acheive this?
Thank You Bill.

**OldGrayGary** · 10-06-2009, 12:07 AM

Hi MrLogin

It sounds like you wish to have a multi-boot system, with the option to boot into either your existing Windows 98 system, or Windows XP. I will also assume that you have a Windows XP installation CD.

If so, why not leave Windows 98 "as is" on its own hard drive, and install Windows XP "clean" onto it's own hard drive? (Even if your Windows XP installation CD is an "upgrade" version, you can still "clean" install it onto its own hard drive using the "Custom" installation option). If you'd like, you can erase the drive you wish to use for XP beforehand, and simply let XP Setup partition and format the empty drive. Whether or not you use the NTFS or FAT32 file system for XP, you will be able to see all of the Windows 98 files when booted into XP. Windows 98 will only be able to see the Windows XP files if you use the FAT32 file system for the XP system drive.

If your Windows 98 system is very old (from pre-2000, for example), the older motherboard might not be able to work with your larger drives without the help of "drive overlay" or "drive translation" software (such as "EZ-Bios", "Disk Manager", etc. ... these are free tools provided by the hard drive manufacturers). Simply visit the support websites for your model PC, or your motherboard, to see the specifications for your hardware. A 500gb hard drive is a bit of a headache to use with Windows 98, as drive-translation software is very likely to be necessary, along with a fair amount of partitioning to let Windows 98 "see" the full extent of the drive. If you want to read more about the issues involved in using the larger drives, point your favorite search engine to topics for "Drive-Overlay" software, LBA 48 bit support, 127gb drive limitation ... or simply visit an example article like the following --- http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/482/2

If you use either a 40gb or an 80gb drive for XP, installing the dual-boot should simply be as easy as installing Windows XP using the Custom method, selecting the 40gb (or 80gb) drive as the system drive -- it will create a boot menu for you as part of XP Setup.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

P.S. ... You'd asked if Partition Magic could enlarge your original Windows 98 partition to include unused space on that same drive -- Yes, it certainly can.

**blah789** · 10-08-2009, 08:52 PM

If you use fdisk to partition the 80GB drive, be sure to get this patched version of fdisk from Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263044

OldGrayGary is right in saying you're probably best partitioning using the XP recovery console (boot into XP CD, pick repair, enter the recovery console, then type diskpart). On that topic, the XP CD has to have SP1 integrated or higher to recognize drives over 128GB (your 500GB drive). If it's an XP CD without SP, google on how to slipstream the service pack into it.
There's tricks to get Windows 98 to recognize large hard drive, but to be frank I don't think it's worth the trouble. You're much better accessing your 500GB drive from XP only.

All this is about destructive partitioning of course. Partition magic and other tools may help you resize and partition non-destructively, but I'd ask in the hard drive forum first (I've heard some horror stories with newer versions of partition magic in there, so I'd definitely ask first).

10-05-2009, 08:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
MrLogin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 7 OS: win98	Partitioning I have win 98 sys and I want to upgrade to XP but only have 9gig c drive partition I need an extra 3-4 gig to fit win XP with my current win98 system. I have tried on a spare drive to increase the drive size fron 8 gig to 13 gig but am unable to restore my backup sucessfully on to this drive and get it to boot up on my computer I have a mobile rack and do set my boot to the desired hhd but it won't boot now ( i did transfer sys files ) I have the delemer of experimenting on my main harddrive and I thought I would ask some one first? I also intend to put another 500 gig drive in I already have one 80 gig one 30 gig and two 40 gig drives an I am wondering what is the best method to partition this drive as well I have partition magic version 7 and the old Fdisk which I could possibly cheat with as I had to when I partitioned my 80 gig drive with it. anyone really experienced with partitioning that can give me some advice I have done it2 etc and had a bit of experience but I am attempting to do somthing I prob shouldn't but I must if I want to save my current system with XP upgrade. With my 80 gig drive drive c is 9-10 gig and I have a vacant logical drive next to it I want to merge wit it and it should give me about 13-14 gig drive C do you think I will have any problems using partion magic to acheive this? Thank You Bill.

10-06-2009, 12:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: Partitioning Hi MrLogin It sounds like you wish to have a multi-boot system, with the option to boot into either your existing Windows 98 system, or Windows XP. I will also assume that you have a Windows XP installation CD. If so, why not leave Windows 98 "as is" on its own hard drive, and install Windows XP "clean" onto it's own hard drive? (Even if your Windows XP installation CD is an "upgrade" version, you can still "clean" install it onto its own hard drive using the "Custom" installation option). If you'd like, you can erase the drive you wish to use for XP beforehand, and simply let XP Setup partition and format the empty drive. Whether or not you use the NTFS or FAT32 file system for XP, you will be able to see all of the Windows 98 files when booted into XP. Windows 98 will only be able to see the Windows XP files if you use the FAT32 file system for the XP system drive. If your Windows 98 system is very old (from pre-2000, for example), the older motherboard might not be able to work with your larger drives without the help of "drive overlay" or "drive translation" software (such as "EZ-Bios", "Disk Manager", etc. ... these are free tools provided by the hard drive manufacturers). Simply visit the support websites for your model PC, or your motherboard, to see the specifications for your hardware. A 500gb hard drive is a bit of a headache to use with Windows 98, as drive-translation software is very likely to be necessary, along with a fair amount of partitioning to let Windows 98 "see" the full extent of the drive. If you want to read more about the issues involved in using the larger drives, point your favorite search engine to topics for "Drive-Overlay" software, LBA 48 bit support, 127gb drive limitation ... or simply visit an example article like the following --- http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/482/2 If you use either a 40gb or an 80gb drive for XP, installing the dual-boot should simply be as easy as installing Windows XP using the Custom method, selecting the 40gb (or 80gb) drive as the system drive -- it will create a boot menu for you as part of XP Setup. Best of luck . . . Gary P.S. ... You'd asked if Partition Magic could enlarge your original Windows 98 partition to include unused space on that same drive -- Yes, it certainly can. __________________ Last edited by OldGrayGary; 10-06-2009 at 12:19 AM.

10-08-2009, 08:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
blah789 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2,266 OS: Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP3	Re: Partitioning If you use fdisk to partition the 80GB drive, be sure to get this patched version of fdisk from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263044 OldGrayGary is right in saying you're probably best partitioning using the XP recovery console (boot into XP CD, pick repair, enter the recovery console, then type diskpart). On that topic, the XP CD has to have SP1 integrated or higher to recognize drives over 128GB (your 500GB drive). If it's an XP CD without SP, google on how to slipstream the service pack into it. There's tricks to get Windows 98 to recognize large hard drive, but to be frank I don't think it's worth the trouble. You're much better accessing your 500GB drive from XP only. All this is about destructive partitioning of course. Partition magic and other tools may help you resize and partition non-destructively, but I'd ask in the hard drive forum first (I've heard some horror stories with newer versions of partition magic in there, so I'd definitely ask first).