cant shrink partition

nicho247 · 09-26-2008, 04:35 PM

i typed a really long thread and when i hit submit i had to log back in and lost everything i typed.... lil pissed about that

anyway, instead of doing that all over again ill try to keep this short and sweet. i want to get rid of vista and install xp. my issue is that i have some files that i want to keep so i thought the best option would be to move them onto a partition. here are some pictures, i think they explain it better than words.

and

pretty much it wont let me shrink my partition and i have no idea why, and i have been unable to search for the solution via google. i have 70gb free space and this is incredibly aggravating.

any possible help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

**jcgriff2** · 09-26-2008, 06:12 PM

Hi. . .

The steps you have taken look fine to me.

What I did notice is that you already have 4 partitions; I don't know if that is a factor here - it should not be.

If you have not done so, I would suggest that you clean the c: drive w/ a product like CCleaner or the Windows Cleanmgr -
START | type cmd.exe into the start search box | right-click on cmd.exe above | select run as administrator - then type:

Code:

cleanmgr tuneup

check the boxes and run it.

Then defrag the c: drive w/ Auslogics disk defrag - click on the link in my sig area below & install.

Then try and shrink the c: drive again.

Personally, I would purchase an external USB drive and back everything up there. You may find it necessary to wipe that entire drive b4 installing XP - I can't say that for a fact. Be sure you have all of the drivers needed for XP before proceeding, or you might end up with an expensive paperweight.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.

nicho247 · 09-26-2008, 07:05 PM

hey thanks for the response,

i ran ccleaner and that defrag program and nothing changed other than performance.

anyway vista says that "size of available shrink space can be restricted if snapshots or pagefiles are enabled on the volume."

is there anyway to disable either of these options? i am not that familiar with vista which is why i am here. gonna have to agree with you though that an external hd would be an easy fix.

thank you if u have time to come back to this thread

Paracha · 09-26-2008, 07:51 PM

hi Nicho, I have been in similar situation lately, don't know why but in some cases u can not make more than four partitions on laptop HDD(specifically SATA HDD), it happened with me. This might be the reason in your case, try to merge couple of partitions and check again ...

chao !

nicho247 · 09-26-2008, 09:51 PM

ok i just ended up formatting my backup drive and am using that as storage. i'm not sure if i should start a new thread but i am having trouble formatting my c drive that has vista on it.

my end goal is just to have my laptop only have XP on it, so i need to get rid of vista entirely. when i put my xp cd in the drive and reboot the computer when it goes into setup it tells me that "no harddrives can be detected"

apparently this happens to a lot of people trying to reformat their laptops and vista makes it difficult to downgrade. after reviewing other peoples threads lots of people have input but none of the information i have read seems to help.

pretty much what has me stuck is, i dont know how to reformat my c drive and i dont have a vista cd that would allow me to format after a boot up.

if anyone could help me out this would be greatly appreciated.

**jcgriff2** · 09-26-2008, 10:26 PM

Hi. . .

You can use killdisk to wipe the drive -

http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm

I just saw your other post re: page file. I am told that the page file resides on the very end of the partition. I got a new system w/320gb HDD, 11.2gb allocated to recovery drive d:, the rest to c:. I went to shrink c: - which has ~ 309gb w/ 275gb free at the time, but Vista would only give me 110gb for new partition.

So I considered the page file. I changed settings to run w/o one. re-booted and deleted it. Re-defragged the c: drive. Re-booted, went back into diskmgmt and this time - no page file and a defrag after - instead of the 110gb, it now only gave me 107gb!

Good Luck to you. . .

JC

.

09-26-2008, 04:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
nicho247 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6 OS: xp sp2	cant shrink partition i typed a really long thread and when i hit submit i had to log back in and lost everything i typed.... lil pissed about that anyway, instead of doing that all over again ill try to keep this short and sweet. i want to get rid of vista and install xp. my issue is that i have some files that i want to keep so i thought the best option would be to move them onto a partition. here are some pictures, i think they explain it better than words. and pretty much it wont let me shrink my partition and i have no idea why, and i have been unable to search for the solution via google. i have 70gb free space and this is incredibly aggravating. any possible help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

09-26-2008, 06:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
jcgriff2 Moderator, Microsoft Supp Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Great State of New Jersey - away from the gross corruption of the Riverside County, CA, SO office. SHAMEFUL ! Posts: 10,126 OS: Windows 7, Vista Ultimate My System	Re: cant shrink partition Hi. . . The steps you have taken look fine to me. What I did notice is that you already have 4 partitions; I don't know if that is a factor here - it should not be. If you have not done so, I would suggest that you clean the c: drive w/ a product like CCleaner or the Windows Cleanmgr - START \| type cmd.exe into the start search box \| right-click on cmd.exe above \| select run as administrator - then type: Code: cleanmgr tuneup check the boxes and run it. Then defrag the c: drive w/ Auslogics disk defrag - click on the link in my sig area below & install. Then try and shrink the c: drive again. Personally, I would purchase an external USB drive and back everything up there. You may find it necessary to wipe that entire drive b4 installing XP - I can't say that for a fact. Be sure you have all of the drivers needed for XP before proceeding, or you might end up with an expensive paperweight. Regards. . . jcgriff2 . __________________ . . . . . . . . BSOD Posting Instructions B Expecting a reply and waiting > 36 hours ? Send a PM to me containing a link to your thread Glad to be home in the Great State of New Jersey ! !

09-26-2008, 07:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
nicho247 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6 OS: xp sp2	Re: cant shrink partition hey thanks for the response, i ran ccleaner and that defrag program and nothing changed other than performance. anyway vista says that "size of available shrink space can be restricted if snapshots or pagefiles are enabled on the volume." is there anyway to disable either of these options? i am not that familiar with vista which is why i am here. gonna have to agree with you though that an external hd would be an easy fix. thank you if u have time to come back to this thread

09-26-2008, 07:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
Paracha Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NY Posts: 17 OS: Vista Basic	Re: cant shrink partition hi Nicho, I have been in similar situation lately, don't know why but in some cases u can not make more than four partitions on laptop HDD(specifically SATA HDD), it happened with me. This might be the reason in your case, try to merge couple of partitions and check again ... chao !

09-26-2008, 09:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
nicho247 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6 OS: xp sp2	Re: cant shrink partition ok i just ended up formatting my backup drive and am using that as storage. i'm not sure if i should start a new thread but i am having trouble formatting my c drive that has vista on it. my end goal is just to have my laptop only have XP on it, so i need to get rid of vista entirely. when i put my xp cd in the drive and reboot the computer when it goes into setup it tells me that "no harddrives can be detected" apparently this happens to a lot of people trying to reformat their laptops and vista makes it difficult to downgrade. after reviewing other peoples threads lots of people have input but none of the information i have read seems to help. pretty much what has me stuck is, i dont know how to reformat my c drive and i dont have a vista cd that would allow me to format after a boot up. if anyone could help me out this would be greatly appreciated.

09-26-2008, 10:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
jcgriff2 Moderator, Microsoft Supp Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Great State of New Jersey - away from the gross corruption of the Riverside County, CA, SO office. SHAMEFUL ! Posts: 10,126 OS: Windows 7, Vista Ultimate My System	Re: cant shrink partition Hi. . . You can use killdisk to wipe the drive - http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm I just saw your other post re: page file. I am told that the page file resides on the very end of the partition. I got a new system w/320gb HDD, 11.2gb allocated to recovery drive d:, the rest to c:. I went to shrink c: - which has ~ 309gb w/ 275gb free at the time, but Vista would only give me 110gb for new partition. So I considered the page file. I changed settings to run w/o one. re-booted and deleted it. Re-defragged the c: drive. Re-booted, went back into diskmgmt and this time - no page file and a defrag after - instead of the 110gb, it now only gave me 107gb! Good Luck to you. . . JC . __________________ . . . . . . . . BSOD Posting Instructions B Expecting a reply and waiting > 36 hours ? Send a PM to me containing a link to your thread Glad to be home in the Great State of New Jersey ! !