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SOLVED How to increase Partitioned Disk Size without Re-Format ?

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Gh0sT-NoVa

Gh0sT-NoVa

Member
​
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Location
Malaysia, South East Asia.
Hey guys , so I have a W.D Blue 1TB
I Partitioned it this way when I built my PC back

C: - 103GB
D: - 828GB

So the C: is where I installed all my Windows , Drivers ( AMD GPU etc ) , Anti-Viruses and basically all my Software and Programs and of course including Document stuffs / Save Games in My Documents / User Folder

So Im only left with 36GB now , I worry there won't be enough space in future use. Is there a way to increase the size on my C: without having to re-format my PC again or even losing any data on C: and D: ?

I still left over 282GB on D: and Im gonna get another 1TB hardisk soon.
 
In computer management, right click on the drive and there should be an option to extend the partition.
 
EarthDog said:
In computer management, right click on the drive and there should be an option to extend the partition.
Click to expand...

O that simple :shock:
I will try Google up some guide for this then.

Hmm I hope Windows 7 Home Premium will work too as for what I hate about Microsoft is , loads and loads of great features are only in Ultimate etc :-/

Microsoft is such a scam IMO :bang head

Another question may I ask , I don't want go starting another post.
As now Im using OEM Version of Windows , as I know that OEM will lock it to your Mobo's BIOS , basically if I change to a new Mobo , my copy of Windows will become useless.

As I mentioned I have Windows 7 installed on C: games on D: etc.
So if I were to change a new Mobo and maybe even change to Windows 8.1
How should I do this ?
Format my entire hard drive ? Or I could just format C: where my Windows and most my programs and sofwares are and keep my games un-touch on D: and just re-install Windows on C: again ?
 
Gh0sT-NoVa said:
Hey guys , so I have a W.D Blue 1TB
I Partitioned it this way when I built my PC back

C: - 103GB
D: - 828GB

So the C: is where I installed all my Windows , Drivers ( AMD GPU etc ) , Anti-Viruses and basically all my Software and Programs and of course including Document stuffs / Save Games in My Documents / User Folder

So Im only left with 36GB now , I worry there won't be enough space in future use. Is there a way to increase the size on my C: without having to re-format my PC again or even losing any data on C: and D: ?

I still left over 282GB on D: and Im gonna get another 1TB hardisk soon.
Click to expand...

Why not move your my documents to the D drive?

Have you cleared all temp directories? Cleared cached windows update downloads/
 
cw823 said:
Why not move your my documents to the D drive?

Have you cleared all temp directories? Cleared cached windows update downloads/
Click to expand...

Even If I do move them to D: I doubt in future there be enough for C:
What about my Drivers and Programs ? I mean sometimes like Updating Windows / my AMD Drivers etc the size will increase , sometimes like other stuffs as well for my games maybe Direct-X or Microsoft Visual etc something something
As also you know even now I installed ALL my games into D: , some games they seem to still install some other stuffs into C:
For example , there are some folders from Blizzard that they automatically installed them into C: while I specifically installed both my SC II and Diablo on D:
Same goes for some " Rockstar Games " , MaxPayne , GTA etc.

Yes I did clear my Temp Folder , not even more than 1 GB , as also I mentioned Save Games are automatically saved to My Documents which is too it's in C: , you don't expect me to move the Save Game files to my D: everytime :shock:

Unless you guys have some suggestion on how I can just keep only 101% Windows file in C: while the rest will all go to D:
 
Gh0sT-NoVa said:
Even If I do move them to D: I doubt in future there be enough for C:
I mentioned Save Games are automatically saved to My Documents which is too it's in C: , you don't expect me to move the Save Game files to my D: everytime :shock:
Click to expand...

:confused: If you move your my documents folder to D, especially if that's where you are saving your games to, that will help immensely.

It's like you're arguing with yourself.
 
If I were you, I'd get a copy of Acronis True Image and take an image of your existing C and D partitions. Then you can just format the drive or even write zeros to it if you want. Then repartition it any way you like and restore the images to the newly created partitions. Acronis will "fit" the images to match the new partition sizes, so no worries there. Even if you decide to do this partition resizing another way, it's good to have an image before the journey should all hell break loose.
 
cw823 said:
:confused: If you move your my documents folder to D, especially if that's where you are saving your games to, that will help immensely.

It's like you're arguing with yourself.
Click to expand...

But the Save Games like games from STEAM etc , they will automatically save them into My Document which located in C:
Is there a way to permanently shift this folder to my D: instead ?
So whenever or whatever things that gonna be save into My Document it be saving it into D: instead.

wingman99 said:
Did you extend your volume?
Click to expand...

Haven't , I haven't shrink it yet. I gonna Defrag this weekend and do it.
For Im gonna be buying my HDD by next week.

Lvcoyote said:
If I were you, I'd get a copy of Acronis True Image and take an image of your existing C and D partitions. Then you can just format the drive or even write zeros to it if you want. Then repartition it any way you like and restore the images to the newly created partitions. Acronis will "fit" the images to match the new partition sizes, so no worries there. Even if you decide to do this partition resizing another way, it's good to have an image before the journey should all hell break loose.
Click to expand...

Is free ? What are Images anyways.
Basically your telling me to make a copy of everything I have in C: and D: now and Re-Format my PC , and Re-Partition again ????
 
RGone said:
I doubt that more truthful words were ever written.
RGone...
Click to expand...

Sounds like alot of trouble just to increase partition's size lol....
Im left with 36GB now at least...maybe I shouldn't even care about it ?

Another problem I came across reading on the internet , there are chances that when using Window's own Disk Manager will fail to do so ,and 3rd Party Programs are needed instead :shock:

I think I've regretted not making a bigger partition during back when I built this PC , I thinking the OS won't need this much space...but strange if I didn't count wrongly , I went to file by file , I add up the numbers , I think I only used up not more than 30GB....but why is it showing that I used over 60GB , I might have to double check on this , or is there such a thing could happen ?
 
Sounds like alot of trouble just to increase partition's size lol....
Click to expand...
Its not. Its easy. They are just trying to show and teach you what is generally held as a 'best practice'. ... BACK UP YOUR DATA (especially before major changes!)!!!

Another problem I came across reading on the internet , there are chances that when using Window's own Disk Manager will fail to do so ,and 3rd Party Programs are needed instead

I think I've regretted not making a bigger partition during back when I built this PC , I thinking the OS won't need this much space...but strange if I didn't count wrongly , I went to file by file , I add up the numbers , I think I only used up not more than 30GB....but why is it showing that I used over 60GB , I might have to double check on this , or is there such a thing could happen ?
Click to expand...
I'm going to be really honest here... you are making a mountain out of a mole hill. First, ANY product can fail. I have a 100% success rate with using the Windows feature to resize.

As far as what you are missing, I would bet money says you do not have system/hidden files able to be seen. I really wouldn't get that granular on your data though.

To wrap it up...Back up your data as you already should be doing regularly, and expand that partition. Fortitude. Get some to do this. Stop walking on eggshells when you really do not need to. ;)
 
EarthDog said:
Its not. Its easy. They are just trying to show and teach you what is generally held as a 'best practice'. ... BACK UP YOUR DATA (especially before major changes!)!!!

I'm going to be really honest here... you are making a mountain out of a mole hill. First, ANY product can fail. I have a 100% success rate with using the Windows feature to resize.

As far as what you are missing, I would bet money says you do not have system/hidden files able to be seen. I really wouldn't get that granular on your data though.

To wrap it up...Back up your data as you already should be doing regularly, and expand that partition. Fortitude. Get some to do this. Stop walking on eggshells when you really do not need to. ;)
Click to expand...

No , I had hidden files to show.
Question , any reasons why you call backup as " image " i mean its the same thing right basically you just like making another copy of what you have now as a backup ?

Also , does Windows System Restore able to help in this situation if things does goes bad , as in I trying to re-size my partition

When you said doing backup as a practice , but do you like backup all your files or as just in vital ones ?? Seems extreme to be backing up over TB and TB size of files IMO lol but I guess this is very normal for multi billion enterprise companies.

Another question is , if you do backup like a TB of it , where do you even store them...? Unless you were doing like RAID 1 or something like that :shrug:
 
There are technical differences between an image an backups... an image is just that, a snapshot of the ENTIRE system with OS and data included. A backup does not need to contain the ENTIRE system as mentioned above.

System restore takes a small snapshot and you can use it to 'roll back' as part of the 'repair' options in windows. So, yes it can.

As far as back ups as a practive... I have a 'base image' of my OS that has just the basics... Chipset, GPU, and Network drivers. I also have another 'final' image of my OS drive which has the rest of the drivers, updates, programs, and games. Depending on my needs at the time determines what I use to restore the system. As far as 'TB's of data', I take a full backup, and then choose incremental backups which then only back up any CHANGES to the path you asked to back up. So, I take a back up and say its 1TB in size, the incremental backup is then a drop in the bucket so it is not TB after TB after TB. You can also choose to keep only 1,2,3, etc full back ups... so once a new one is taken, the old is deleted.

As far as how I do it. You saw how I work the OS. As far as my data and music, I have a separate 2TB drive I send all my back ups to for safe keeping. I do not have that much data in the first place, but logic tells you if you need to back up 1TB worth of data, you need a 2TB or greater or multiple drives to hold it.
 
How big are your data files? Such as My Documents, Music, etc? You realize you can put them on any drive you want?

Just go to your C drive - User - Whatever your username is - and then right click on any of your data folders like saved games - right click and click properties - then click on the location tab. There you can change the location files for that folder are stored. It can be any drive connected to your computer.

People with SSD's do this all the time. My OS, games, and programs are on my SSD for quick starting and my data files are on a separate drive. Do this and you may not even need to change your partition. On the drive you are moving them to just make a "Saved Game" or whatever folder first to make it easier.
 
Last edited:
EarthDog said:
There are technical differences between an image an backups... an image is just that, a snapshot of the ENTIRE system with OS and data included. A backup does not need to contain the ENTIRE system as mentioned above.

System restore takes a small snapshot and you can use it to 'roll back' as part of the 'repair' options in windows. So, yes it can.

As far as back ups as a practive... I have a 'base image' of my OS that has just the basics... Chipset, GPU, and Network drivers. I also have another 'final' image of my OS drive which has the rest of the drivers, updates, programs, and games. Depending on my needs at the time determines what I use to restore the system. As far as 'TB's of data', I take a full backup, and then choose incremental backups which then only back up any CHANGES to the path you asked to back up. So, I take a back up and say its 1TB in size, the incremental backup is then a drop in the bucket so it is not TB after TB after TB. You can also choose to keep only 1,2,3, etc full back ups... so once a new one is taken, the old is deleted.

As far as how I do it. You saw how I work the OS. As far as my data and music, I have a separate 2TB drive I send all my back ups to for safe keeping. I do not have that much data in the first place, but logic tells you if you need to back up 1TB worth of data, you need a 2TB or greater or multiple drives to hold it.
Click to expand...

I see this least shed some light into what your actually asking me to do.
But I don't back up my files up to such a serious point.
For GPU Drivers I could always just re-download Im ok with that. I mean like Anti-Virus , Soundcard also GPU , we still least able to boot up the PC even without their Drivers. When you mentioned " Chipset " that's the DVD software that came with our Mobo right ? What does it contain exactly ??

But I do backup all my vital stuffs. But I don't have that many vital stuffs to begin with , but since I did partitioned , the worst to come I only have to re-install my OS , Drivers , the rest I think should be fine. But a hassle I guess even so.

So asking me to create an Image it's just almost something like system restore then ? But instead was suggesting I use a 3rd Party program on the previous posts.

poco242 said:
How big are your data files? Such as My Documents, Music, etc? You realize you can put them on any drive you want?

Just go to your C drive - User - Whatever your username is - and then right click on any of your data folders like saved games - right click and click properties - then click on the location tab. There you can change the location files for that folder are stored. It can be any drive connected to your computer.

People with SSD's do this all the time. My OS, games, and programs are on my SSD for quick starting and my data files are on a separate drive. Do this and you may not even need to change your partition. On the drive you are moving them to just make a "Saved Game" or whatever folder first to make it easier.
Click to expand...

Sorry for double posting , yeah this is what I asked before , I was wondering if I could do that , but after reading what you said Im still not so clear ,but I will give it a go and find out how it works. Will reply if I can figure it out , tks for the info ! :attn:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If the OP shrinks D: with Disk Manager where will the unallocated space be located. Before or after D:? If after D: he will not be able to extend C: will he?

I know how to shrink and extend using 3rd party software so it is not an issue for me, but in watchnig some videos of shrinking D:, I noticed that the unallocated space from shrinking D: then appeared to the right of D: and I cannot see Windows Disk Manager being able to merge that unallocated space into C:. I have missed the oblivous before and maybe doing so now.
Thanks.
RGone...
 
RGone said:
If the OP shrinks D: with Disk Manager where will the unallocated space be located. Before or after D:? If after D: he will not be able to extend C: will he?

I know how to shrink and extend using 3rd party software so it is not an issue for me, but in watchnig some videos of shrinking D:, I noticed that the unallocated space from shrinking D: then appeared to the right of D: and I cannot see Windows Disk Manager being able to merge that unallocated space into C:. I have missed the oblivous before and maybe doing so now.
Thanks.
RGone...
Click to expand...

Sorry my English is just way too weak to understand lol...
If you meant before D: and after D: meaning the location of the Drives I've partitioned ?

Hmm in my case when I click My Computer it shows like so

Hard Disk Drives (2)
Local Disk (C:) Local Disk (D:)
*There's a Windows Logo on the C: Drive*

And Im shrinking D: btw
 
when shrinking D: the unallocated space will be behind D:
thus moving D: as a whole is needed... 3th party soft is better for tricks like that
however, it can be done in Windows DiskManager IF the disk has been "converted" from a Basic to a Dynamic (or GPT) disk.. then you point to any free space and just add it.

There are two issues with dynamic disks:
1 you cannot revert back to Basic disks without having a good backup and "reformatting" - a 3th party tool is needed
2 i dont know if Windows HOME edition actually allows DiskManager to do all these things/work with dynamic disks (ive got ultimate)
 
RnRollie said:
when shrinking D: the unallocated space will be behind D:
thus moving D: as a whole is needed... 3th party soft is better for tricks like that
however, it can be done in Windows DiskManager IF the disk has been "converted" from a Basic to a Dynamic (or GPT) disk.. then you point to any free space and just add it.

There are two issues with dynamic disks:
1 you cannot revert back to Basic disks without having a good backup and "reformatting" - a 3th party tool is needed
2 i dont know if Windows HOME edition actually allows DiskManager to do all these things/work with dynamic disks (ive got ultimate)
Click to expand...

Good Lord :shock: The more we discuss on this topic the more discouraging and the more troublesome it gets

I think I only see two choices now
1) Leave the F#@ C: alone , till really it runs out of space , only starts bothering what to do....
2) Format the whole damn hardisk and re-install everything again.

Case Close I guess :thup::clap:
PS : This is why I hate programming or even dealing with program stuffs , understanding the hardware and building and tinkering around a with PC that requiring the knowledge compatibility is alot easier and simple too !
 
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