New PC: non destructive HDD partitioning

[Jeff]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning? Any
good free partitioning tools available? Windows is per-installed so I do
not want to delete it!

Thank you.

Jeff

 

[Stan Brown]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning?

Yes!

Click the Start button and type
manage partition


(Recommendation to new Windows 7 user: /Windows 7 Inside Out/. It's
not perfect, but I think it's the best available, and it saved me
hours.)

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Ditto.

Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning? Any

Yes, but there are certain files it can't move, so if they're where you
want to move a partition boundary (they were for me), it can limit your
choice of sizes.

good free partitioning tools available? Windows is per-installed so I

I found one that was easy to use; I can't find it on the source webpage
now, so I can send it to you if you wish. [2011-7-18]

do not want to delete it!

[]
Because others will say it if I don't: make the recovery discs that it
will nag you to do before doing much else, as I assume it didn't come
with any discs.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

He spoke in sentences that made up paragraphs, with immaculate grammar and
punctuation. - Barry Cryer on Clement Freud 1924-2009, in Radio Times, 25 April
- 1 May 2009.

 

[Paul]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning? Any
good free partitioning tools available? Windows is per-installed so I do
not want to delete it!

Thank you.

Jeff

There's a symbolic link recipe here, but as you'd expect,
it can go out of control on you. Windows never seems to be
particularly "designed" for this.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com...9ecc-57ba-4c21-ad19-b044e331ab92?persist=True

One of the first things I did with my new laptop, was spend a couple days
making various kinds of backups. If you've done that right, you have
nothing to fear from a few experiments later. I have a five disc set of
recovery media, a full image of the hard drive, and smaller
images of C: alone after SP1 was added. I have at least two ways to
put the laptop back to "factory". And I make images of C:, before
doing something known to cause problems.

So, yes, there's a "capability". A capability to get yourself into trouble

Paul

 

[Ken Blake]

That's fine. As far as I'm concerned, that's almost the only good
reason for doing it.

I know it is not really necessary but

Yes!

Click the Start button and type
manage partition


(Recommendation to new Windows 7 user: /Windows 7 Inside Out/. It's
not perfect, but I think it's the best available, and it saved me
hours.)

I'll add my recommendation to yours. I also think it's the best
Windows 7 book there is. And I also think that almost any book by Ed
Bott is a good choice.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning? Any
good free partitioning tools available? Windows is per-installed so I do
not want to delete it!

Thank you.

Jeff

Yes, but it might be easier to use some of the free downloads.
In Windows you reduce the size of the C: partition, then make a new
partition in the free space. But Windows is inflexible about the
shrinkage.

One program I've had good luck with is Partition Wizard, but there are
others.

Back up first

 

[Ken Springer]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning? Any
good free partitioning tools available? Windows is per-installed so I do
not want to delete it!

Thank you.

Jeff

I like EaseUS Partition Master.

--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.6.8
Firefox 14.0.1
Thunderbird 14.0
LibreOffice 3.5.2.2

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I like EaseUS Partition Master.

Actually, I do too, IIRC - but I couldn't recall the name when I wrote
my post. Thanks for the help.

 

[Jeff]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning? Any
good free partitioning tools available? Windows is per-installed so I do
not want to delete it!

Thank you.

Jeff

Thank you all for the advice. I ended up using Partition Wizard which
did the job for me.

Jeff

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Actually, I do too, IIRC - but I couldn't recall the name when I
wrote my post. Thanks for the help.

That is the one I use, but I installed from scratch and set up
partitions ahead of time, so I've never really used it to modify the
system or boot partitions.

 

[G. Morgan]

OK, I just purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 and am trying to
remember things that I obviously forgot.

I like to partition my HDD so that my data files are on a separate
partition from the system files. I know it is not really necessary but
it helps me with my backup schemes. So my question is does Windows 7
Home have a built in capability to do non-destructive partitioning? Any
good free partitioning tools available? Windows is per-installed so I do
not want to delete it!

The one built into Windows in diskmgmt.msc sucks.

Here is one I use, much better:

http://www.extend-partition.com/free-partition-manager.html

PS:

I got the Pro version free by watching http://www.bitsdujour.com/ for
it.

 

[Stan Brown]

The one built into Windows in diskmgmt.msc sucks.

Whenever I see statements like this, I wonder why people don't give
some details. In what way does it suck? What makes your favorite
one better?

Without that information, one is just blowing off steam, which is not
likely to have much of a positive outcome.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Whenever I see statements like this, I wonder why people don't give
some details. In what way does it suck? What makes your favorite
one better?

Without that information, one is just blowing off steam, which is not
likely to have much of a positive outcome.

I agree with you.

But to give my experience: the built-in one seemed easy enough to use,
but could not move some file which was half-way (approx.; around 250G on
a 500G disc) up, thus limiting the size choices; the free one I used was
also easy to use and didn't have any problem moving that file. (Or
files, I can't remember if it was more than one.)

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Whenever I see statements like this, I wonder why people don't give
some details. In what way does it suck? What makes your favorite
one better?

Without that information, one is just blowing off steam, which is not
likely to have much of a positive outcome.

IMHO, Disk Management doesn't suck. It is just limited, probably for
safety reasons. If I can do what I want to do with it, Disk Management
is my first choice because I think it is least likely to get me into
trouble. I only use Partition Master if I need to go beyond DM's
capabilities.

 

[Paul]

I agree with you.

But to give my experience: the built-in one seemed easy enough to use,
but could not move some file which was half-way (approx.; around 250G on
a 500G disc) up, thus limiting the size choices; the free one I used was
also easy to use and didn't have any problem moving that file. (Or
files, I can't remember if it was more than one.)

If you're doing a shrink with the Windows 7 disk management function,
there is some metadata file it can't move.

If you use the right defragmenter, the metadata can be moved.

That's how I got my C: partition to go from ~300GB down to 40GB.
Alternating passes of Disk Management "shrink" and a defragmenter.

Not every defragmenter moves metadata.

I did it that way, just to see what they were saying
was true or not. And it did work.

Paul

 

[mick]

That is the one I use, but I installed from scratch and set up
partitions ahead of time, so I've never really used it to modify the
system or boot partitions.

Used it a couple of days ago to shrink the D: drive and increase the C:
drive space. Easy to use.

 

[Stan Brown]

IMHO, Disk Management doesn't suck. It is just limited, probably for
safety reasons. If I can do what I want to do with it, Disk Management
is my first choice because I think it is least likely to get me into
trouble. I only use Partition Master if I need to go beyond DM's
capabilities.

That would be my view. Wherever Windows itself offers a way to do
something, I want to use that way rather than some third-party
utility.

While the risk may be small with e.g. open-source utilities, there's
always some risk of malware when I install anything downloaded. And
of course there's the issue of bloat too.

Alton Brown, on /Good Eats/, always railed against "unitaskers". He
wouldn't have a tool in his kitchen that couldn't do more than one
task unless there was no acceptable alternative, and I feel the same
way about my kitchen *and* my computer.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

That would be my view. Wherever Windows itself offers a way to do
something, I want to use that way rather than some third-party
utility.

While the risk may be small with e.g. open-source utilities, there's
always some risk of malware when I install anything downloaded. And
of course there's the issue of bloat too.

Alton Brown, on /Good Eats/, always railed against "unitaskers". He
wouldn't have a tool in his kitchen that couldn't do more than one
task unless there was no acceptable alternative, and I feel the same
way about my kitchen *and* my computer.

I was in a kitchen store yesterday and saw a device to remove the leaves
from the top of a strawberry. It looked like a strawberry with a pusher
at the top and four broad prongs that came out of the bottom.

Are you trying to tell me you wouldn't own one?

Surprise: I didn't buy one either

 

[Stan Brown]

I was in a kitchen store yesterday and saw a device to remove the leaves
from the top of a strawberry. It looked like a strawberry with a pusher
at the top and four broad prongs that came out of the bottom.

"A solution in search of a problem"

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

On Sun, 22 Jul 2012 20:26:59 -0400, Stan Brown

[snip]

Alton Brown, on /Good Eats/, always railed against "unitaskers". He
wouldn't have a tool in his kitchen that couldn't do more than one
task unless there was no acceptable alternative, and I feel the same
way about my kitchen *and* my computer.

One factor to consider is the cost of using the item. I can
deleaf strawberries easily by hand and then wash my hands. How easy
is it to clean the deleafer?

That might not be much, but consider using a food processor to
slice. It may go faster to slice, but then you have to clean the food
processor which will probably more time than you "saved".

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko