1 Topic by davidtg

  • davidtg
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Topic: how do i move an xp partition?

Hi!

I have a Dell D630 laptop with Win XP in sda1 at about 15G with about 22G free.  I would like to move sda1 to the back of the disk (still sda1 but using the highest numbered cylinders instead of the lowest).  I have gparted 0.2.5 from the Knoppix 5.1 DVD and it does see the drive with one partition and free space.

When I click on "Resize/Move" the resize window pops up; I could change the size and "Free Space Following" but don't see any way to move the partition.  Maybe I want a "move window" to pop up instead.

What do I do?

Alternatively, if I really had to, I could copy XP from sda1 to a new sda4 at the end of the disk and then use only slices 1-3 for my Linux installation, but 1) I also don't see how to copy a partition to a new partition, 2) I don't know that Win will like changing from sda1 to sda4, and 3) I don't really prefer that anyway.


TIA & HAND

:-D
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David T-G
see http://justpickone.org/davidtg/email/

2 Reply by davidtg

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Re: how do i move an xp partition?

Aha!  This may have been solved by downloading the LiveCD with a later (0.3.6.x) version on it; at least the "space before" box is now editable and it looks like gparted is crunching along.  Here's hoping it's bootable when it's done :-)


Stay tuned

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David T-G
see http://justpickone.org/davidtg/email/

3 Reply by class413

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Re: how do i move an xp partition?

version 0.2.5 is very old and buggy, but unfortunately it is contained in a number of (even newer) other cds (Knoppix, Ubuntu 7.04 too).

(Topic moved to the live media section)

*** It is highly recommended to backup any important files before doing resize/move operations. ***

4 Reply by LFULLER

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Re: how do i move an xp partition?

Need to resize (reduce) CEE drive  from 280 gb to 80 gb, in order to restore backup to new  80 GB SATA drive.  Only about 28 gb of the 280 gb is in use.  but there is no "unallocated space".

Used Partition Magic 7.0,  but after PC reboots, goes bonkers & need to restore Acronis backup in order to regain system.  Believe XP version on machine to be illegal.

Is it possible this program would resize & work aroung the the Partition Magic hangup??

5 Reply by davidtg

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Re: how do i move an xp partition?

Hiya!

% Need to resize (reduce) CEE drive  from 280 gb to 80 gb, in order
% to restore backup to new  80 GB SATA drive.  Only about 28 gb of
% the 280 gb is in use.  but there is no "unallocated space".
[snip]

You probably need to use something like ntfsresize to reduce the size of the volume contained in in before you can shrink the partition.


HTH & HAND

:-D
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David T-G
see http://justpickone.org/davidtg/email/

6 Reply by gedakc

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Re: how do i move an xp partition?

LFULLER,

The versions of GParted on the latest live CD and System Rescue CD should do the trick for you.  davidtg is right, you will need ntfsresize.  GParted is able to use ntfsresize if ntfstools is installed (as it is on these live CD's).

You should probably disable the windows swap file, and defrag the drive prior to resizing.  That will help to allow the resize operation to free up more space.

7 Reply by class413

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Re: how do i move an xp partition?

Yes, the livecd is very good for xp systems, as it contains any needed software piece and libraries. 

As gedakc states, it can be helpful to disable the windows swap file and defrag, although not mandatory. Running chkdsk /f before would be a good idea, as well as shutting down properly the system. After resizing, you need to boot into windows at least 2-3 times, for system checks.

*** It is highly recommended to backup any important files before doing resize/move operations. ***