Solved shrinking C Drive using the windows disk maangement softwa

win8user2013

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hi,

I have read some threads other info about shrinking the c drive where the os is,but none have ever said that it cannot be shrunken using the windows provided disk management but seems to talk around it?
Is it not a good idea to do this with the windows disk management software?

thanks in advance
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
Certainly you can shrink C: - right click and select shrink volume.

Are you having some problem? - There are some restrictions so please explain what you are trying to achieve and post a print of disk management showing existing partitions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
To Adamf,

thanks for the reply.
I am just trying to create D drive for data,by shrinking c drive as there is no other space available.

The existing partitions are:

layout simple; type basic (both the same for all partitions )
1) c drive 499gigs : where the os resides - boot, page etc
2) recovery partition 15.76gigs [15.76gigs free space (im wondering why this is all free space,isnt there supposed to be some recovery software?The laptop has just been returned from warranty for a sound module hardware problem)]
3) EFI partition 300mb [300mb free space]
4) recovery partition 400mb [400mb free space]

There is no unallocated space.

Yes I was having a software problem with my other pc.It needed a new image of the recovery software in the hidden partition,such that the problem was that the os did not installed 100% although it still worked.And I wonder if it was due to me shrinking the c drive using the windows disk management software.And I need both pc's to be working at least for the next mnth.

cheers
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
Try to attach an image of disk management - see here http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2598-screenshots-files-upload-post-eight-forums.html

The recovery drive probably contains a system image to restore to if you run into problems later. I don't have one so I can't say if it is normal for it to appear empty.

If you shrink the C drive the space left will become unallocated and then you can format it. I've done this without issue in the past. If you want to move partitions around you could try Free Partition Magic alternative & Partition Manager Software for Windows PC and Server - EaseUS. or similar.

This was mine - the disk management screen and then right click to shrink. It would allow 158GB after the last written block. What does yours show? It is easier to understand a picture:)
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
To Adamf,

What are the limitations of using the windows disk management software other than moving partitions around? So the disk management will always be able to shrink a currently in use c drive without any errors?

I am also needing install win 8 pro and,
I have created a repair cd from windows which has options to recover the os from an image,and also the acer recovery software that has the default factory settings as well as a dvd which has all drivers and applications that come with the pc.
So I guess that will repair any problems if I install win 8 pro and the acer software and drivers are not left intact ?? [other than a partition problem.]??

cheers
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
Well you can certainly shrink C: if you want to. I'd be happier to use disk management than any other utility to do it. Just pick how much you want to shrink it, after it is done format the unallocated space and assign a letter. What you can't do is merge partitions, move them around etc.

Reducing it to 60-80GB (Total amount after shrink) or so would be OK depending on the number of programs you want on it in addition to Windows. Don't reduce it to the minimum (25GB shown in your post) or you will have no room for installing programs or Windows updates.

I don't know about your recovery drive issue as I don't have one - I think it is another question.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
I have created a repair cd from windows which has options to recover the os from an image,and also the acer recovery software that has the default factory settings as well as a dvd which has all drivers and applications that come with the pc.
So I guess that will repair any problems if I install win 8 pro and the acer software and drivers are not left intact ?? [other than a partition problem.]??

cheers

I think you are pretty much covered. Are you upgrading from 8 to 8 pro or do you have a disk and are planning on a clean install?

In either case you should make another system image just after you upgrade.

Don't forget that making a D: partition on the same drive will do nothing for you if the hard drive fails and certainly will not improve performance. What it will let you do is restore Windows (and programs if you install them there) from a system image separately from your data. Or re-install Windows. This set-up would help perhaps if your Windows environment was corrupted. You'll still need to backup both C: and D: onto another drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
I'm concerned that three of the four partitions appear to be empty! To use any built-in restore capability you must have a populated recovery partition on the drive containing the Windows system image to be used. There is no evidence of that on your drive. A repair CD can not do a restore, all it can do is repair boot loader problems and invoke a routine to do a restore from a saved image.

Also, there is evidence of an EFI partition -- and since I'm unfamiliar with the details of EFI, I defer to folks who are.

At this point, I would leave it alone until some EFI expert comes along and provides you specific advice.
 

My Computer

To Mark,

Yes that is what I thought! this pc was sent to the warranty dept for a small hardware problem.And I thought there should be some data in the recovery partition,something looked different....
oh dear ....

thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
I'm concerned that three of the four partitions appear to be empty!

The three partitions are NOT EMPTY, there are HIDDEN partitions, which show as empty in DM.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
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