[RESOLVED] Partitioning a Windows 7 Disk

[shrdlu]

Hi All, .............. I'm still in the process of setting up my daughters computer. It has a 500 GB disk and I would like to set up two more partitions. Now it has that 100MB section in front of the C: drive and a 10 GB Factory Image on the D: drive. Since the D: drive will rarely be used, I would like to isolate it near the end of the alphabet. Will there be any problems in changing the the drive letter? I have set up partitions on my present Windows XP system using the Easeus Partition Master program without any trouble. Windows7 is so new to me that I'm trying to be careful. I would appreciate any advice that you care to offer. Thank you.

[SuperSparks]

There should be no problems at all with changing the drive letter, which is only used after Windows has actually booted. Any recovery utility that accesses that partition won't know about, or care, what drive letter you have given it.

The 100MB partition does not need a drive letter at all, if it has one.

[shrdlu]

SuperSparks, .......... Thank you for the prompt reply. A few comments to clarify my first post. The MB section does not have a letter assigned to it and I have read that -- depending on how the OS is installed -- that section may or may not be there. I'm going to leave it alone. Also, the Easeus Partition Master (Manager) only works with 32 bit systems. Ours is 64 bit. To amplify my original concern, I plan on the second partition to be assigned as D: and the third as E:. I worried that there might be a conflict with the original D:, the Factory Image, and the new D: Any further comments will be welcome.

[DVOM]

I assume you've got one large partition that Win7 is on that will have to be shrunk down to give you some room. You want to do that win Win7's own partition tool.

The way I do it is to first shut down system restore and hibernation. This is because they both place files all over the partition that are unmovable and prevent adequate shrinkage of the partition. They can be turned back on when you're done.

Then get Raxco PerfectDisk, which gives you 30 days free, to defrag and consolidate all the files to the beginning of the partition. I usually need to run it 2 or 3 times to get all the files moved.

Then shrink the partition with Win7's tool and turn system restore and hibernation back on if you like.

Then you can create whatever additional partitions you need. If you're only using them for storage, and not another OS, I recommend creating one large extended partition and within that, however many logical partitions that you need.

The reason for using the extended/logical partition setup is that you've already got 3 partitions and I'm betting they're all primary, that leaves you just one additional primary partition possible. You're only able to use 4. The alternative is 3 primary parts with one extended and as many logicals as you need or have letters for.

And for a tool to do the partitioning work with, I use a Linux Live CD, such as Ubuntu or LinuxMint and use the GPartED partitioning app that's included.

[shrdlu]

DVOM, Thank you for the good advice. I followed your directions for the most part. However I used Partition Wizard for the actual space adjustments. So far all looks well,