Partitioning a drive under Windows 7 (DVD, hard drive, sounds, icon)

[irman]

I have been trying to partition a large hard drive running under Windows 7, but can not figure out how you actually get there.

Looking up partitioning, you get to [Disk Management]
OK, I just *see* one drive (C), and then it tells me to click on [Unallocated],
but I do not *see* any *unallocated* sector(s) ....

So what are the steps to create another [Partition] or [Logical Drive], that can be used as *another drive* ??

There is an item called [Shrink Volume].
Is that what one needs to do first, and then
do something with whatever is left or ...... ??

TIA.

[djxpress]

Create and format a hard disk partition
Found it in 10 seconds with Google. Good luck.

[irman]

Originally Posted by djxpress

Create and format a hard disk partition
Found it in 10 seconds with Google. Good luck.

So did I , but if you would have read that information, it also tells you to:
(without explaining where it is, if you do not see it)
<<<Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then click New Simple Volume>>>.

In the mean time I did find info on how to do it and *yes* you have to shrink the volume first, and then assign the empty volume a drive letter.

Thanks anyway ....

[SLippi]

If you don't have any unallocated space you need to create it. You can use the shrink volume option you mentioned before to shrink it. Then once you have the desired free space you can create a new partition. Keep in mind most likely you won't be able to shrink your existing volume by more than 50% at a time and may need an aftermarket defragmentation tool to complete shrinking the volume.

[revelated]

Step 1: Download Paragon Partition Manager Home Edition.
Step 2: Install Paragon Partition Manager Home Edition.
Step 3: Run Paragon Partition Manager Home Edition.
Step 4: Follow tutorial.

So easy, a caveman could do it.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by revelated

Step 1: Download Paragon Partition Manager Home Edition.
Step 2: Install Paragon Partition Manager Home Edition.
Step 3: Run Paragon Partition Manager Home Edition.
Step 4: Follow tutorial.

So easy, a caveman could do it.

Paragon Software has some nice stuff these days, and Partition Manager seems to be a LOT more fault-tolerant than Partition Magic used to be. Speaking as a user of Partition Magic since the pre-GUI v1.0 version that ran under OS/2.

[irman]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Paragon Software has some nice stuff these days,

Was talking about this partitioning with friends and one said, come on over, I have the full version ....

Yep, it was really easy with the full version and it does have some nice other things included.

I think I will buy a copy myself.

[kristain]

Open the start menu and type "Computer Management" and click the icon that comes up.
When the computer management window pops up hit on "Storage" then "Disk Management”.
Right click on the hard drive you want to partition and select "shrink volume..."
What you are going to do here is "shrink" your current hard drive, so it’s basically asking you "how big are you going to make this new partition." Enter how much space you want in MB.
Now all you have to do is go down to the partition table on the bottom and find the free space you just created by "shrinking" the hard drive earlier.
Right click on the free space and select "New Simple choose the size and on the next page, assign a drive letter. Finally, you can label your volume and perform a format.

[bs13690]

Sounds like the OP has figured out the solution already but here is my two cents anyway.

Using the shrink volume option sucks. It will only let you shrink it but so much and sometimes not at all depending on where system files are located. Some of the files are unmovable (by Windows) so you can't shrink the volume. If you have the Windows DVD it is much easier to install Windows from scratch and create partitions during the install process.

[irman]

Comments inserted

Originally Posted by bs13690

Sounds like the OP has figured out the solution already but here is my two cents anyway.

Yep, I did ....

Using the shrink volume option sucks. It will only let you shrink it but so much and sometimes not at all depending on where system files are located. Some of the files are unmovable (by Windows) so you can't shrink the volume. If you have the Windows DVD it is much easier to install Windows from scratch and create partitions during the install process.

I guess, I was lucky because I have a habit of defragging my disks regularly, so the files were all in one place.
BTW, I now have a full version of Paragon Partition Manager.
Worth the cost !!