To partition C:/ drive in Win Vista

I have a laptop with total hard disk of 250 gb. I have 220 Gb in C:/ drive and rest 15 GB in D:/ drive. I would like to partition C:/ drive into two parts namely C:/ and E:/ of 20Gb and 200Gb space. There is an option in Windows Vista to partition the data without using partition magic or other softwares. There is an option in Vista for doing it but I am not able to recall it...Can you please help me in partitioning it?

i dont think there is any such option but while doing an osri u can create partition or u may have to use third party software..

To create a partition or volume (the two terms are often used interchangeably) on a hard disk, there must be either unallocated (empty) space on the hard disk or free space within an extended partition on the hard disk.

If there is no unallocated space, you can create some by shrinking an existing partition, deleting a partition, or by using a third-party partitioning program.

When you create partitions on a basic disk using Disk Management, the first three volumes you create will be formatted as primary partitions. Beginning with the fourth volume, each volume will be configured as a logical drive within an extended partition. For more information, see What are partitions and logical drives?

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

2. In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

3. Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then click New Simple Volume.

4. In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next.

5. Type the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then click Next.

6. Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the partition, and then click Next.

7. In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:

• If you don't want to format the volume right now, click Do not format this volume, and then click Next.

• To format the volume with the default settings, click Next.


8. Review your choices, and then click Finish.

Originally Posted by anshul.madan

I have a laptop with total hard disk of 250 gb. I have 220 Gb in C:/ drive and rest 15 GB in D:/ drive. I would like to partition C:/ drive into two parts namely C:/ and E:/ of 20Gb and 200Gb space. There is an option in Windows Vista to partition the data without using partition magic or other softwares. There is an option in Vista for doing it but I am not able to recall it...Can you please help me in partitioning it?

You already have a Windows installation on the C: drive (how else would you have a C drive without Windows ) which means it might not be advisable to split or resize the C partition without using a Third party software. I'd use ranish partition manager for such stuff but Partition Magic could help your cause if you could lay your hands on the software. Make sure you back up any data and also defrag your C drive before proceeding to do such. And if you dont have any important data on the drive - the easiest would be a complete re-install and re-partitioning of the HDD

Originally Posted by skydelta

To create a partition or volume (the two terms are often used interchangeably) on a hard disk, there must be either unallocated (empty) space on the hard disk or free space within an extended partition on the hard disk.

If there is no unallocated space, you can create some by shrinking an existing partition, deleting a partition, or by using a third-party partitioning program.

When you create partitions on a basic disk using Disk Management, the first three volumes you create will be formatted as primary partitions. Beginning with the fourth volume, each volume will be configured as a logical drive within an extended partition. For more information, see What are partitions and logical drives?

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

2. In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

3. Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then click New Simple Volume.

4. In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next.

5. Type the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then click Next.

6. Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the partition, and then click Next.

7. In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:

• If you don't want to format the volume right now, click Do not format this volume, and then click Next.

• To format the volume with the default settings, click Next.


8. Review your choices, and then click Finish.

Hey I already have Windows Vista installed on it...now i just want another partitioned drive which can be used to store my data so that when I format the C Drive my data does not get lost and remains in the partitioned drive.

So I have seen somebody doing it but not able to recall ...he right clicked the C:/ drive and compressed it or did something which virtually made a new drive having 200 Gb and C drive having 20 Gb.

You can try the shrink volume feature in vista, check this post for the steps...

I hope this's what you were looking for.

yeah go for the shrink volume future in vista......but it has many lilitations....specifically u cant decide the min parition space to be allocated manually......else i will advice going for the third party software like acronis disk director (vista ready) or some famous s/w arnd the net

shrink volume is the best bet.
once you shrink the volume,you have the option to select the size of the new volume.

Make sure, you backup all your important data before doing this.

i dont believe you need to backup.as a safety measure,yes you should always have backup.but not particularly for this.it will not format your drive oranyhting.i have done it,and so i know.
btw,do it when you havent installed many things on the hd.once the hd gets occupied,the volume availbale after shrinking reduces too..

Just came across this thread and here are my $0.02.

Is it advisable to partition an existing active bootable partition? I know many thrid part softwares allow it, but u stand a high chance of loosing some part of the available data. Make sure to create backups of the existing data, so that u may not get offhanded later.

it was sure that u'll losse some of your data if you repartition your active boot partition...........

Originally Posted by cool_techie_tvm

Just came across this thread and here are my $0.02.

Is it advisable to partition an existing active bootable partition? I know many thrid part softwares allow it, but u stand a high chance of loosing some part of the available data. Make sure to create backups of the existing data, so that u may not get offhanded later.

i agree woth CTT here ... it is always safer and better to partition a HDD after backing up thr data ... and also after formatting it ... (if possible)

Why not choosing a freeware to help you??
Partition Asistant Home Edition is such kind ot partition manager, I believe you will never disspointed.

Thank you for sharing your thing, let me a lot