Hard Drive partitions. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

biznatch · 07-31-2006, 09:55 AM

Well, my computer won't turn on anymore (it turns off after the Windows XP load screen).
So I figured I would reinstall Windows. However, I have some files on my HDs I'd rather not lose.

I have a 20 GB HD (the original), NTFS, on which XP is installed, along with other files I'd rather not lose. And as a slave drive is a Maxtor 300 GB which is also NTFS, and has about 60 GB full of mutlimedia and PC games.

Since I don't want to lose the data on either HD, I was thinking I could split the 2nd HD's partition in two partitions, one for the XP, and leave one with the media. Any suggestions on how to do this, preferably for free?

If I find a friend with a desktop PC, and I pop in the 300 GB HD, will I be able to split the partition through windows disk management? (I have no working PCs where I am right now, so I can't try it.)
I tried using ultimate boot cd and their partition managers, but I think they only work with FAT 32 file system HDs.

Any suggestions?

guthmund · 07-31-2006, 10:34 AM

Can't you just go the repair install route? Or maybe--assuming it'll let you-- boot into 'safe mode', move the files you want to save to the big 300GB and do a clean install on the 20GB? I don't know how your comfort-level around computers, but personally, I'm partition shy; I don't like to mess around with them unless I absolutely have to mess around with them.

However, if such a road you want to take then WDM won't resize a partition without a full wipe as far as I know. I'm sitting at a work pc right now and they don't like me 'fiddling' with things, otherwise I'd check it out myself.

I don't know anything about the ultimate boot CD, so, I couldn't say whether it supports NTFS or not, but when it comes to basic partition work, I like bootitNG. It's small, fast and free. A lot of people will point you the direction of Partition Magic and its ilk and those are great, but in this case--a simple resize--I think it's overkill.

Good luck whatever you choose

Plaid13 · 07-31-2006, 10:35 AM

a program called partition magic will do what you want. its made by the same people that make nortan antivirus. it allows you to add partitions to drives without loosing any data. I havnt used that program myself but a friend of mine has used it and loved it.

as for the slave drive if windows isnt installed on it theres no reason you should even mess with it. i us 2 hard drives just for that reason. one i just use for storage and one i install stuff on. the storage drive im using now has been through half a dozen wipes of the main hard drive. so yeah when you go to format your hard drive just dont format the slave drive. just to be safe you might even want to take it out so you dont accedently format the wrong one. then just reinstall it after you get windows working again.

just a thought but have you tried booting windows into safe mode? maybe something its trying to load is crashing it. If that dosnt help it might not be windows thats messed up. it might be something like bad ram or a faulty hard drive.

Dilbert1234567 · 07-31-2006, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plaid13

a program called partition magic will do what you want. its made by the same people that make nortan antivirus. it allows you to add partitions to drives without loosing any data. I havnt used that program myself but a friend of mine has used it and loved it.

as for the slave drive if windows isnt installed on it theres no reason you should even mess with it. i us 2 hard drives just for that reason. one i just use for storage and one i install stuff on. the storage drive im using now has been through half a dozen wipes of the main hard drive. so yeah when you go to format your hard drive just dont format the slave drive. just to be safe you might even want to take it out so you dont accedently format the wrong one. then just reinstall it after you get windows working again.

just a thought but have you tried booting windows into safe mode? maybe something its trying to load is crashing it. If that dosnt help it might not be windows thats messed up. it might be something like bad ram or a faulty hard drive.

Partition magic is magic, until it curses you. I highly recommend NEVER using partition magic on a drive that you don’t have a back up of, when it screws up; it hoses everything making data retrieval impossible for most data and extremely hard for the rest. This is not to say that partition magic does not do a good job when it works, I use it allot but I first back up a drive before using it.

My recommendation is to boot with the UBCD and copy the 20 gig to the 300 gig and then reinstall on the 20 gig. Or better yet, buy a new SATA 80 gig Seagate and install on it, then copy the old files back.

biznatch · 07-31-2006, 06:23 PM

if i install a fresh copy of XP onto my 20 gig, will it erase the files on my desktop, and in my documents?

Dilbert1234567 · 07-31-2006, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biznatch

if i install a fresh copy of XP onto my 20 gig, will it erase the files on my desktop, and in my documents?

copy the contents of the 20 gig to the 300 gig first.

Plaid13 · 07-31-2006, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biznatch

if i install a fresh copy of XP onto my 20 gig, will it erase the files on my desktop, and in my documents?

Yes it will clear everything off C: or whatever it is that you have windows installed on.

biznatch · 07-31-2006, 07:37 PM

How do I copy the contents from my master to my slave HD if windows wont boot?
With HDClone, it warns that the copy will overwrite the media on my 300 GB HD.

Dilbert1234567 · 07-31-2006, 07:52 PM

does your boot cd not have BART PE ?

biznatch · 07-31-2006, 08:04 PM

It doesn't have bart pe, and when i went to the site, I saw that you need to run an exe to obtain the iso.
I'm using a mac, so I can't open it, and I don't have a PC here.

Jex · 08-17-2006, 11:09 PM

A tip for once you have it up and running again. I always partition my drive and install the operating system and all utility type programs to c:\, all games, music etc go to the partition. The if I have a crash, get a virus that crashes the boot sector or just decide it's time to format to clean it up, or fix a slow load, I just format c:\ and everything else is intact.

WillyPete · 09-05-2006, 10:53 AM

First diagnose why the windows install on the 20gb won't boot.

set it as a master with jumpers and try with it on its own. Then add the 300gb drive.

I would also advise the repair install route to avoid data loss on the 20gb drive.

07-31-2006, 09:55 AM	#1 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	Hard Drive partitions. Well, my computer won't turn on anymore (it turns off after the Windows XP load screen). So I figured I would reinstall Windows. However, I have some files on my HDs I'd rather not lose. I have a 20 GB HD (the original), NTFS, on which XP is installed, along with other files I'd rather not lose. And as a slave drive is a Maxtor 300 GB which is also NTFS, and has about 60 GB full of mutlimedia and PC games. Since I don't want to lose the data on either HD, I was thinking I could split the 2nd HD's partition in two partitions, one for the XP, and leave one with the media. Any suggestions on how to do this, preferably for free? If I find a friend with a desktop PC, and I pop in the 300 GB HD, will I be able to split the partition through windows disk management? (I have no working PCs where I am right now, so I can't try it.) I tried using ultimate boot cd and their partition managers, but I think they only work with FAT 32 file system HDs. Any suggestions? __________________ Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

07-31-2006, 10:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
guthmund big damn hero	Can't you just go the repair install route? Or maybe--assuming it'll let you-- boot into 'safe mode', move the files you want to save to the big 300GB and do a clean install on the 20GB? I don't know how your comfort-level around computers, but personally, I'm partition shy; I don't like to mess around with them unless I absolutely have to mess around with them. However, if such a road you want to take then WDM won't resize a partition without a full wipe as far as I know. I'm sitting at a work pc right now and they don't like me 'fiddling' with things, otherwise I'd check it out myself. I don't know anything about the ultimate boot CD, so, I couldn't say whether it supports NTFS or not, but when it comes to basic partition work, I like bootitNG. It's small, fast and free. A lot of people will point you the direction of Partition Magic and its ilk and those are great, but in this case--a simple resize--I think it's overkill. Good luck whatever you choose __________________ No signature. None. Seriously. Last edited by guthmund; 07-31-2006 at 10:42 AM..

07-31-2006, 06:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	if i install a fresh copy of XP onto my 20 gig, will it erase the files on my desktop, and in my documents? __________________ Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

07-31-2006, 07:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	How do I copy the contents from my master to my slave HD if windows wont boot? With HDClone, it warns that the copy will overwrite the media on my 300 GB HD. __________________ Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

07-31-2006, 07:52 PM	#9 (permalink)
Dilbert1234567 Devils Cabana Boy Location: Central Coast CA	does your boot cd not have BART PE ? __________________ Donate Blood! "Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

07-31-2006, 10:35 AM	#3 (permalink)
Plaid13 I want a Plaid crayon	a program called partition magic will do what you want. its made by the same people that make nortan antivirus. it allows you to add partitions to drives without loosing any data. I havnt used that program myself but a friend of mine has used it and loved it. as for the slave drive if windows isnt installed on it theres no reason you should even mess with it. i us 2 hard drives just for that reason. one i just use for storage and one i install stuff on. the storage drive im using now has been through half a dozen wipes of the main hard drive. so yeah when you go to format your hard drive just dont format the slave drive. just to be safe you might even want to take it out so you dont accedently format the wrong one. then just reinstall it after you get windows working again. just a thought but have you tried booting windows into safe mode? maybe something its trying to load is crashing it. If that dosnt help it might not be windows thats messed up. it might be something like bad ram or a faulty hard drive.

07-31-2006, 08:04 PM	#10 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	It doesn't have bart pe, and when i went to the site, I saw that you need to run an exe to obtain the iso. I'm using a mac, so I can't open it, and I don't have a PC here. __________________ Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

08-17-2006, 11:09 PM	#11 (permalink)
Jex Upright	A tip for once you have it up and running again. I always partition my drive and install the operating system and all utility type programs to c:\, all games, music etc go to the partition. The if I have a crash, get a virus that crashes the boot sector or just decide it's time to format to clean it up, or fix a slow load, I just format c:\ and everything else is intact.

09-05-2006, 10:53 AM	#12 (permalink)
WillyPete Addict	First diagnose why the windows install on the 20gb won't boot. set it as a master with jumpers and try with it on its own. Then add the 300gb drive. I would also advise the repair install route to avoid data loss on the 20gb drive.