talkmagic.co.uk

After the Great Computer Crash of a year or so ago, I splurged on a new terabyte hard drive. Hooray.

Unfortunately, when I installed Windows, the base partition refused to take up more than 128 (oh all right, 127.99) gigabytes. Which means I have a whopping 803.52 gig unallocated and unusable.

The ideal situation would be to extend the C: partition to fill the whole drive. Alternatively, I would be perfectly content to call the currently unused portion D: and treat it as a second drive, which would echo the setup I had before. As an absolutely last-ditch option, I'm just about willing to scrub everything, reinstall Windows from scratch, and force it somehow to recognise the whole drive.

We're talking Windows XP Pro, by the way.

I'm moderately confident using Disk Management, but it's getting me nowhere with this. I followed the instructions to use DISKPART to extend C:, but no. Then I tried to name and format the unused portion as a volume, but again no.

Any suggestions from anybody?

I use this windoze partition app: http://www.partition-tool.com/

It's freeware, easier than fdisk but not a geeky as gparted.

Thanks, Aporia!

I've now downloaded and tried Partition Manager, and that's not working either. It's being more helpful, in that now I know the problem seems to lie in updating the system information.

Maybe it's time to trot over to Geeks To Go and see what they say.

It's weird, but it sounds like the disk thinks that the unknown partition has a partition in it. I'd say delete it to definitely make it unallocated space then extend C: into it.

It's nice to see someone asking for computer help then actually taking it. The last person who did seems to still be running around with an infected machine, not understanding that simple antivirus software isn't at all as perfect as it's made out to be.

Robbie wrote:Any suggestions from anybody?

The problem is that a non-SP1 XP will not recognise drives larger than 137 gig.

You will need to do a slipstream install of XP with service pack one.

http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp1_cd.htm

damianjennings wrote:

Robbie wrote:Any suggestions from anybody?

The problem is that a non-SP1 XP will not recognise drives larger than 137 gig.

I was thinking of that. I'm running it with all three service packs installed, but of course when I was first installing XP onto the bare drive it didn't have the service packs built in. (Even SP1 is on a separate disk.)

Creating a slipstream disk seems slightly drastic. Do you think simply reinstalling XP over itself would work, now that the service packs are in place?

Tomo: Disk Management won't let me delete the space. It's marked as "Unallocated" and the only option it offers is to create a new partition in the space. Which then fails. I don't want to try anything too harsh since my C: is on that disk.

I'm in touch with Geeks To Go and have had one reply, but it was just a pointer to Disk Management instructions, so not telling me anything I don't already know. We shall see what happens there.

It's not a major panic crisis or anything, but I really need the space because I'm working on video projects. And I paid for it, so I ought to be able to use it!

===

EDIT: Well, a quick reinstall of XP won't work. It recognises that the version running (with service packs) is "newer" than the version on the installation disk, and won't touch it.

I'm starting to think of making Damien's slipstream disk, scrubbing the drive, and re-formatting it from there. Big pain when it comes to backing up documents and reinstalling software, so I'm not going to do it in a hurry!

Three words dude: oo boon too

:p

kartoffelngeist wrote:Three words dude: oo boon too

:p

Do you really think that if the concept of slipstream installing xp is scaring the OP that he is prime candidate for running a *nix distro?

damianjennings wrote:Do you really think that if the concept of slipstream installing xp is scaring the OP that he is prime candidate for running a *nix distro?

(She, by the way.)

I'm not scared of making a slipstream installation disk, or of reformatting and reinstalling, but it would be a slog. And I'm lazy enough to avoid a slog if I can get the job done some other way, especially since I'm not entirely convinced a reinstallation would help.

I've invested God-only-knows-how-much in software over the years. So as much as I dislike Windows, I'm not about to switch to some other OS and find I can't use most of what I've got.

Not sure whether doing a new slipstream installation would do any good, anyway. The computer has all the service pack improvements now, so surely it ought to be able to create a large partition now...?

Geeks To Go hasn't come up with anything much yet either.

Robbie wrote:

damianjennings wrote:Do you really think that if the concept of slipstream installing xp is scaring the OP that he is prime candidate for running a *nix distro?

(She, by the way.)

I'm not scared of making a slipstream installation disk, or of reformatting and reinstalling, but it would be a slog. And I'm lazy enough to avoid a slog if I can get the job done some other way, especially since I'm not entirely convinced a reinstallation would help.

I've invested God-only-knows-how-much in software over the years. So as much as I dislike Windows, I'm not about to switch to some other OS and find I can't use most of what I've got.

Not sure whether doing a new slipstream installation would do any good, anyway. The computer has all the service pack improvements now, so surely it ought to be able to create a large partition now...?

Geeks To Go hasn't come up with anything much yet either.

Sorry, I assumed Robbie was a man. My bad.

And no, it won't work now you have applied the service packs. It will make no odds. Geeks to go will not come up with anything. I have already told you the answer

Do the slipstream installation. It will solve your problem.

Well, we're away on holiday to Welsh Wales tomorrow, so I'll have a week to think it all over.

Just to say that, after Wales and Australia and Christmas, I finally gritted my teeth and got down to it.

I used AutoStreamer to do the donkey work of making the slipstream CD, and can recommend it most highly to anyone else in the same position.

After several days of restoration, the system still isn't quite back to what it was, but it's mainly just a matter of re-installing various software. The big regret is that I managed to lose all my e-mails and internet bookmarks, but that's not life-shattering, just really annoying.

Thanks again to Damian, who first mentioned slipstreaming, and to everybody else who chipped in with suggestions.

quite apt for this site... there is a product called 'partition magic'
It has solved all my partition problems in the past.