Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
> BEA wrote:
>
>> Folks,
>>
>> My hdd partition shows free space 29.8 GB, of 74.3 GB. How can I
>> repartition the total space so that the used space is left intact,
>> free space is reduced, and new unpartition space is created? Would
>> like to create a new partition for a Windows Vista install.
>
>
> Unfortunately, no version of Windows provides any way of changing the
> existing partition structure of the drive nondestructively. The only way to
> do what you want is with third-party software. Partition Magic is the
> best-known such program, but there are freeware/shareware alternatives. One
> such program is BootIt Next Generation. It's shareware, but comes with a
> free 30-day trial, so you should be able to do what you want within that 30
> days. I haven't used it myself (because I've never needed to use *any* such
> program), but it comes highly recommended by several other MVPs here.
>
> Whatever software you use, make sure you have a good backup before
> beginning. Although there's no reason to expect a problem, things *can* go
> wrong.
>
Using bootitng, you can make an image backup. I would defrag, visit
www.terabyteunlimited.com and read up on bootitng then download the
trial version and make a bootable media (cd or floppy) per their
instructions. When you boot, click on cancel rather than install. This
will put you in maintenance mode. From there you should be able to to
navigate to what you want. I would advise making a backup to dvd if you
have a burner (or multiple cd's).
Dave Cohen