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Thread ID: 67050 2006-03-15 12:19:00 Partitions in XP bpt2 (6653) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1357791 2006-03-15 12:19:00 I have a second partition which I want to merge with the primary partition. I can delete it in XP (so that it is unallocated space) but how do I get it to merge with the primary partition? bpt2 (6653)
1357792 2006-03-15 12:24:00 XP's Disk Management (Administrator Tools, Computer Management) should be where to begin, I can't say what steps as I don't use XP anymore, but it had the ability to do such a thing when choosing to format a partition.

Cheers,


KK
Kame (312)
1357793 2006-03-15 20:52:00 Not sure if disk management is capable of merging partitions. You should have no trouble creating a new partition with the unallocated space but to increase the size of your primary partition you might need a third party program like Partition Magic. fatcam (9001)
1357794 2006-03-15 21:44:00 Back up first!

If you have space on the unmodified primary partition, it's pretty easy. Use Windows Explorer to copy the files from second partition to the first.

Then delete the partition with XP's disk manager.

There's plenty of software available to change partition sizes, including freeware. I use Partition Magic, formerly PowerQuest now Symantec

www.partitionmagic.com
kingdragonfly (309)
1357795 2006-03-15 21:55:00 Windows XP Disk Management will be able remove the second partition but it will not merge it with the first partition without destroying the data.

Partition Magic (not free) will do non-destructive merging as will Linux's Qparted and Windows' Ranish free apps BUT there is an element of risk with all. If you go down that track make sure everything is backed up and the remaining partition thoroughly defragged first.
FoxyMX (5)
1357796 2006-03-15 22:02:00 Win XP has a command line utility Diskpart that can extend an existing partition into unallocated space. www.theeldergeek.com PaulD (232)
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