Clem Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 can u partition a drive without formatting the whole drive cos i need to partition ... but i havent got newhere big enuff to backup nemore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Originally posted by Clem can u partition a drive without formatting the whole drive yes you can do that if you have enough space. but aparently you dont so either clear some stuff off or just forget about partitioning it. hope that was some help. (i doubt it was but whatever) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted March 28, 2003 Author Share Posted March 28, 2003 i got the space just i havent got the space on a second hdd to backup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kstar__2 Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 no, you'll need to format b4 you can partition, i know it's stupid, it's just the way it is:) (btw, i've done it b4, so i should know:P) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted March 28, 2003 Author Share Posted March 28, 2003 ok insane sith doesnt know how ne1 know how to do it oooops double post my bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 ive done it before and i never had to format. i didnt like it though so i went back to regular. i learned how to from TechTV [/shameless plug] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kstar__2 Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 i used partitionmagic6 and winXP installation, and they both wanted me to format *continues discussion on msn* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_One Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 If you need to partition, you must format at some point. There is no avoiding it. Don't you have an old HDD you can plug in and just transfer the stuff across? Or CDR, DVDR, ZIP Disk? Or another PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted March 28, 2003 Author Share Posted March 28, 2003 i have best part of 12 gig to backup my mums pc has a 7 gig hdd ... so thats out CDR's??! lol mums the only 1 with a cdr drive ... and thats only 4x so thats out zip disks ... id need a mountain of em!! id need 2 dvds if i had a writer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfmanNCSU Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Well, its best to format before you partition. However, there is some software that will allow you to partition your drive without completly formating it, but the new drive created from the partition will be cleared. So you will only have to wipe half the drive for example. I have never done it this way, so I dont recommend it. I would rather format the drive and partition on a clean one. You do have some other options to save your data. You can try ghosting your image accross multiple CDR/RW volumes. It will take a while and a good number of disks, but at least you wont loose what you have. Or you can use any extra HDD you may have. Just plug in, copy and swap out. I do that a lot with my smaller drives. Lastly, you can try to buy a large external HD and copy your data over temporarily. Then you can format your drive and move data back as you need it. You can then either keep the external HDD or return it for refund saying that it will not work with you sytem. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacky_Baccy Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 How were you going to partition it, Clem? (i.e, with what tool? ^^) Posted by kstar__2 i used partitionmagic6 and winXP installation, and they both wanted me to format Bah! Fdisk.exe and Format.com in true DOS all the way! *hugs DOS* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted March 28, 2003 Author Share Posted March 28, 2003 dos rocks but fdisk needs u to restart i cant open my pc cos the blokies who built it got pissed off at me opening it and breaking it so this motherboard (now the only component under garuntee) if it goes wrong ... and i havent opened it .. theyll sort also i dont ahve a big enuff hdd i have access to a 500mb (but i cant put it in) and a 7 gig in mums the external idea sounds like a goodun what programs lemme partition without whole format ... i have 25 gig of spare space ... so i can clear 20 ... move the stuff to there and format the other half and wacky .... i said expert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivy Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 i'm no expert, but i like taking part in things as far as i know you can't partition without formatting.. at least with the programs i have used imo i don't really think partitioning is worthwhile you probably know all these but i'll post them anyway.. if you need space there are thing to try first like - uninstalling any programs or games you aren't using - check windows setup, see if there's anything you can remove - look at the system restore setting, maybe reduce the amount of space it uses - reduce the amount of space taken up by temporary internet files - if you really need to 'scrape the barrel' delete all readme files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted March 28, 2003 Author Share Posted March 28, 2003 i dont need more space lol if i didnt have space i couldnt partition sivvy i need a partition to run dual boot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivy Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 oh right i didn't know that.. lol still i took part.. so i'm happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted March 28, 2003 Author Share Posted March 28, 2003 yes sivy well done at least u did ur best ur a very speshul boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedantic Posted March 29, 2003 Share Posted March 29, 2003 It is most definitely a good idea to perform a low-level format before you partition. That way there will be nothing to corrupt your install of your OSes--a clean slate, if you will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCanr2d2 Posted March 29, 2003 Share Posted March 29, 2003 It takes programs like Partition Magic to enable you to change partition size without formatting, and it also has a built in Boot Manager that will allow you to boot between OS's. I have changed parition sizes when upgrading, not wanting to lose my data, but getting past what was a FAT16 (used in old DOS and Win95 and 98 (FAT32 came in for 98SE)) limitation. I think with Partition Magic, you don't have to format the original partition, but basically make sure it isn't the boot partition, as it may screw a few things up, but then again it may not. It will allow you to create a new drive from the remaining space, or whatever amount of spare space that you have. Depending on the version of Partition Magic you "get" it may or may not format the new partition for you in the FAT system that you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agen Posted March 29, 2003 Share Posted March 29, 2003 erm.... i've partitioned without formatting, i used partition magic btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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