1. You are viewing our forum as a guest. For full access please Register. WindowsBBS.com is completely free, paid for by advertisers and donations.

Windows Vista extended partitions within Vista?

Discussion in 'Legacy Windows' started by savagcl, 2009/02/13.

  1. 2009/02/13
    savagcl Lifetime Subscription

    savagcl Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/06/09
    Messages:
    1,559
    Likes Received:
    7
    Vista 32/64Bit, SP1.

    http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/savagcl/DMMap.jpg

    Current Hard Disk Layout (See Link)
    (In GigaBytes except where noted)

    a. Disk 0 =
    C: healthy, (System, Boot, Active Pri Part).........86.3
    D: healthy (Pri Partition)...................................74.2
    F: healthy, (Pri Part).......................................195.3
    Unallocated....................................................332.3
    Hidden: (Pri Part used by Acronis).....................10.4

    Disk 1 = (External HD, plug in, not a Hotswap drive)
    H: (Pri Part)...................................................149.0

    Disk 2 = (External HD, plug in, not a Hotswap drive)
    E: healthy (Logical drive)..................................25.5
    G: healthy (Logical drive)..................................48.2
    Z: healthy, (Active Pri Part).................................5.5
    I: Blank (Logical drive)......................................25.4
    J: Blank2 (Logical drive)....................................44.4

    Disk 3 = (External HD, USB)
    K: healthy, (Active,Pri Part)...............................64.5
    L: healthy (Logical drive)...................................50.5
    Drives "C" and "Hidden" are the only two that i cannot change (and not real sure about the "Hidden ").
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    b. Since i have enough room on external HD's to copy everything
    but "C" and "Hidden ", what i would like to have is:

    C, D, E, F, G, Z. and Hidden on the internal hard drive.
    This will hold all my data. Is this possible in Vista?

    With this config i could remove disk 1,2,3 and use them
    for backups only.

    Is the "Extended" volume assumed by Vista? I cannot find
    anything in Disk Management about an Extended partition
    (not to be confused with the Vista extending a partition?).

    In XP one had to create an Extended volume and then create
    logicals within the extended. Is it still the same for
    vista?

    Are logical drives limited to a maximum of 4 per hard disk?

    Hope this is clear enough,Thanks,
    savagcl
     
  2. 2009/02/15
    savagcl Lifetime Subscription

    savagcl Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/06/09
    Messages:
    1,559
    Likes Received:
    7
    Update - Most of above can be ignored.
    A web search turned up lots of confusing but no real
    answers except "3rd Party Software" (which may or may
    not work in Vista).
    I've got my HD looking like the following partitions:

    Partition..................Size.............Status
    C............................43.41GB.......Primary, boot
    D.........................125.00 GB.......Primary
    E.........................125.00 GB.......Primary
    UnAllocated..........394.83 GB
    Hidden...................10.40 GB.......Primary

    I an under the impression that the 4th Primary ( "E" in this
    case) would be made into an "Extended" partition thus
    providing a way to create logical drives within the 4th (E)
    partition.

    When i right-click on the unallocated space, it says I can't
    make anymore (because I have the reached the limit for
    primary drives). OK, understand this much.

    When i right-click on the 4th (E) partition, I don't see
    anything about creating an extended partition within
    the "E" partition.

    If I can't create an extended, then I can't create any
    logical drives within "E ".....

    Question: How do I create an extended partition in Vista?

    I'm looking for a HD layout of C, D, E, F, G, H. and Hidden.
    "C ", "D" and "Hidden" = Primary drives.
    "E" = Extended and having logical drives F, G, H.

    Is the above possible in Vista.

    Thanks,
    savagcl
     

  3. to hide this advert.

  4. 2009/02/16
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

    Joined:
    2001/12/27
    Messages:
    15,174
    Likes Received:
    412
    What you have to do is to delete the "E" partition. Then you'll have 519.8GB unallocated space where you can create the Extended partition ( "E ") using the unallocated space.
     
    Arie,
    #3
  5. 2009/02/16
    savagcl Lifetime Subscription

    savagcl Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/06/09
    Messages:
    1,559
    Likes Received:
    7
    AH! So its the 4th partition that gets the extended ability as opposed to
    having 4 and the 5th being extended!

    Dont know how many times i read that wrong....

    thanks Arie,
    savagcl
     
  6. 2009/02/16
    savagcl Lifetime Subscription

    savagcl Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/06/09
    Messages:
    1,559
    Likes Received:
    7
    Arie,

    I'm still missing something.
    I deleted the E (primary) partition.
    I created a new "E" partition using all the free space and .

    What it gave me was another primary partition (Dark Blue
    bar on top).

    Do i have to use DiskPart or 3rd party software?
    Can I find detailed instructions somewhere on the Web?

    Thanks,
    savagcl
     
  7. 2009/02/16
    Admin.

    Admin. Administrator Administrator Staff

    Joined:
    2001/12/30
    Messages:
    6,680
    Likes Received:
    104
    Your problem is most likely the 10GB hidden partition at the end of the drive. You'd have to get rid of that first before the extended partition would be created.
     
  8. 2009/02/16
    savagcl Lifetime Subscription

    savagcl Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/06/09
    Messages:
    1,559
    Likes Received:
    7
    I thought that would be your answer, Arie.

    The hidden partition is a part of the Acronis install. I
    posting on their forum to see what the effect of its
    removal would be. Highly suspect I dont need it as long
    as i have an Acronis bootable CD.

    I thought that vista might be looking at the end of "known
    partitions" instead of looking at the unallocated space.

    BTW: Diskpart won't make an extended partition either.
    Says I already have max partitions (3 plus unallocated).
    So I guess its also looking at the end of last known.

    When resolved, I'll post back here.

    Thanks for the Help!
    savagcl
     
  9. 2009/02/17
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

    Joined:
    2001/12/27
    Messages:
    15,174
    Likes Received:
    412
    Well, your Disk Management shows the clue. Disk 0 shows 4 primary partitions: C, F, D and the 10.40GB one
     
    Arie,
    #8
  10. 2009/02/18
    savagcl Lifetime Subscription

    savagcl Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/06/09
    Messages:
    1,559
    Likes Received:
    7
    Got it right with your help Arie.
    The hidden partition was blocking the extended partition.

    Thanks a whole bunch,
    savagcl
     
  11. 2009/02/19
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

    Joined:
    2001/12/27
    Messages:
    15,174
    Likes Received:
    412
    Glad to be of help.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.