Extended Partitions

I have a 160GB drive with an 80GB active primary partition with Win98SE installed and working on it. I would like to create a new Extended Partition in the remaining unused space and then 2 new Logical drives/partitions in this new Ext Partition. Can I do this without overwriting, messing up, destroying my current 80GB partition. I have my choice of using FDISK or GDISK (from Symantec). Can anyone offer any suggestions? Thanks.

 

See if this helps:

http://www.drd.dyndns.org/fr_index.html?/gdisk.html

or this:

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ghost.nsf/docid/1998081911285525/

 

If you have a Primary already there, and you do, creation of an Extended Partition, and then creating the Logicals will have no affect on the Primary. Be sure to reboot after exiting Fdisk, then format the new drives in dos, ie "format d: "

 

Irdreed, I looked at both of those website links you posted before I posted my question. They were very informative, but didn't specifically answer my question. I appreciate your help though.

Mark62, your information you posted, are you aware of this from first-hand experience. In other words, have you done it or seen it done without any problems?

I'm just really cautious because I don't want to lose my current data and I don't have a backup.

 

If you currently have an 80gb partition and the remainder of the drive is presently unallocated, unpartitioned and unformatted space, you should be able to do what you want using fdisk. If the entire drive (160gb) is currently 1 large partition, then no, you can't do it using fdisk. If you use fdisk, just make sure you select the unallocated space and not the primary partition. Fdisk doesn't forgive mistakes.

 

This is freeware Iam.
I have not used it but it may help you ...
http://zeleps.com/
regards

 

IamSpartacus
Sorry to hear that info I suggested wasn't what you needed.

How about Partition Magic? Have you a copy of that available to you? I've used it but not real sure if it'll do exactly what you want.
If you don't have have it...I've seen on line where there's some good sales on it with price ranging anywhere from $25.00-$40.00 (USD) or so WITH a $20.00 rebate currently available also.

 

IamSpartacus

My $.02 worth.

I think you would be better off to start fresh with FDISK and create a primary partition no larger than 8gig and use it for the OS and associated things like Anti-Virus etc.

Then divide the rest into no more than 40gig partitions.

The would give you C: ( 8gig ) D: E: F: ( 40gig ) and F: ( 32gig )

And Format them ALL before installing anything.

This would give you much greater program and data protection plus being able to keep various types of programs separated.

And if something should go wrong with the C: drive you would lose no where near as much stuff.

And I would suggest using one partition for backups and dowloaded stuff only. Nothing else on it.

BTW. Partition magic will do what you want with out losing anything. FDISK at this point is very risky.

BillyBob

 

As an added bit of after thought.

If you are using ME or XP I would not activate System Restore on any drive other than C:

I had SR on all 4 partitions and had to do a SR and lost more than I needed to. And some things were put back that I did not want back.

BillyBob

 

BillyBob,

Glad you gave that follow-up.
Before I posted my last reply I quickly scanned thru my PM8.0 user guide & I thought it would do what he wanted, but I wasn't real sure, and on second thought I think that's what I did last Spring to my Win98SE O/S!! (I'm from the same era as you and sometimes things get fuzzy when trying to recall stuff)

 

IamSpartacus,

Yes, I have done it myself.
I have also at a later date went into the Extended, deleted and created Logicals, to either remove one, add one, or to resize them through deletion then creation in the new size. This method requires you to backup data or allow the data to be really deleted.
Partition Magic will do this easier than Fdisk. I haven't used PM myself, but others tell me it is dependable.