creating hd partitions

Hi.

I have a new dell dim 2350 with xp home edition on it and would like to repartition the hd which has 40 gb all on C:.

Have done this kind of thing with 95 lots of times but never with xp. Is there any chance I could create new partitions w/o reinstalling the os or losing my data? What's the wisest choice here?

What's it like doing a clean xp install? Any writeups around on how this is done?

Thanks in advance,
Marty

 

Hi marty Partition Magic 8 by PowerQuest can repartition your drive without losing data. It is highly regarded and well worth paying for.

Another option is Drive Image 2002, also a PQ product. That is primarily for copying or imaging your drive but it does have an abbreviated version of Partition Magic included and will repartition your drive if you choose to allow it. You have less control over the process than you would have with the full program but it's quick and easy.

IMHO, I would get Drive Image 2002 because you'll need it for easy backups. Let it do the repartition, it may suit you. You can always get the full PM program later if needed.

Cheers.

 

Zephre is right. Partition Magic is the way to go. I have used it on several occaisions and it it way beyond me the magic that company does, and they do it better than anyone else. Do have to warn you, this is a long job. Last time I did it was to recover an extra five meg from one drive to the other and it took nearly four hours.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to wait for a convenient weekend though and after backing up whatever I need on that machine do a clean reinstall preceeded by partitioning the hd.

Marty

 

I would think that this depends entirely on the speed of your processor and the amount of RAM you have. I have an Athlon XP 2000+ processor, with 1GB RAM, and moving any amount of space from one partition to another (or partitioning a whole 100GB HD) takes no more than a few minutes with PartitionMagic 7.0.

Jim