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Resolved Need help resizing HDD partitions

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by Barry, 2016/01/02.

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  1. 2016/01/04
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    My Win 8 Pro DVD isn't 8.1, but I do have an 8.1 ISO. Should I just get a 4GB thumb drive, insert it into my computer, press Create Media on the page you linked and that will create a bootable drive? Will the ISO automatically be sent to the thumb drive rather than my computer?
     
    Barry,
    #21
  2. 2016/01/04
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    The link above is to download mediacreationtool.exe. Save it to your computer and run it. It will prompt for the iso and you can choose the usb thumb drive. It will write the iso to it & make it bootable.
     
    TonyT,
    #22


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  4. 2016/01/04
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Would it be helpful to have a thumb drive larger than 4GB, or will nothing be there other than the ISO?
     
    Barry,
    #23
  5. 2016/01/05
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Just get a good deal on any thumb drive. When finished installing you can format it and use if for other stuff. If need it again to install you can recreate the bootable thumb drive.
     
    TonyT,
    #24
  6. 2016/01/05
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    If I'm going to use it as a backup boot drive, I'll need to keep it as is and have it ready to use, not keep making a new one. As a backup boot drive, will anything be added, requiring me to have a larger thumb drive, or will it stay just the ISO?

    Also, the ISO I have for 8.1 was for my son's computer, not mine, and mine is saying I qualify for a free upgrade to 10, but not his. Will there be a problem with this? Will I have to insert a product key and get it activated, and if so, do I insert mine or his?
     
    Barry,
    #25
  7. 2016/01/05
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Perhaps you've misunderstood me. The windows iso is written to the thumb drive and made bootable. This thumb drive is used in the same manner as a windows dvd; to install windows or repair the installed windows.

    The bootable thumb drives I use boot to a live operating system, complete with any programs I've added to the operating system, and the live system has read-write access to any drive partitions.

    I have one that boots linux and with it I can do anything I want with any operating system or files on the hard drives. I have another that boots an XP operating system.

    Creating these types of bootable thumb drives is not too complicated, but it does require some study and patience. Here's an example of making a thumb drive boot windows 8. The operating system exists on the thumb drive. It will be the stock operating system only, but good for file recovery actions or deleting malware on the hard disks.
    http://www.groovypost.com/howto/windows-portable-usb-drive/

    There are also these:
    http://winbuilder.net/
    http://windowsmatters.com/2013/04/3...with-explorer-shell-and-all-my-favorite-apps/
     
    TonyT,
    #26
  8. 2016/01/05
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Based on that article, it appears that activation is automatic based on what is already on the computer. If I upgrade to 10, would I need to create a new bootable thumb drive or could I still use the one with 8 on it? The article says 8 is more portable friendly than 7, but doesn't say anything about 10. It also recommends a 32GB drive, saying drivers will automatically load. With this, would I be able to have read-write access to any partition on the computer, or will I only be able to repair/reinstall the operating system with it?
     
    Barry,
    #27
  9. 2016/01/06
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Windoes xp, vista, 7, 8 and linux would have read-write access to windows 10 partitions, as well as any other windows partitions (fat32 & ntfs).
     
    TonyT,
    #28
  10. 2016/01/06
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Thank you. I'll have to pick up a 32GB thumb drive and put this together. I'll use my son's 8.1 ISO rather than my 8 DVD.
     
    Barry,
    #29
  11. 2016/01/06
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    I've decided to get a SanDisk Extreme 3.0 USB thumb drive. I can either get a 32GB or a 64GB. The difference, other than capacity, is the max write speed of the 64GB is 190MB/sec, while the 32GB is only 100MB/sec. Read speed is the same for both, maximum 245MB/sec. There is only an $11 difference between the two. Would I notice the speed in a boot drive? Which would you recommend?
     
    Barry,
    #30
  12. 2016/01/07
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    usb 2 vs 3 varies, depends on the motherboard and system when booting. The system that boots must have usb 3 drivers to take advantage of the rate increase. For example, my board on my desktop has usb 3 ports but don't operate at 3 rates until the operating system loads the chipset drivers. Usb booting is fast and usb 2 works just fine.

    I never buy brand name usb thumb drives, I just get inexpensive ones like this because Microcenter is 5 min from my house.
    http://www.microcenter.com/search/s...humb+drive&Ntk=all&N=4294965736&myStore=false
     
    TonyT,
    #31
  13. 2016/01/07
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Thank you.
     
    Barry,
    #32
  14. 2016/01/14
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    I finally got my thumb drive and used your link to WinToUSB to make a bootable drive with Win 8.1. It works fine, and can start up my computer. Unfortunately, it doesn't give me access to my other HDDs. When I went into disc management, it showed both those drives offline. How can I get this to work so I can access data on other drives?
     
    Barry,
    #33
  15. 2016/01/14
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    see pic:
     

    Attached Files:

    TonyT,
    #34
  16. 2016/01/14
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    I read online that dynamic disks can't be dual booted, and mine are presently dual booted. I'll check this when I get home. Maybe I'll change them to dynamic and see if that works. Feel free to suggest anything else before I do this.
     
    Barry,
    #35
  17. 2016/01/14
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    According to the picture it looks like basic disks can be turned on. I'll check that first.
     
    Barry,
    #36
  18. 2016/01/14
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Another question... Would the 64 bit OS thumb drive work on my mother's 32 bit XP computer? If not, can I make a 32 bit Win 8 thumb drive on my 64 bit computer? What do you suggest?
     
    Barry,
    #37
  19. 2016/01/15
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    I was able to change my basic disks to online. Do I have a set period of time after first logging on to activate the OS on the thumb drive, or is it based on number of days in use? I'd still like my question about 32 vs 64 bit thumb drive addressed.

    I've ordered a SSD that I want to install 8.1 on. Afterward, I want to upgrade to Win10. Considering all the changes that will be happening to this computer, I'm not sure if I should wait a period of time between installing and activating 8.1 on the SSD, activating 8.1 on the thumb drive and upgrading to Win10. I don't want Microsoft to block these changes, thinking I am doing too much in too short of a time. What do you recommend?
     
    Barry,
    #38
  20. 2016/01/15
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    1. 64bit won't work on 32bit.
    2. I would not activate the usb windows. Activate the soon to be ssd install after completed.

    For simplicity, I's use XP on the thumb drive, or a linux distribution, no activation to fiddle with. After all, the usb drive is for emergency use only.
     
    TonyT,
    #39
  21. 2016/01/15
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Is it possible to make a 32bit thumb drive on a 64bit computer? I have a 32bit ISO for both 8.1 & XP, but no 64bit XP ISO. Maybe I'll make a 32bit XP thumb drive on my mother's computer after I repair it, so she has a backup for emergencies.

    If I choose to keep the 8.1 thumb drive for my computer, will I eventually need to activate it? What is the time frame involved with activating it if I'll only use it for emergencies?

    I will activate the 8.1 SSD after installing it. How long should I wait after activating 8.1 before upgrading to Win10?
     
    Barry,
    #40
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