Patition resizing software - opinions

I'm gonna install latest version of Vista so I need to resize a
partition.
I've got XP all alone on a 141gb partition and rather than image
it,repartition and reinstall, I just visited BootIt NG and UBCD
http://67.19.82.66/ubcd/website/index.html to check the free software.

Any opinions on freeware ?- good or bad - easy to use etc on any of
these:
BootIt NG
Ranish Partition Manager 2.40
TestDisk 6.2
Partition Resizer 1.3.4
Active@ Partition Recovery

Both drives are NTFS
Drive 1 has 2 installs of XP(C) and E (old XP install) and a
library(D).
Drive 2 = X64 ( E = 25 gb) and XP SP2 ( F= 141gb)
I want to resize F to be ~ 25gb and then make 2 new partitions on Drive
2 - Vista and a library. So I expect to use the program to resize F- get
the 2 new partitions on there and then I'm done with it ( so that's why
I didn't want to spend ~$50 for the solution).
I figured both X64 installs to go on the same drive. Drive 1 WAS a
standalone XP/ X64 drive that I'm reusing to see differences between X64
and Vista.
Plan B : I could use Norton Ghost to image F - save the install to
CD/DVD and when Vista trial is over, restore it there .

"- Bobb -" <bobb@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:OLrBZLTmGHA.3352@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> I'm gonna install latest version of Vista so I need to resize a partition.
> I've got XP all alone on a 141gb partition and rather than image
> it,repartition and reinstall, I just visited BootIt NG and UBCD
> http://67.19.82.66/ubcd/website/index.html to check the free software.
>
> Any opinions on freeware ?- good or bad - easy to use etc on any of these:
> BootIt NG
> Ranish Partition Manager 2.40
> TestDisk 6.2
> Partition Resizer 1.3.4
> Active@ Partition Recovery
>
> Both drives are NTFS
> Drive 1 has 2 installs of XP(C) and E (old XP install) and a library(D).
> Drive 2 = X64 ( E = 25 gb) and XP SP2 ( F= 141gb)
> I want to resize F to be ~ 25gb and then make 2 new partitions on Drive
> 2 - Vista and a library. So I expect to use the program to resize F- get
> the 2 new partitions on there and then I'm done with it ( so that's why I
> didn't want to spend ~$50 for the solution).
> I figured both X64 installs to go on the same drive. Drive 1 WAS a
> standalone XP/ X64 drive that I'm reusing to see differences between X64
> and Vista.
> Plan B : I could use Norton Ghost to image F - save the install to CD/DVD
> and when Vista trial is over, restore it there .
>

BootIt NG has been recommended numerous times in these groups , can't say
on the rest

Hey Bobb, Just used BootIT NG as Haggis mentioned it's been referred to many
times. I have used it to fix quite a bit of partition problems. It's a good
program. It might be a little slow if you've used a lot of space on your
Hard Drive but it will do the job. Good Luck

Joe

Kemco IT Professional

"- Bobb -" wrote:

> I'm gonna install latest version of Vista so I need to resize a
> partition.
> I've got XP all alone on a 141gb partition and rather than image
> it,repartition and reinstall, I just visited BootIt NG and UBCD
> http://67.19.82.66/ubcd/website/index.html to check the free software.
>
> Any opinions on freeware ?- good or bad - easy to use etc on any of
> these:
> BootIt NG
> Ranish Partition Manager 2.40
> TestDisk 6.2
> Partition Resizer 1.3.4
> Active@ Partition Recovery
>
> Both drives are NTFS
> Drive 1 has 2 installs of XP(C) and E (old XP install) and a
> library(D).
> Drive 2 = X64 ( E = 25 gb) and XP SP2 ( F= 141gb)
> I want to resize F to be ~ 25gb and then make 2 new partitions on Drive
> 2 - Vista and a library. So I expect to use the program to resize F- get
> the 2 new partitions on there and then I'm done with it ( so that's why
> I didn't want to spend ~$50 for the solution).
> I figured both X64 installs to go on the same drive. Drive 1 WAS a
> standalone XP/ X64 drive that I'm reusing to see differences between X64
> and Vista.
> Plan B : I could use Norton Ghost to image F - save the install to
> CD/DVD and when Vista trial is over, restore it there .
>
>

of the non-free partition tools, I'm partial to Acronis Disk Director. And
it runs in XP x64. However, with all of these tools, you can use them to
change partition sizes and number, but then you should use Vista to recreate
and reformat any partition you're going to use for Vista. I've seen a number
of issues with folks who used one of these tools to non-destructively
rearrange their partitions, but then had boot issues when Vista was
installed into a partition that had been created with the tool. Using the
partition tool to do the re-arrangement, but then using Vista during the
installation process to drop and recreate the partition is a better bet.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64


- Bobb - wrote:

> I'm gonna install latest version of Vista so I need to resize a
> partition.
> I've got XP all alone on a 141gb partition and rather than image
> it,repartition and reinstall, I just visited BootIt NG and UBCD
> http://67.19.82.66/ubcd/website/index.html to check the free software.
>
> Any opinions on freeware ?- good or bad - easy to use etc on any of
> these:
> BootIt NG
> Ranish Partition Manager 2.40
> TestDisk 6.2
> Partition Resizer 1.3.4
> Active@ Partition Recovery
>
> Both drives are NTFS
> Drive 1 has 2 installs of XP(C) and E (old XP install) and a
> library(D).
> Drive 2 = X64 ( E = 25 gb) and XP SP2 ( F= 141gb)
> I want to resize F to be ~ 25gb and then make 2 new partitions on Drive
> 2 - Vista and a library. So I expect to use the program to resize F- get
> the 2 new partitions on there and then I'm done with it ( so that's why
> I didn't want to spend ~$50 for the solution).
> I figured both X64 installs to go on the same drive. Drive 1 WAS a
> standalone XP/ X64 drive that I'm reusing to see differences between X64
> and Vista.
> Plan B : I could use Norton Ghost to image F - save the install to
> CD/DVD and when Vista trial is over, restore it there .

"Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie@mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> wrote in message
news:uEfYKBUmGHA.2372@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> of the non-free partition tools, I'm partial to Acronis Disk Director. And it runs in XP x64.
> However, with all of these tools, you can use them to change partition sizes and number, but
> then you should use Vista to recreate and reformat any partition you're going to use for
> Vista. I've seen a number of issues with folks who used one of these tools to
> non-destructively rearrange their partitions, but then had boot issues when Vista was
> installed into a partition that had been created with the tool. Using the partition tool to
> do the re-arrangement, but then using Vista during the installation process to drop and
> recreate the partition is a better bet.

I used Acronis to resize Vista's partition, I added more space.
I did this via WinXP.

Upon rebooting, I was told winload.exe could not be found
Was able to boot back to XP. Stuck in the Vista installation
disk and ran the cmd "d:\boot\bootsect /nt60 F:" That fixed
it for me.

Resizing partitions can be a scary thing.

-Michael

Interesting suggestion. My installation of Vista (you brought it up) only
offered to reformat the partition, and obviously did a quick format as it
took only seconds. No other options were presented to me. I had planned to
do as you recommend but was not available. I had my x64 and x86 drives
disconnected and the only partition on the drive was an old x86.

"Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie@mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> wrote in message
news:uEfYKBUmGHA.2372@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> of the non-free partition tools, I'm partial to Acronis Disk Director. And
> it runs in XP x64. However, with all of these tools, you can use them to
> change partition sizes and number, but then you should use Vista to
> recreate and reformat any partition you're going to use for Vista. I've
> seen a number of issues with folks who used one of these tools to
> non-destructively rearrange their partitions, but then had boot issues
> when Vista was installed into a partition that had been created with the
> tool. Using the partition tool to do the re-arrangement, but then using
> Vista during the installation process to drop and recreate the partition
> is a better bet.
>
> --
> Charlie.
> http://msmvps.com/xperts64
>
>
> - Bobb - wrote:

>
>

If I remember correctly, click the advanced options button for 'remove' and
'new'.

"John Barnes" <jbarnes@email.net> wrote in message
news:OC5rIQUmGHA.4512@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Interesting suggestion. My installation of Vista (you brought it up) only
> offered to reformat the partition, and obviously did a quick format as it
> took only seconds. No other options were presented to me. I had planned
> to do as you recommend but was not available. I had my x64 and x86 drives
> disconnected and the only partition on the drive was an old x86.
>
> "Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie@mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> wrote in message
> news:uEfYKBUmGHA.2372@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>
>

yes, I brought it up. You should have had an option, but if there wasn't
anythig but a single drive/partition in the machine, that may have been the
reason.

I think it also differs depending on whether you start the install from a
DVD boot, or from within an existing Windows installation. Haven't played
around with it much, actually. Just know it can be a problem if you're not
careful.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64


John Barnes wrote:

> Interesting suggestion. My installation of Vista (you brought it up) only
> offered to reformat the partition, and obviously did a quick format as it
> took only seconds. No other options were presented to me. I had planned
> to do as you recommend but was not available. I had my x64 and x86 drives
> disconnected and the only partition on the drive was an old x86.
>
> "Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie@mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> wrote in message
> news:uEfYKBUmGHA.2372@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

Good information. And yes, it can be scary. But we all have current,
verified backups before we do such things, right? <g>

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64


MICHAEL wrote:

> "Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie@mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> wrote in message
> news:uEfYKBUmGHA.2372@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>
> I used Acronis to resize Vista's partition, I added more space.
> I did this via WinXP.
>
> Upon rebooting, I was told winload.exe could not be found
> Was able to boot back to XP. Stuck in the Vista installation
> disk and ran the cmd "d:\boot\bootsect /nt60 F:" That fixed
> it for me.
>
> Resizing partitions can be a scary thing.
>
> -Michael

Absolutely! Although, I learned that lesson the hard
way- a few times- before I got into the habit of making
backups.

-Michael

"Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie@mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> wrote in message
news:OTMXtVUmGHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Good information. And yes, it can be scary. But we all have current, verified backups before
> we do such things, right? <g>
>
> --
> Charlie.
> http://msmvps.com/xperts64
>
>
> MICHAEL wrote:

>
>