Need your help.

I have a random partioned hard drive space of 2 GB that I want to allocate back to the original C:/ drive. I formatted it, and I'm having trouble adding that 2 GB back to the C:/ drive. How do I do that?

When I tried to partion this space using the Computer Management portion of Windows XP, the C: drive was not selectable. WTF?

It's unused space on the computer that does not have any files on it.

 

XP Pro or Home?

It sounds like you have basic disc and you need dynamic disk.

That 2gb may be a built in recovery partition.

 

XP Home.

The partion has nothing on it. Is there a way to add that 2 GB back to the C: drive?

 

post a screen shot of your disk management.

 

Doing that now...

 

The space I want to add the the C: drive is unallocated right now. Is it even possible to add to the C: drive?

 

Can you right click C: and choose extend? What are the options when you right click C:?

 

Open
Explore
Mark Partition As Active
Change Drive Letters and Path
Properties
Help

I tried doing Change Drive Letters and Path, but C: does not come up as an option.

 

C: is a boot partition. This coupled with XP Home, may be the problem. Can you right click D: and choose extend?

 

I'd like to add it to the C: though.

 

I know. The options when you right click D: will help confirm or deny my previous assertion.

 

Since when can you merge partitions in XP?
I don't think that's possible at all. I think you can in vista.
Changing paths only changes the path letter of a current partition.

I've used third party utilities for stuff like this (like Bootit NG).

- Frank

 

So I can't merge partitions in XP Home?

What programs do I need to do this?

 

You can extend a partition, but it needs to be a dynamic disk, and I am 99% sure this cannot be done on XP Home.

 

Partition Magic


http://www.soft32.com/Download/free-...c/4-151-1.html

 

I know other's have recommended 3rd party programs to merge partitions; however, I'd be scared to use those especially if it affects the boot partition of my OS installation disk.

 

GParted boot CD.

Used it many times.

 

I wouldn't bother with a 3rd party util to get back the 2GB, bot worth it IMO. Just put some porn in there...

 

MOTHER FUCK!


I just deleted the operating system, and it's asking for a boot disk or something.

FUCK.

That partition was the OS.

Well, now I need to figure out how to get another OS.

I'm on my laptop now.

 

I told you to leave it alone. You can do a search for a tool that may recover the partition...

 

http://www.partition-recovery.com/

 

Not on the computer I just FUBARed. I have to get my father to send me another Windows XP disk.

 

If I deleted the OS, what will happen to my desktop, files, and folders on the hard drive? Are they still there?

If I have the XP installation discs, can I just pop them into the CD drive and then install XP, or did I just toast the entire machine?

 

If the docs and stuff are on another partition, you can get them back. If they were on deleted partition, then gone...

 

No, the partition had the OS on it only. All the other files were on the C: and D: drives.

I guess all is not lost.

BTW, do they still sell the 64-bit version of Windows XP? I've heard bad things about Vista.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116378

 

Do not get 64 bit XP it's not a mainstream release you will have a lot of compatibility issues if you use that. Vista is WAY more compatible than XP 64 bit will ever be. Vista isn't bad you watch too many mac commercials. Whatever problems there were with Vista were solved along time ago.

Your XP system was not on the 2gb partition it was on the C: drive if that's gone then yeah you're in trouble.

 

*Heavy Sigh*

 

Well, since you need to start over......

I always use a 20GB partition for my boot partition.
I install the OS and all initial apps on it, then back it up (i.e. image the partition).
That way, if something ever hoses my OS, I can restore it and not have to reinstall 23987432947 drivers/applications. 20GB should be plenty, as long as you keep it app-only. All my browser caches/data directories are on a different drive.

Looks like had that all going - except for the backup.

- Frank

 

No, the OS was on the partition. It says " Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Media in Selected Boot Device and press a Key."

I just need to get another XP boot disc somehow.

 

I did the same thing 5 yrs ago when I got my dell pc. It had that 2 gb diagnostic partition and like an idiot, I just had to get rid of it cuz the rest of the 160gb drive just wasn't enough! I use partition magic which clearly stated that it could merge it into the C drive with no issues. That was erroneous, and basically it formatted the entire drive. yes it got rid of the separate partition, but everything else as well. Not a huge deal as it was still new and not much was customized yet, but I should have just left it alone.

Looks like I found this a little too late to warn you!!

 

Yeah it sucks, but it might not matter too much any more. I'm thinking of upgrading to a new motherboard, new processor, new video card, and new type of memory (I had DDR memory).

 

I wonder if C: was just a boot partition.
You might be able to just set the correct partition as the primary/boot partition.

If this is some dumb dell thing, If you know someone else with a dell,
perhaps you can clone their 2 GB partition and then restore that image from
a DVD. Or perhaps even a CD, since BooitNG compresses its its images.

- Frank

 

R-Studio, it won't put the partition back but you should be able to read it and get files.

You really need an enclosure so you can look to see if anything is readable on the drive when you hook it to another machine.

And fyi, you could not have merge partitions like you wanted to with XP alone, you need a third party application like some suggested, ie..partition magic.

 

The fuck you just say?

 

^^ If the OS was installed on both the partition you deleted and another one, you can set the partition info in the boot.ini file.....I highly doubt it....

 

Was this a Dell with a recovery partition?

 

No. Sony VAIO desktop.

I'm going to see if I have the original boot disc for the Windows XP that came with the computer. Hopefully I do.

 

So, despite all the working solutions we gave you that would have done what you wanted without problem, what DID you do that screwed it up so badly?

 

You should tell us what happened exactly first of all, I'm just speculating.
I assume you nuked a partition? Did you then do merge? or not yet?

You can have up to 4 primary partitions on a hard disk.
The Master Boot record (MBR) of the hard disk says which partition is the actual partition to use to boot. At the moment I have Bootit NG installed in the MBR which asks me which partition I am going to boot with. I have had different operating systems installed on different partitions, and select which one.

If the partition with your OS is still there, but your computer is complaining about no OS, then it's booting off the wrong partition.

You can also get boot disks here: http://www.bootdisk.com/
And you can try to boot / recreate the old 2GB partition and see if
you can reset things.

But again, you might want to stop, tell us exactly what you did and what
the current state of things is, before you possibly make things worse.

- Frank