DDS downloaded: "How to Boot From Disk"?

[GlentheComputerGuy]

Greetings!

I've just discovered, after trying to "merge" two partitions into one, that this does not work for my purposes - I've read the forums about 'merge' and 'resize' and I think the latter is my best bet to take the two partitions that reside on one small HDD (C: 20mb & D: 20mb - with both being almost full) and (a) copy all of D: somewhere else (another drive) and then 'resize' C: to encompass D:'s now-empty space.

However, I've two important questions:

1) How do I boot from the CD (in order to bypass Windows being active and thus insuring no activity on D: while resizing C: into it) if I purchased Disk Directory 10 via download?? =8-)

2) C: is NTFS and D: is FAT32 ... when I 'resize' C: into the D: area, what will happen to the NTFS C: part? That is, do I have to reformat D: into an NTFS format first or will the 'resize' do the transform of FAT32 area into NTFS automatically?

Thanks! I hope these issues were not covered somewhere else. Pardon me if they were. I did not see anything about these two issues.

Glen

[K0LO]

Glen:

You can make your own bootable CD by using the "Bootable Media Builder" option on the "Tools" menu. Include both the full and safe versions of the program. Or, instead of a CD you can make a bootable USB flash drive.

For what you are trying to do, are the two partitions C and D right next to each other?

If so,
1. Copy your data from the D partition and store it somewhere safe.
2. Delete the D partition, leaving uncommitted free space.
3. Resize the C partition.

[GlentheComputerGuy]

thank you, Mark, for your response(s)!

I can/might make a bootable disk (don't know if the system boots to a USB drive, but will check - seems the CD boot would be more simple/straightforward/dependable) ...

Yes, Mark, the two partitions are next to one another - they're partitioned space on a single (old, 40GB) drive. I've already copied all but an installed program, HP 7700 printer, which (a) I have no idea who or why or how it was installed in the D: partition (seems to have been the only installed code on that partition), and (b) I will uninstall the HP software and reinstall it after the resizing.

Question to you: I will follow your suggestion (remove data from D: and resize C: into the area D: now encompasses) ... However, what about the partition format difference? C: is NTFS and D: is FAT32. Is this a no-brainer?! Will the system re-recognized the expanded area of C: (into the D: area) as NTFS immediately?

Thanks again for your responses, Mark!!!

Take care,
Glen

[MudCrab]

-{ Quote: "...don't know if the system boots to a USB drive, but will check" }-
You can create a bootable USB Flashdrive using MediaBuilder. You can also create a bootable USB Hard Drive using my guide (see the links in my signature for more information). Using a Flashdrive is usually a lot faster than a CD if it will work on your system.

-{ Quote: "However, what about the partition format difference? C: is NTFS and D: is FAT32. Is this a no-brainer?! Will the system re-recognized the expanded area of C: (into the D: area) as NTFS immediately?" }-
In Step 2 of Mark's instructions, the D: partition is deleted. This leaves Unallocated Space on the drive (there is no longer any format). Just resize C: into the Unallocated Space and DD takes care of the rest.

[K0LO]

-{ Quote: "... However, what about the partition format difference? C: is NTFS and D: is FAT32. Is this a no-brainer?! Will the system re-recognized the expanded area of C: (into the D: area) as NTFS immediately?" }-Glen:

The "stuff" that tells the OS what format is being used on the partition is contained in the first few sectors of the partition and, in the case of NTFS, in the Master File Table (MFT). These already exist on your C: partition. So yes, you can simply extend the boundary of the C: partition to make it larger, and the free space will become part of the existing NTFS partition. No further formatting is necessary.