need to resize win7 "system reserved" partition

howdy y'all,

specs ...
os = win7 fully patched

can paragon partition manager [or one of the variants] resize my "system reserved" partition?

acronis true image western digital edition _shrank_ it from 100mb to 48mb when i move to the new, faster but smaller drive. now it won't allow me to resize it. [*sigh ...*] nor will it allow me to xfer things to another drive and resize it _then_. [*sigh ...*] again ...

so i'm looking for another program to do it. [*grin*]

the "Partition Manager 11 Personal" for $10 offer makes this look good. what i need to know is - can it do what i need done?

help, please?

take care,
lee

 

Lee_Dailey

Why do you want to resize System Reserved?
If your Windows boots correctly, there is no need to change its size.

It was resized proportionally after copy, but manual resize is not allowed.

Paragon Partition Manager 11 works almost the same way:
You can't manually resize System Reserved partition.
But (!) if you copy HDD to smaller drive with Paragon PM11, it will NOT resize System Reserved, only Windows partition.

 

howdy Mech_An,

the reason i want [very nearly _need_] to resize the system reserved partition is the failure of the built-in win7 backup when there is too little room on that partition. besides, the way that location is used _seems_ to mean the data there will grow over time as i add more devices.

so i need to restore the standard size to avoid current and future glitches.

ait-wde botched the process as it should not have offered the "proportional" option as a default for that partition. well, i my opinion that's the case. [*grin*]

since ppm11p can't do what i need, i guess i'll have to reinstall windows to get this fixed. [*sigh ...*]

thanks for your help, even so!

take care,
lee

 

Hi Lee,

There are a couple of ways round that short of a reinstall.

The simplest is to make your Windows 7 partition both boot and system - it's very quick and easy - I do it all the time.

Then you won't be using the 45mb partition at all.

You need to check your windows 7 partition is a Primary partition ( look in Disk Management window to see).

If it is, rt click it and mark it active.

Boot the 7 install dvd/recovery disc and run startup repair 3 times. That's it.


A different approach is to boot the partition manager disc, shrink your 7 partition from the left , say by 60 mb, ( might take a whole because all the data on that partition will need to be moved 60 mb to the left - depends how much is on there ).

Then expand your 45mb system partition to the right by that same amount.

I am not familiar with the options on the PM pers boot disc - perhaps it is not ideal for that.

Certainly the higher editions , like PM Pro, will do it.

 

howdy SIW2,

thanks for the response! [*grin*]

solution [2] is what i am _currently_ aiming for. i'm reluctant to spring for a full blown partition manager since i no longer do much support work. so i may end up going for solution [1]. [*grin*]

do you know of any drawbacks involved in blowing away the system reserved area?

take care,
lee

 

I don't have an msr currently - never had any probs as a result.

In fact, it makes image/restore much simpler. Solution 1 is very straightforward.



FYI - Not sure about the current version of PM pers, but previous versions you used to be able to boot the recovery cd ,select Normal Mode then at the next screen , press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to get the advanced partitioning menu.

I am using this http://www.paragon-software.com/business/hdm-server-vs/features.html , so every option you can imagine is available there.

 

howdy SIW2,

"
You need to check your windows 7 partition is a Primary partition ( look in Disk Management window to see).

If it is, rt click it and mark it active.

Boot the 7 install dvd/recovery disc and run startup repair 3 times. That's it.
"

is line 3 above _really_ all there is to to that step? [*grin*] run startup repair 3 times? i suspect there is something more in that step ...

please, lemme know cuz i'm heading for your recommended solution since nothing else seems even remotely worthwhile.

take care,
lee

 

Lee_Dailey,

You can resize System Reserved , but it is not very simple. Please create backup of entire HDD first.


Then:
1) Create Recovery CD for Paragon PM 11 (preferably WinPE CD for PM11Pro)
2) Boot from Recovery CD (select Normal Mode for Linux-based CD)
3) Run PM from Recovery CD and
3.1. Shrink C:/
* right-click C:/ partition (note: it could have another drive letter from Recovery CD) and select 'Move\Resize'
* move LEFT partition border to keep unallocated space between 2 partitions
* press Apply to perform changes physically
3.2. Change volume label for SR:
* right-click System Reserved partition and select 'Change Volume label'
* type anything or simply keep empty label
* Apply chnages
3.3. Enlarge SR:
* right-click first partition and select 'Move\Resize'
* enlarge SR to cover all unallocated space between 2 partitions
* Apply changes
3.4. Assign Volume label back:
* right-click System Reserved partition and select 'Change Volume label'
* type "System Reserved"
* Apply changes
4) Restart and check if Windows boots correctly.

 

Hi Lee,

As Mech An says , resizing is more complex.

You are better using solution 1.

Yes, it is that simple. Mark the 7 partition Active.

Boot the 7 dvd , select "Repair My Computer" ( at the bottom of the Install Now screen ). Run startup repair.

You will need to do it 3 times.

 

Actually, to make C:/ bootable you can try to:
* Boot from Paragon Recovery CD for PM 11 (Personal or Pro)
* Delete System Reserved
* Apply changes
* Enlarge C:/ to cover unallocated space
* Apply changes
* Mark Windows partition as Active
Then
* Boot from Windows Repair CD
* run Startup Repair (only once)
* It will create Boot folder in C:/ and use it for Boot files.

 

Hi Mech An,

Does it work if you do it once?

Haven't done it that way for a while - I use bcdboot and bootsect commands now - much quicker.

I made a little batch file to do it as well.

 

Hi SIW2,

Yes, it worked for me when I did copy of Windows partition w\o System Reserved.
Startup repair was made once and everything works fine. It just place new Boot folder to C:/ and generate required BCD files.

 

It seems to depend what needs fixing.

If there is only one repair needed - in your case recreating the boot crititcal files - then one run may be enough.

If there are more repairs needed, e.g. rewriting the boot sector code , then a second run is needed.

3rd run is not usually necessary , but is worth doing just to make sure - you should get the message there are no problems on the 3rd run.