Partition Magic? Not..

[socalgal]

DriveConverter32 was a success!! Thanks MadMax & Bleeding Edge! Your instructions right on the money.

Now..... Have Partition Magic installed. One partition is C: LOLA (approx 1.8G). The rest of the hdd is free space.

I moved this 'n' that, and RTFM but I still can't understand how to create only one FAT32 partition. I'm afraid of screwing something up. I feel like a newbie http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif

Any one with very familiar knowledge of PM please respond. Thank You!!



[This message has been edited by socalgal (edited 06-09-99).]

[BBA]

Its easier than you think!

1. Make a boot floppy by formatting one while including copying the system files.

2. Copy himem.sys, format.com, fdisk.exe and any other utils you want to use from dos (like attrib.exe). Include a CONFIG.SYS file with the line "DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS" on the floppy. You can even include cdrom drivers to make it a full fledged startup disk.

3. Boot the PC with the disk and type "fdisk" from the A:\ prompt.

4. Type 4 to view current partition settings, press escape to back out of it.

5. Select to delete the partitions, deleting all extended partitions before primary partitions. Then reboot.

6. Type fdisk again and select create primary partition, confirm that you want to partition all the space of the drive and make it active.

7. Reboot again and format the disk and use the /s switch (ie: "format /s C:\" ) then confirm that you want to use large disk support and such. This will make it a single bootable fat32 drive.

Then you can load windows onto the drive and it'll be FAT32 from the start!

[socalgal]

BBA ~ I already have Win98 and 1.2G of programs on this drive already. Will fdisk wipe my drive? I don't want to format, just used DriveCopy from old sys to new one. Is it safe to fdisk without ANY data loss?

[socalgal]

Also, I originally fdisked/formatted this 13G drive to FAT32. The DriveCopy overwrote target drive (13G) with an exact clone of FAT16 source drive (1.8G). Then I ran DriveConverter32 and that C: became FAT32. Now I have one C: partition (1.8G), the rest free.

I just want a single C: partition - the whole 13G, FAT32, without data loss on the C:

Thanks for the help.


~~ EDIT: just found this:

Caution: If you use FDISK to partition a hard disk, all the files on your original partitions will be deleted. Be sure to back up all data files on a partition before you use FDISK.

This doesn't look like a viable option.

[This message has been edited by socalgal (edited 06-09-99).]

[800XL]

It has been literally years since I used partition magic, but it should allow you to resize the partition without destroying the data on it. Keep digging around with it, I know the option is there. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I'll try to get PM running and see if I can be more helpful with some specifics.

[socalgal]

Hi 800XL

I tried resizing the C:, it resized to 8G, the maximum the slide meter would allow, (and showing a "divider" line from the original 1.8G). But I still have 4G of free space.

Perhaps it won't slide further because the free space is not formatted to FAT32? (I did fdisk this hdd FAT32 originally)

The options for the free space are only HPFS, NTFS, Extended and Unformatted. No FAT32 option anyway.

I think I may have to start this over. But how to get what I want even if I do?

Thinking of starting over, trying:

(Source 2G): Convert to FAT32
(Target 13G): Fdisk/format C: FAT32, single primary active partition
Use a 3rd hard drive to copy source onto and transfer to target.

Also, C: Properties in My Computer shows the 2G even after resizing.

What do you think?

[Roy]

Close. The borrowed third HD already is functional in another system. It boots and runs your machine while the transfer from 2Gb FAT16 to pre-formatted and FAT32'd 13Gb takes place. This way everything from the 2Gb can be transferred and the 13Gb remains unpartitioned. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

The other time you tried something like this, the files in use by the 2Gb source drive to run the system could not be transferred.

[Roy]

EDIT - Delete double post.

[This message has been edited by Roy (edited 06-10-99).]

[MadMax]

socalgal~I don't know why you can't reclaim that free space. Do NOT delete the partition you have your data on if you want to save it. What version of PM are you using?

If you have another comp available that has a disk big enough to take ALL of the data on the problematic hdd, I would use it to make a clone. It sounds like maybe you have some partition problems that PM can't resolve.

Let us know... http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[CMonster]

Hello Sweetheart,

If fdisk from the boot disk would allow a single partition of FAT32 and you had formatted the entire drive, then you could have used Seagate's "File Copy" (part of the 'Disk Wizard" suite) or you could have used "c:\xcopy c:\*.* /e/h/k/r/c d:" to transfer files over to the FAT32 drive and it would still all be one partition.

RE: Partition Magic, which version are you using? I am not sure if the earlier versions (3.0) have the 8BG limit or not but one thing is for sure, I have read that you will not go beyond 8GB using 4KB cluster size. Change the cluster size to 8KB for the entire drive and try resizing again.

Now look I'm late for work!

bye luv.

[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 06-10-99).]

[MadMax]

I just checked the faq at powerquest and they indicate that versions older than 4.0 will not support drives larger than 8gb.

[socalgal]

Mad Max ~Aha! This PM is version 3.05. I didn't think to check the site!

Maybe CMonster's suggestion to change cluster size will force the 8G limit? But then I prefer the smaller cluster size if possible.

Roy ~ of course! Can't transfer files properly from a running disk.

XCopy? 3rd hdd? We'll see how the time goes and how long it takes the 3rd hdd to arrive. Now I must be off to work also. (Didn't win the Lotto last night. Sorry Edge)

Thanks Guys! You're the Greatest!! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by socalgal (edited 06-10-99).]

[800XL]

I think CMonster pegged it. I've only rarely worked with drives over 8GB, but I think the cluster size has to change to cross that barrier. It might not hurt to just add a second partition (fdisk should be able to make an extended partition and logical drive) and keep the cluster size lower. Above and beyond that, you have to change the cluster size on the current partition to grow it any larger.

You could also give some of the other drive copying utils a shot. I've had good luck with Ghost (part of Norton now) in copying drive of differing sizes. They have a 30 day uncrippled trialware version that might just do the trick. I don't know if this newer version can do the FAT16->FAT32 convert on the fly during the copy or not. If not, you would want to start with a FAT32 source so that it will just fill all the available space easily.

[Dash800]

Couldn't you use that utility that comes with linux that allows you to resize a drive to fit a linux partitions on, except instead you could just max it out... , dont know, just a wild guess, well.. sorta wild http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[LJE2]

To transfer files from one drive to another using "xcopy" you must first turn off Virtual Memory, and the target drive must allready have system files on it, and be jumpered as a slave, then click, Start, Run and type "xcopy C:\*.*/e/h/k/r/c d: and hit enter (d: being the target drive), to run either one of these hard drives, the original or the clone, you must reenable Virtual Memory and set jumpers accordingly.

[BBA]

Well, socalgal,

I thought I already posted the easiest way to do this a while back!

You dont need any programs at all to copy data from one disk to the other! Windows works fine for this purpose.

All you have to do is fdisk/format the new drive by itself in the PC, then make it a slave to the old one and boot with both drives and copy stuff over! Then remove the old drive or make it the slave.

Simple huh? I do it everytime I need to upgrade someones drive!

BBA

[CMonster]

That's right BBA,

And I keep telling people if you xcopy or transfer files from a FAT16 drive onto a FAT32 drive the result will be that the new drive will still be FAT32 - in effect you will have "converted" the OS to FAT32 on the new drive. Thsi is the poor man's conversion.... and if you fdisk and format the old drive to FAT32 and copy the files back then both drives will be FAT32. I am not talking about disk "cloning" programs here.

But the OS must support FAT32 of course.

BTW - I have used xcopy without disabling virtual memory, it jsut stalls once on transferring the swap file but if you hit enter it continues transferring files. AND you can transfer files onto a formatted drive and transfer the system files later - it doesn't matter (just the drive won't boot until you transfer those sys files).

[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 06-10-99).]

[BBA]

When I do the copy, its from within windows usually, and I copy everything except the swap file!

That is the one file you dont want to copy, because it's usaully screwed up in the first place and windows builds a new one the instant you start windows.

BTW: thats the only file windows cant copy while its running!

BBA

[LJE2]

I never thought of transfering the system files after the xcopy but that would work too, I usually just do a format C:/s to the new drive when I'm planning to do this, so it's just easier.

[socalgal]

Hi Everyone http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif I will refrain from what did go wrong (ay yi yi). After, oh say, about 7 hours, here's what I (we) did when it turned out right!

1) 2G Source drive (LOLA) DriveConverter32'd her. (CMonster, I was pretty paranoid by now - EVERYTHING weird was happening!!)

2) Again Fdisked w/large drive support and Format c: /s the Target drive - 13G Sirius.

3) Hooked Source (as secondary master) and Target (as secondary slave) to 3rd system, bios autodetected all 3 drives.

4) Went to Explorer, clicked on Source root (in this case D: LOLA), expanded, Shift + End to hilight all on right (this time), and except for Win386.swp.

5) Copy and paste to Target E: Sirius.

The only two system files that prompted me for overwrite were msdos.sys and (I think)Io.sys --(Roy that WAS Io.sys right?)
Yes to both prompts.

This time it all worked. We tried so many things. Some of the problems were VFAT initialization failure; fdd read/write problems; hard disk drive failure; CMOS checksum error; CD-ROM drive letter missing; etc. etc.

Oh and the cluster size is ± 8k now.

Another thought brought up the possibility of my old bios not recognizing beyond 8G limitations. Guess I should update it eh? But I had the wrong version of PM anyway.

But NOW I have a single partitioned, 13G FAT32 hdd, with all my files transferred. And learned a whole lot in the process. (including patience!)

Roy, thanks for ALL your help and for putting up with me! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

CMonster, BBA, MadMax, LJE2, 800XL ~ THANK YOU for all your input and help. It's sure a good feeling to know that you are here for me when I need it and with right-on information. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Now, as soon as I get all the new hardware configured, I'll be screaming (as in fast - LOL). I need to get a vidcard!


[This message has been edited by socalgal (edited 06-11-99).]

[MadMax]

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif Anything for the Lady. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif Think nothing of MY help. These other guys are the real brains of this outfit. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Roy]

io.sys - Right. You selected the newer one. Right or wrong, it worked! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[LJE2]

I'm glad everything finally worked out for you, why didn't you just do that the first time http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[socalgal]

um, well, ah...

Do you have to ask such hard questions LJE2? http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif


~~ EDIT: Thanks CMonster!! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by socalgal (edited 06-11-99).]

[CMonster]

at last!

bully for you!

way to go!