I just got a new computer (64-bit Vista) with a 1TB hard drive. It has only one partition, the factory image. Is there any way to add another partition to this drive without installing Windows again?
Though there are plenty of free partition managers for 32-bit versions of Windows (we prefer Easeus Partition Master), 64-bit owners have fewer third-party options. Fortunately, Kevin, you’ve got a built-in tool in Vista that will do the trick nicely.
First, defragment your drive to maximize the amount you’ll be able to shrink it. Then, go to your Start menu and type Disk Management into the search box (alternately, you can get there via Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management). Click Storage, then find your drive in the list. Right-click your 1TB partition and select Shrink Partition. Disk Management will calculate how much your disk can be shrunk, and then you can choose how small you want to make it. It’s a good idea to leave some extra space on the C: drive, though. Once Windows has shrunk the partition, right-click the empty space in the drive (in the Disk Management window) and click Create Partition. Presto!
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Comments are closed on this article
Tatararata
November 08, 2010 at 10:14am
How come your blog only shows properly in Firefox and not in Chrome?
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FanaticWS
February 05, 2010 at 1:09pm
Try Partition Wizard Home Edition 4.2.2
www.partitionwizard.com
rich5665
December 03, 2009 at 6:27am
Easus Partition Manager for 64-Bit is not free. Easus' 32-Bit Home version is free, in order to get 64-Bit support you need to pay for the Professional version. I used the the Built in partition utility in my Win7 setup last night so I can duel boot Ubuntu and didn't have an issue. Yes there may be better third party apps available, but Microsoft's built in apps do work.
Olmec
December 02, 2009 at 8:16pm
What about GparteD? It is free, it has a graphical user interface, and documentation is really good.
Did I mention It is Free?
Cheers
HeartBurnKid
December 03, 2009 at 7:44am
Boot it off a LiveCD, do your thing, reboot to Windows. No muss, no fuss.
Who needs a Windows-native partitioner, anyway?
justnandbrtny
December 02, 2009 at 8:58pm
Any linux based partition editor would be better than a windows based one
Raspop
December 02, 2009 at 5:29pm
Consider getting a SSD for the OS and use that 1TB drive for hoarding data.
DBsantos77
December 02, 2009 at 4:23pm
Sure, Vista's Partiton Resizer is nice..until you have a pagefile, hibernation, or system restore files preventing you from resizing any further.
I prefer partition wizard home. It supports 64-bit, ignores the pagefile, hibernation, and system restore files, and it supports W7. Oh, and it's free.
http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html
- Odd thing is that it looks almost identical to Easus Partition manager........WAY too similar.
-Santos
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