OT: Computer's...gotta hate 'em.

Renegade 13 · #1 April 4th, 2006, 06:22 PM

I have a bit of a problem that someone might be able to help me with. Yep, another problem

I thought my hard drive wasn't partitioned. Well, turns out it was. Into one big chunk that is C: and encompasses most of the hard drive, then there's 8 MB that were unallocated. Anyways, I've managed to mess with the recovery CD and copied files onto a writable CD that will now allow me to install XP without the OEM files automatically choosing the options. So I can now, when installing the OS, choose to repair, create partitions, etc. Good so far. Well, I can't create the partitions that I want to, since the hard drive is already partitioned!

Is there a way to remove the partitioning so it's all unallocated space (doesn't matter if I lose data, all I have is the basic XP install right now)? Or even to just re-adjust the partitioning so the OS is on it's own partition, then everything else on another?

Thanks!

Alneyan · #2 April 4th, 2006, 06:28 PM

Actually, you probably don't have 8 MB left: what you have left is 0 MB, but 0 looks very much like 8 in the Windows XP install. I know I have the same figure, but cannot create any partition there, and 8 mb is either way too much or useless for other uses.

You can delete your partitions from the XP installer directly, or you can use another program elsewhere. You may get away with resizing your partition (the partition must be defragmented for that to work), making room to create new partitions; the XP installer does not support this feature however, so you will have to look elsewhere. It might also mess up with the way XP handles boot and the like, depending on how you go about it. I know XP can be annoying when setting up a multi-boot on a single harddrive.

Renegade 13 · #3 April 4th, 2006, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Alneyan said:
You can delete your partitions from the XP installer directly, or you can use another program elsewhere.

Hmmm...I tried to do exactly that from within the XP installer, but it said setup files were on that partition, so it couldn't delete the partition. But I have an idea...might work...

**runs off to try**

Alneyan · #4 April 4th, 2006, 06:45 PM

Odd. The only message to this effect I got was "Hey, it's system files, are you sure you want to blast the partition back to Vasuda Prime?". Are you sure you don't have an option to accept? Of course, the program will ask you a second time if you are sure about deleting all your files. The installer shouldn't mind those system files; if it did, it would have some serious trouble when installed on a "barren" harddrive.

If for one reason or another (the same problem as with the auto-format?) it doesn't work, format c: is a pretty powerful spell. Power Word: Kill, that sort of powerful. You might have to boot up a Win 98 boot disk or some such to cast the spell, though; if you don't have a floppy disk, you can also burn a CD that will act as a floppy boot disk (it worked well enough when I installed Win 98 and did some fdisk/format).