Page 1 of Disk Partition Question

Even though I work in IT I`ve never had to deal with drive partitions before, and now i`m facing a problem.

PC is windows 98, there is a FAT16 partition of about 2 GB, almost full, and another one which is FAT32 8GB close to empty. Most programs are on the smaller partition and run like dogs.

Is there an easy way to combine the two, without losing any data, and would this improve performance?

Feel free to ignore this, just checked the machine again, it wouldn`t run disk fragmenter etc on the Fat16 drive before, checked what was running and the Virus Scanner was going mental, as the machine is a standalone with no connection to the internet I`ve disabled VS, and away we go. Elementary problem overlooked, what a pillock, still if anyone wants to teach me about disk partitioning etc feel free.

The only way to merge/change the partitions without losing data (or having to reformat and start again) is to use a tool such as Partition Magic. I bought a copy years ago, and it`s been really useful (mind, I do jigger with a lot of PCs).

yep, go for Partition Magic.

If you still want to join the partitions, I`d delete the 8GB partition then expand the FAT16 into the free space to give you some working space. Then just convert the whole thing to FAT32.

If you want to just convert the FAT16 partition to FAT32, you`ll probably gain a few hundred MB just by lowering the cluster size to 4KB - This will reduce the space lost when storing files (slack space) but make sure you have some existing free space before you start - about 200MB or so to allow Partition Magic to work. Smaller cluster sizes will improve performance if you have lots of small files. If you have lots of large files, set a larger cluster size - 16KB or above. It goes without saying that you take a full backup before doing anything....

SN

Another vote for Partition Magic, I use version 7 which supports XP and wouldn`t be without it.

Or you could uninstall all the programs you installed on the 2GB partition and re-install them onto the 8GB partition.

Also you could move the swap file from the deafult location and put it onto the 8GB partition.

Yes, my vote goes to Partition Magic as well. I`ve used an old version 4 for a long while, but some time ago picked up a full version 5 free with a magazine!! The magazine was `PC Magazine` June 2002. You might be able to get a back issue, or perhaps just the CD Rom. Telephone them on 01858 438881 (Leicester). Roger. P.S. I don`t think this version works on Windows XP.

This item was edited on Monday, 10th March 2003, 09:44