Drive partitions

For example from XP Command Prompt is it possible to reallocate/delete a NTFS formatted empty 2nd partition back to the full C:\ drive and thus gain the maximum available space on the drive in a single partition?

To do this I had to download a free tool called EPM - just wondered if it is possible within XP alone to do this, or is it one of those Windows quirks that makes this impossible? Apparently extending the partition containing the OS boot sector etc. is inadvisable - but not sure why.

Edited by 4M2 (Sat 29-Jan-11 11:51:10)

I think (I can't remember for sure), that you can use Admin tools / Computer Management / Disk Management.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000

How to delete a partition or a logical drive
To delete a partition or logical drive:

1. In the Disk Management window, right-click the partition or logical drive that you want to delete, and then click Delete Partition or Delete Logical Drive.
2. Click Yes when you are prompted to delete the partition or logical drive. The partition or logical drive is deleted.

Important

* When you delete a partition or a logical drive, all the data on that partition or logical drive, and the partition or the logical drive, are deleted.
* You cannot delete the system partition, boot partition, or a partition that contains the active paging (swap) file.
* You cannot delete an extended partition unless the extended partition is empty. All logical drives in the extended partition must be deleted before you can delete the extended partition.

Be absolutely sure to take backups of all active partitions before messing though. Just in case.

Thanks camieabz,

Have previously tried with Disk Management but could not get rid of the empty NTFS partition: either it is re-allocated (reformatted NTFS) or an unknown unallocated (deleted) partition occupying space. Even when reinstalling the OS, or reformatting the drive to NTFS in an external caddy, the partition remains.

I could only extend the C:\ primary partition and remove the other empty NTFS formatted partition, e.g. E:\, by using the free EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition (EPM) tool and gain the full disc capacity.

Obviously extending the E:\ partition, on the same C:\ drive, into disc space used by the OS is impossible from Command Prompt but I thought there may be a way of extending the C:\ partition into the free NTFS formatted space occupied by the unwanted E:\ partition.

In reply to a post by 4M2:

I thought there may be a way of extending the C:\ partition into the free NTFS formatted space occupied by the unwanted E:\ partition.

Not to my knowledge. You'll be combining partitions, which if you have an active setup on one of them, you need to avoid FDISK. If the disk management tools don't allow for it, you need a 3rd party tool, similar to Partition Magic.

It's been the W2K days since I did much in the way of partitioning. After Powerquest was bought by Symantec, and my version of Partition Magic didn't work with XP, I pretty much used FDISK, and made a point of thinking long and hard about my setup, so I didn't rely on post installation changes.

However, if memory serves me correctly, the merging of partitions will require the rewriting of the C: MBR to read and address the added space. It not only tells the operating system how the drives are laid out (size wise) but their status (primary, logical, extended, allocated etc).

I'm sure there's a way to take two active drives and combine them by editing the MBR, but I wouldn't bet on the data on either partition surviving it without corruption. Best to use a 3rd party tool.

It had occurred to me that unless the rogue partition is tiny, you could utilise it instead of trying to delete it.

Things such as:

Swapfile (not that I recommend it)
Backups (handy if likely to perform C: formats)
Storage of long-term data / rarely accessed data, meaning less clutter to scan / defrag on C:
Multiple operating systems
Games (easier to add and delete without messing with C: space

Thanks again camieabz,

Just seems odd that once another partition is created, in this example the C:\ drive, Windows can not delete it and the drive be returned to full capacity.

However I do believe that additional drives that are used for file storage only can be brought back to full capacity by extending a partition with Command Prompt?

Regarding the partition and it's usefulness what you say is absolutely correct but I was dealing with a old 40GB HDD that had a 8GB partition which was restricting available space - anyway got it sorted with EPM and now it's living happily in a caddy/enclosure as a 40GB portable external usb drive

Have a look at Easeus Partition Manager Free. I haven't used it personally but I have seen very good reports from those that have.
Paragon have an excellent reputation for disk management and they also offer a free version of their Partition Manager.

Thanks for the suggestion Deadbeat,

However I used Easeus Partition Manager Free (EPM) a few days ago, it worked perfectly and was really simple to use

4M2.