Partitioning XP

[chrisfreez]

Does Windows XP come with hard drive partitioning files?

My friend has a P4 -2.3 Ghz with a 250 GB hard drive and he was told that the partition cannot be removed from his hard drive. I say it can. Who is right?

I use to remove or add partitions all the time with MSDOS and Windows OS using Fdsk, and then format.

I was told that VISTA comes with hard drive partitioning capability. What about XP?

 

[PC eye]

XP can create and delete as well as format new primaries as part of the installation process. The only problem faced with seeing any partition removed would be either the current installation is from a newer copy of XP like SP2 and trying to remove the primary with an SP1 or earlier release or a different OS entirely.

Vista now sees the options for resizing existing partitions while booting from the installation dvd especially for the boot OS primary and with the Disk Management tool for all partitions other then the system root while in Windows. The separate option for formatting a new or reformatting an existing partition is also seen on the dvd as well as the simple right click on any but the OS partition in the DM tool.

Many prefer still to use a separate partitioning tool like Partition Magic(retail software) or the free Linux drive tool known as the Gnome Partition Editor or GParted being a cross platform tool with certain releases. Linux/Windows users are most familiar with GParted and QParted as well.

 

[tremmor]

i don't want to confuse the issue but pc eye is correct.
Ive used partion magic and works well.
on the other hand i used mostly dos.
create a extended partition with fdisk.
Primary is your operating system storage.
extended is next. say a D: drive.
logicial drives can be created within the extended
partition. E, F or G if needed. this can all be done with
fdisk. then you go into all the drive and format each.
format D: format E: format F:

I used ntfs for primary.

funny.....there was a time and place for dos.
i was fluent at one time. everything was done in dos.
i will miss it. im sure many others will. DOS ROCKED in its day.
cheers.....
fat32 for secondary (it can easily be read).
just my logic.


i like partition magic.
it will work well. i don't have too or need dos
much any more. im only replying with this because i
don't want to forget. its my refresh. sometime i need to
do that.

 

[PC eye]

Your second, third, and fourth partitions on a drive can still be primaries since that is the limit while any others would have to be the extended type. Since most desktops automatically see Basic not Dynamic volumes generally seen with servers I often recommend GParted for taking care of the partitioning and formatting as well as being a free tool for anyone on a tight budget. Partition Magic sees a great rep as a retail software there.

Prior to XP you often saw drives partitioned and formatted with a boot floppy either for the 9X-ME Fat based versions or NTFS with NT then 2000. XP featured the ondisk tools for seeing the initial partitioning and formatting of a new drive as part of the installation process. Vista simply expands on that with the resize and format options now available on the dvd as well as seen in the Disk Management tool.