HDD partitions in XP

i need to make a boot floppy (or cd) that i can delete partitions with.
i have a retail oem xp recovery cd and it only formats and installs the OS.
somehow, and don't ask me how, i managed to get a partition before the C drive.
any help is appreciated.

 

Probably more like a manufacturer's diagnostic utilities partition. About 32MB?

 

You have a Recovery CD.

You can download a free utility avaible from the HDD manufacture of your HDD.

With this Utility you can create or delete Partitions using advanced HDD setup, but afterwards you will have to use your recovery CD to reinstall your OS

Some of these Utilities are avaible here at MG
Seagate:
http://majorgeeks.com/Seagate_SeaTools_d2858.html
Western digital:
http://majorgeeks.com/Western_Digital_Data_Lifeguard_Tools_d2855.html
Maxtor:
http://majorgeeks.com/Maxtor_Powermax_d1386.html

If you dont know the brand of HDD you can open the case & look it will be on the HDD or you probably can use Everest to find out the brand
http://majorgeeks.com/EVEREST_Free_Edition_d4181.html

If you dont want reinstall your OS you can use Partition Magic but it's not free, there are risks with it to so dont forget to back up any important data

 

nope.
in disk management it shows up as a 5 gig partition, then the 35 gig c drive, then another 35 gig partition.
there is a empty partition before and after the c drive, niether of which have a drive letter.

 

I just found this
"Partition Logic" looks like free alternative to Partition magic.
Ive never used it but might be worth a Look
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Partition_Logic_d4780.html

 

okay i'll try this.

for everybody else the drive i have is western digital WD800BB-22HC0 80 gig.

 

okay this option didn't pan out.
it won't let me partition a drive that's in-use

the western digital website was of no use

 

i downloaded this.
it's an iso image file so i'll have to burn it to cd.
give me a little time to see if i can totally trash my machine

 

Be aware.

Read this disclaimer on the MG link, before you go ahead.

 

Let us know if Partition Logic works out.

There are advantages to using multiple Partitions, I use one for my OS then make other's for storage
I usually make my windows partition for XP about 25gb

It's all about Personal preference

I've seen some guys who are really anal about security make a dummy OS on C partition ( this C partition would be small 3-4 gb) then load their main windows on D


I'm wondering why your Extra partitions didn't have a drive letter??

 

i can use my recovery cd to format

 

i can't boot my machine with the cd i made.
the webpage says part-logic uses viosys or some such OS

who knows. the partition after c doesn't either.

any other suggestions?
can i use my fdisk from winME?

 

i tried fdisk from winME.
it reported my disc cap. was 10 gig, wrong
it reported my c drive as 35 gig, right
and it reported unused space of 35 gig, right
it never mention the 5 gig i had in front of c.

also how do you edit your posts?

 

The Edit button is only available for a finite number of minutes after posting to users other than mods or admins. This allows for corrections, but helps preclude "revising history". If it's done immediately after, you won't see the "Last edited" timestamp. Adding a "reason" is optional.

 

The ability to Edit your posts is restricted by the site Owner/admins to a 5 min time limit


Are you able to access the extra partitions, what file system are each partition?
Can you post screen shot of Disk management showing all your partitions?

 

so i heard.

in disk management when i right click on the "phantom" drives the options are:
new partition, properties and help.
neither of the "phantom" drives show in explorer

unallocated
ntfs
unallocated

if i knew how

 

If you want to make the extra partition's usable & visible, Right Click & select "New Partition"
Look here:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/hard_drives_06.htm

If you want one Big Partition & you dont mind reinstalling your OS download the Free utility from your HDD manufacture & run the Disk setup use it to format then use your restore disk to load your OS.

Or If you dont want to reload your OS but yet still only want one Big Partition I'd try the Free Utility after you changed the Unallocated space to formated primary partition.

I'm thinking your earlier try of burning the ISO was not done correctly, or your BIOS boot order is set for CD first, I use Nero for burning ISO, What did you use?

(IMO the best Format & Partition Utility is the one offered free from each HDD manufacture, but the key thing is to set up the drive before installing any OS, if there is an OS it will be Deleted
I always use the advanced options for single or multiple Partitions
This cannot be done within windows, your must boot to the utility via Floppy or CD and in BIOS the boot order must be set accordingly)

No need to post Screen shot, you gave me enough info, But if you ever want to post a Screen shot Here's How:
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=26019

 

asus, you're a genius
i went back to the western digital website. that place could be a little more user friendly. anyway i download some program to safegaurd data, which of course was the HDD program i needed, set it up on a floppy, rebooted and viola!
the problem is solved, i'm happy, and major geeks scores again!

p.s. i bet bill gates himself would be proud of this place.