Resizing a NTFS partition

[AGI1122]

Unfortunatly I dont' have knoppix.

Oh and if you would have preferred kde, you could have gotten kubuntu instead.

Although after you install ubuntu, you can switch over to kde from gnome according to the wiki.

[AGI1122]

Well I was able to get a program that can resize my partition. But it failed when it encountered bad sectors. And now I am completely locked out of windows. When it tries to start it gives me the blue screen of death and tells me to restart.

Thank goodness for the live cd since I wouldn't have an OS at all at this point. This is extremely slow since it has to constantly load from cd, but better than nothing.

I have no idea what to do now. My options right now are either to find a way to fix windows... or completely wipe my partition and start with nothing but ubuntu... which means I lose all my data.

Any ideas?

[AR]

Partition resizing is always dangerous which is why guides always tell you to make absolutely sure you backed up everything important first, it sounds like you followed that directive to the letter...

Linux should be able to read the NTFS partition (provided it isn't trashed beyond repair), if you have allocated enough space then you can try to create a FAT partition and transfer across. Failing that, you can take the drive out and put it in another computer to transfer the data but you will most likely need to reformat to get the system back to a working state.

However, if the partition is still legible to Windows then you can perform an un-clean install which should allow you to get back into the system but won't actually delete anything (other than the contents of "C:\Windows")

[AGI1122]

Alright I have been able to recover my system with a utility disc I have from my old computer.

Although it's still a bit glitchy though, 1 of my windows system files gives me an error when I login to windows xp. But so far I don't see any problems caused from it though.

[Solar]

Sorry to hear of your problems...

MO:

• backup all your user data now. (Consider your filesystem to be self-detonating on short fuse...)
• wipe the hard drive; better yet, get a new one (w/o bad sectors)
• partition the hard drive (using the LiveCD) so you have at least a Windows partition, Linux swap (about the size of your RAM as a rule of thumb), Linux root, and a data partition formatted as FAT32/VFAT
• reinstall Windows (you said you still need it)
• install Linux
• use the data partition for everything you'll need under both systems

Everything else (ignoring the backup, installing Linux first, trying to access NTFS partitions from Linux, ...) will result in headaches.

[AGI1122]

Well, the backup I created failed... I got everything compressed to about 700MB in a .tar.gz file, but the darn burned cd doesn't work. None of my cd drives can detect it. :-/

Any ideas on what I can do now since my burner doesn't work?

Anyway, I can't get a new hd because first off, I am broke. And second, it's not as easy to replace my hd since this is a laptop.

My ram is 128MB, so a swap partion of 128MB is what I need to create? Won't the live cd setup the swap and linux partition automatically when I tell it to wipe the hard drive? Or am I going to have to specify the ammounts to use?

What's the recommended space I should be using for each partition? I have a 20GB hard drive. I want to move mostly to linux and have windows as my backup os for the things I can't do in linux, like dos/windows games.

I also have 1 other partition on my computer currently that is FAT32 called "dell", but I have no idea what it was for and what it does.

So when I do this should I install linux first or install windows first? I don't need alot of shared data, my experience with windows has always left a bad taste in my mouth ever since windows 3.1. I have always had problems with windows, whether it's slowness, blue screens of death, and other misc problems every now and then. So I will be trying to move away from windows... although I hate to admit I still need it for things like dos and windows games.

So the data partition will be shared between windows and linux?

[Eero Ränik]

I would get a new burner, even DVD-burners have gotten cheaper than normal CD-drives were, a few years back.

"dell" most probably has Windows installation files, drivers etc in it.

I'd install Windows first, less problems that way. Also, I would keep data partitions separate.

[AGI1122]

The burner is new, and is external, and stopped working when I installed windows xp sp2... yet another problem with windows... I just wish they would make a quality product for once.

[Solar]

Well, the backup I created failed... I got everything compressed to about 700MB in a .tar.gz file, but the darn burned cd doesn't work. None of my cd drives can detect it. :-/

Bummer... make sure you "finish" the CD (i.e., no multisession-CD).

I can't get a new hd because first off, I am broke. And second, it's not as easy to replace my hd since this is a laptop.

Only the first is a good reason. Replacing a 2.5" HD is even easier then replacing a 3.5" in a desktop. (Only one connector, no cables...)

My ram is 128MB, so a swap partion of 128MB is what I need to create?

Roundabout, yes. Unless you want to run many memory-hungry apps (Java...), in which case you could make the swap partition even larger. Swap + RAM = max. memory of the system.

Won't the live cd setup the swap and linux partition automatically when I tell it to wipe the hard drive? Or am I going to have to specify the ammounts to use?

Depends on the LiveCD you use. No two Linuxes are the same in this regard...

What's the recommended space I should be using for each partition? I have a 20GB hard drive. I want to move mostly to linux and have windows as my backup os for the things I can't do in linux, like dos/windows games.

Depends, as always. A binary-only, lightweight distro like Ubuntu should do with a 2G system partition (1G off the one CD, another for whatever you install afterwards). 4G if you want to play it safe. A "heavy" distro like SuSE takes 6G.

Don't bother about multiple partitions for the various mount points. It's just a waste of time and space for home use. About the only meaningfull "extra" partition would be a dedicated /home, so you can reinstall the system without having to back up user data.

Windows easily takes 2G all by itself. Add to that whatever you have in apps and games.

The rest is data... either as /home or shared FAT32 partition. (Don't try to mount a FAT32 as /home, too much headaches...)

I also have 1 other partition on my computer currently that is FAT32 called "dell", but I have no idea what it was for and what it does.

Some special system / recovery features from your trusted laptop vendor... dunno, never had a Dell, but it should work without that.

So when I do this should I install linux first or install windows first?

Windows, as it wipes the MBR (including whatever bootmanager Ubuntu installed there). Make sure Windows gets the first primary partition in the system.

So the data partition will be shared between windows and linux?

Yup.

[AGI1122]

Bummer... make sure you "finish" the CD (i.e., no multisession-CD).

The cd was finished. I don't leave it open for another session. I am out of burnable cd's now, so I am going to have to pick some up, but this time I am going to try with a different burning software instead of Nero. I might try the burning software that's built into windows xp.

Only the first is a good reason. Replacing a 2.5" HD is even easier then replacing a 3.5" in a desktop. (Only one connector, no cables...)

What I meant was taking this thing appart and putting it back together to get to the HD would be harder. I hate how crammed in the stuff in laptops is.

Windows, as it wipes the MBR (including whatever bootmanager Ubuntu installed there). Make sure Windows gets the first primary partition in the system.

When I install windows will it try to take up the whole 20GB of the hard drive as a partition again? Because that's how my headache's started windows getting my entire 20GB of my hard drive as it's partition.

[JoeKayzA]

When I install windows will it try to take up the whole 20GB of the hard drive as a partition again? Because that's how my headache's started windows getting my entire 20GB of my hard drive as it's partition.

MS Windows setup includes a partitioning and formatting tool, but no resizing AFAIK. It won't take over storage unless you tell it to create a partition there.

cheers Joe

[AGI1122]

... tried it with windows burning software... same problem. I am just going to bang my head against the wall for a few hours.

Yeah I know that won't help me make a backup... but maybe it will make me not care anymore.

[AGI1122]

Don't suppose anyone could spare a huge ammount of space on a ftp server for me to store the files? I have a total of 1.69GB to backup. I have my backups split into 31 tar.gz files, so I don't have to upload all 1.69GB at one time.

[AGI1122]

Nevermind, I found someone willing to store the data on their server temporarily.

This could take a while though... I have never transferred 1.69GB before.

[AGI1122]

Alright while the upload is still taking place, I want to ask some more questions.

What would be the best way to wipe the hard drive when I do it? Is there some tool on the windows disc? Or something else?