SBS 2003 R2 Dell PowerEdge 1900 - how to resize data partition?

[BillP]

The server came from Dell with a single 750 gig HD with a hidden partition,
drive c for the OS and Drive D for data. I would like to resize the D drive
(shrink it) and then create an E drive in the free space. I know I can do
this with Partition Magic, but I thought there was a way to do this within
the OS? What are other options other than Partition Magic?
TIA
BillP

[John]

First, make sure that you have a solid backup before trying any of
that stuff.

I recently used GParted (open source) without any problem. You may
want to download and try on a old PC first to make sure it meets your
needs.

John

[Claus]

GParted on a Linux Rescue CD is a great tool for this. I use this all the
time.

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Post by BillP
The server came from Dell with a single 750 gig HD with a hidden
partition, drive c for the OS and Drive D for data. I would like to
resize the D drive (shrink it) and then create an E drive in the free
space. I know I can do this with Partition Magic, but I thought there
was a way to do this within the OS? What are other options other than
Partition Magic? TIA
BillP

You need ServerMagic or Acronis' server product, etc. - not the desktop
versions. Also google for DELPART. I've never tried it, I confess.


And way OT, but my two cents....

1) I suggest that you make a practice of flatten & rebuild any preinstalled
server, rather than relying on the vendor's idea of what's best

2) You really need hardware RAID - and not just a simple mirror, either. I
like RAID5 with a hotspare, which is a minumum of 4 drives. It's better to
have more spindles + smaller disks.... I personally use only fast SCSI or
SAS drives, although SATA RAID is starting to become popular.

Since you're about to do a lot of work on this server, make sure you've
provisioned it adequately, and it will last you a long time.

[Russ Grover (SBITS.Biz)]

I Ditto LAN's Comments also.
You NEED some Redundancy RAID 1 at least Please.
And The DelPart Tool I've never used
I'd be more willing to use the GParted myself vs. the Dell tool

on C: Drive OS At least 30GB Please.
(I hear Others are now going 50GB for OS)

But the 10GB 20GB days are over IMO
Russ
--
Russell Grover
Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
Microsoft Certified Small Business Specialist.
MCP, MCPS, MCNPS, (MCP-SBS)
http://www.SBITS.Biz


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"

Post by Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]

Post by BillP
The server came from Dell with a single 750 gig HD with a hidden
partition, drive c for the OS and Drive D for data. I would like to
resize the D drive (shrink it) and then create an E drive in the free
space. I know I can do this with Partition Magic, but I thought there
was a way to do this within the OS? What are other options other than
Partition Magic? TIA
BillP

You need ServerMagic or Acronis' server product, etc. - not the desktop
versions. Also google for DELPART. I've never tried it, I confess.
And way OT, but my two cents....
1) I suggest that you make a practice of flatten & rebuild any
preinstalled
server, rather than relying on the vendor's idea of what's best
2) You really need hardware RAID - and not just a simple mirror, either. I
like RAID5 with a hotspare, which is a minumum of 4 drives. It's better to
have more spindles + smaller disks.... I personally use only fast SCSI or
SAS drives, although SATA RAID is starting to become popular.
Since you're about to do a lot of work on this server, make sure you've
provisioned it adequately, and it will last you a long time.

[k***@gmail.com]

Post by BillP
The server came from Dell with a single 750 gig HD with a hidden partition,
drive c for the OS and Drive D for data. I would like to resize the D drive
(shrink it) and then create an E drive in the free space. I know I can do
this with Partition Magic, but I thought there was a way to do this within
the OS? What are other options other than Partition Magic?
TIA
BillP

to extend partition through Diskpart command as mentioned above, but it is not very detailed, so I repeated mine here:
To add unallocated space into a data partition and keep data intact, you must first select the partition to give it the focus, and then you can input how large to extend.

Step1: Click "Start" > "Programs" > "Accessories" > "Command Prompt", type "diskpart" and press "Enter" to continue.

Step2: Type "list volume" to display the existing volumes on the disks.

Step3: Type "select volume 0". The number is the data volume that you want to extend.

Step4: Type "extend size=10240".

Then you should receive a message states that Diskpart successfully extended the volume.

When use Diskpart command you may need to delete the next partition to make it as unallocated space and then you could extend the partition, but through 3rd Party tool yo could flexibly handle server 2003 basic disks like article: http://www.partition-magic.org/windows-server-2003/resize-partition-windows-server-2003.html