My basic disk is partitioned into one primary partition ((C:) "OS", system partition) and one extended partition (containing two logical drives, (D:) "Programs" and (E:) "Data Files"). Unfortunately, when I did this several years ago, 20GB seemed like plenty of space for the OS/system partition. Now however, despite my best efforts to keep everything except OS-specific items off of that partition, I am out of space on (C:). (C:) has below 1GB of free space, and I am about out of tricks to "create" new space (e.g., deleting Temp and uninstall files, reducing size of Recycle Bin, disabling Hibernation, moving Page File, etc.). And when I had created the extended partition, I used the maximum available space, so there is no available unallocated space I can add to (C:). So my question is, how can I resize (reduce) the extended partition (that is fully occupied by (D:) and (E:), each of which has plenty of free space) to free up some unallocated space that I can then add to my system partition (C:)? A screen shot of my situation from the MMC Disk Management snap-in is posted here. Thanks in advance for any help.1 person needs an answerI do too

you would need a disk partition utility with the sophisticated feature to move/reallocate space from one partition into another. the problem is to find a reliable partition manager to do this for you and as a freeware. although i can appreciate freeware, they are "run at your own risk" and any flaws in the freeware can screw everything up royally.personally, i use acronis disk director and it has proven to be 100% reliable, easy to use and customer service is A1 and they have graciously provided updates to ensure the utility keeps up with all the updates to the operating system by microsoft.however, i am wondering if you have changed the default location to the "my documents" folder to your data drive e.if you haven't yet, you will free up valuable space on the c drive after everything under my doc's is relocated to your e drive.hthdb`...>-)))> `...>-)))> DatabaseBen, Retired Professional - Systems Analyst - Database Developer - Accountancy - Veteran of the Armed Forces- @Hotmail.com "share the nirvana mann" - dbZen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >

A default setting which could be wasteful is that for temporary internetfiles, especially if you do not store offline copies on disk. Thedefault allocation is 3% of drive. Depending on your attitude to offlinecopies you could reduce this to 1% or 2%. In Internet Explorer selectTools, Internet Options, General, Temporary Internet Files, Settings tomake the change. At the same time look at the number of days history isheld.The default allocation for the Recycle Bin is 10 % of drive. Change to5%, which should be sufficient. In Windows Explorer place the cursoron your Recycle Bin, right click and select Properties, Global andmove the slider from 10% to 5%. However, try to avoid letting it gettoo full as if it is full and you delete a file by mistake it willbypass the Recycle Bin and be gone for ever.If your drive is formatted as NTFS another potential gain arises withyour operating system on your C drive. In the Windows Directory ofyour C partition you will have some Uninstall folders in your Windowsfolder typically: $NtServicePackUninstall$ and $NtUninstallKB282010$etc. These files may be compressed or not compressed. If compressedthe text of the folder name appears in blue characters. If notcompressed you can compress them. Right click on each folder andselect Properties, General, Advanced and check the box before Compresscontents to save Disk Space. On the General Tab you can see the amountgained by deducting the size on disk from the size. Foldercompression is only an option on a NTFS formatted drive / partition.Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, SystemInformation, Tools, Dr Watson and verify that the box before "Append toexisting log" is NOT checked. This means the next time the log iswritten it will overwrite rather than add to the existing file.You can generate more space in the system partition by relocation offolders. To move the Outlook Express Store Folder select in Outlook ExpressTools, Options, Maintenance, Store Folder, Change.http://www.tomsterdam.com/insideoe/files/store.htmHow to Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder:http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310147You may also need to change Default File locations in the MicrosoftOffice programmes you choose to move the My Documents folder. For Wordgo to Tools, Options, File Locations, highlight Documents, click onModify and change file path. For Excel go to Tools, Options, Generaland change default file path.My Documents is one of a number of system created Special Foldersincluding My Pictures and My Music. These can more easily be relocatedusing Tweak Ui. Download TweakUI, one of the MS powertoys, from here:http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.aspIn TweakUi select My Computer, Special Folders. You can scroll down tosee the full list of Special Folders to the left of the ChangeLocation button. Hope this helps, Gerry Cornell