Member Avatar for stanhilliard

I have a new Dell Studio 15 laptop with Windows 7 Pro and a 500GB hard drive. I want create new partitions for storing my data.

Currently, the size of the C: partition is 461,899 MB, of which 36,250 MB is used. That leaves 425,649 MB free. But when I start to create a partition, Windows 7 tells me that it has a maximum of only 215,699 MB of available shrink space.

[start][control panel][administrative tools][computer management][disk management]

That must mean that Windows 7 is reserving 425,649-215,699=209,950MB free space for future expansion of C:. That is only 36,250 MB more free space than I would have allowed on C:, but I thought I was being extra generous.

Q1 - Does anyone know what rule Windows 7 uses to calculate the maximum "shrink space" it makes available for additional partitions?

Secondarily, on past computers I have used a separate partition for the pagefile, but with this much extra space on C: I think that would be a waste.
Q2 - Any thoughts on that?

Stan Hilliard

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Short summary for with practical next steps and why Disk Management behaved that way.

Windows’ shrink routine won’t move certain system files, so it reports the largest safe shrink it can guarantee — the operation stops at the last “unmovable” file (pagefile, hibernation file, shadow‑copy / System Volume Information, NTFS metadata such as $Bitmap/$UsnJrnl/MFT, etc.). Check the Application log for the Defrag event (Event ID 259) to see which file is blocking the shrink. (learn.microsoft.com)

If you want more shrinkable space, do this (in order, with a full backup first): 1) review Event ID 259; 2) disable hibernation (powercfg -h off) and reboot; 3) temporarily move or disable the paging file via System → Advanced → Performance → Virtual Memory and reboot; 4) turn off System Restore / delete shadow copies; 5) run Disk Cleanup; 6) consolidate free space with the optimizer/defrag (Windows’ defrag or defrag C: /X), then try Disk Management or diskpart (shrink querymax then shrink desired=). After shrinking, re-enable pagefile/hibernate/system restore as needed. (learn.microsoft.com)

On partitions vs folders: partitions make it easier to restore or re-image the OS without touching data, but they add management complexity (and don’t replace good backups). For most home users a single OS partition with redirected personal folders (use each folder’s Properties → Location to move Documents/Downloads/Pictures) is simpler and safer than moving the entire Users tree — Microsoft warns that relocating Users/ProgramData can break servicing/updates unless done carefully. If you keep data in C:, be aware a full system image restore will overwrite it unless it’s on a separate volume. (learn.microsoft.com)

Pagefile note and backup practice: putting the pagefile on another partition of the same physical disk gives no real I/O benefit — only a separate physical disk (or fast RAID/NVMe) helps. Store clones and incremental backups on external media but follow the 3‑2‑1 rule (multiple copies, different media, one offsite) and test restores — tools named earlier in the thread (Acronis, Macrium) are sensible choices if you verify image integrity. (learn.microsoft.com)

If you want, try the steps above and report the Event 259 message — that will tell you exactly which file is the limiter and whether a temporary disable/move will free enough space.

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Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

I have a new Dell Studio 15 laptop with Windows 7 Pro and a 500GB hard drive. I want create new partitions for storing my data.

Currently, the size of the C: partition is 461,899 MB, of which 36,250 MB is used. That leaves 425,649 MB free. But when I start to create a partition, Windows 7 tells me that it has a maximum of only 215,699 MB of available shrink space.

[start][control panel][administrative tools][computer management][disk management]

That must mean that Windows 7 is reserving 425,649-215,699=209,950MB free space for future expansion of C:. That is only 36,250 MB more free space than I would have allowed on C:, but I thought I was being extra generous.

Q1 - Does anyone know what rule Windows 7 uses to calculate the maximum "shrink space" it makes available for additional partitions?

Secondarily, on past computers I have used a separate partition for the pagefile, but with this much extra space on C: I think that would be a waste.
Q2 - Any thoughts on that?

Stan Hilliard

Don't know the exact equation used, some Windows files are unmovable, and are allocated by Windows at the end or middle of the disk, so that one can only shrink C up to a limit. Which is exactly what you have discovered : the disk cannot be further reduced without destroying Windows.
Have you tried to resize and then resize it again?
Also, remember that pre-installed from the factory especially on new PC's and Laptops, have a hidden recovery partition of anywhere between 30-50 Gb's.
As far as your pagefile goes, there really is no advantage of having a separate pagefile on the same drive, defeats the purpose and ideally should be at the beginning of a second drive.
If you really want to shrink it further than Windows will allow, then I suggest using a 3rd party partition manager, like GParted Live or Paragon PM 2010.
If you go for GParted, there have been reported issues with version 0.5.0-3 and Win7 x64, so use version 0.4-6-1.

Hope this helps

Don

Member Avatar for stanhilliard

Thanks. I think I will accept the Windows default shrink space, a it is pretty close to what I would have done anyway.

My original plan was to use partitions to separate three groups of files - as I have done on previous computers:
D: Downloaded
E: Personal Files
F: Graphics

Maybe I should reconsider my plan and instead use folders like these in C:
_Downloaded
_Personal Files
_Graphics

I want the contents synchronized among the three computers of my home network. (Windows 7 Pro, Windows XP Pro, Windows 98SE)

Q1 - How would this effect my ability to make backups or clones from the drive?

Q2 - I would appreciate any comments on the pro's & con's of the folder approach.

Stan Hilliard

Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

I have my 4 drives set up with 3 partitions each.
The 1st drive has a 58Gb partition at the end of the drive labeled F:Users which was copied from my main OS and pasted there, so what ever OS I'm using at the time any thing that gets saved/downloaded goes to that User folder. Nothing gets put on any of my OS partitions except necessary installed programs.
Start/Computer/C:/ right click and copy the User folder, then paste to the new partition. No need to divide your drive into folders when the User folder contains it all.
I also have a 17Gb partition at the beginning of each drive for each OS's PageFile
As long as you have a good back up tool like, Acronis True Image or Macrium Reflect, you should be good-to-go. Will also enable cloning/backup of the other networked PC's from that PC.
If you know the make of the hard drive, the HD manufacturer usually has recovery/back up tools for download.
As a reminder, use a separate drive for your image back ups.

Member Avatar for stanhilliard

I have my 4 drives set up with 3 partitions each.
The 1st drive has a 58Gb partition at the end of the drive labeled F:Users which was copied from my main OS and pasted there, so what ever OS I'm using at the time any thing that gets saved/downloaded goes to that User folder. Nothing gets put on any of my OS partitions except necessary installed programs.
Start/Computer/C:/ right click and copy the User folder, then paste to the new partition. No need to divide your drive into folders when the User folder contains it all.

Q1 - Will Windows 7 have a problem if I add my own three folders as sub-folders within the user folder?
_Downloaded Applications
_Personal Files
_Graphic Production

Q2 - Is it a good idea for me to put the Windows user folder in a separate partition?

I also have a 17Gb partition at the beginning of each drive for each OS's PageFile

Q3 - I don't think I should do that because the Dell OEM folder is there.

As long as you have a good back up tool like, Acronis True Image or Macrium Reflect, you should be good-to-go. Will also enable cloning/backup of the other networked PC's from that PC.

Q4 - What is a good practice with respect to making a clone or regular incremental backup? Can a clone and incremental go to the same external hard drive or must I use a separate HDD for each?

If you know the make of the hard drive, the HD manufacturer usually has recovery/back up tools for download.
As a reminder, use a separate drive for your image back ups.

Stan Hilliard

Member Avatar for stanhilliard

I received an email from Daniweb this morning which I inadvertently deleted while I was deleting spam. I thought it was notification of an answer to my last post but apparently not. If anyone sent me an email please send it again.
Stan Hilliard

Member Avatar for indiankuldeep

i am having dell studio with window7 with 320gb hdd & 4gb ram.Also, remember that pre-installed from the factory especially on new PC's and Laptops, have a hidden recovery partition of anywhere between 30-50 Gb's.i want new partitions for it.

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