Partition this

Q.

My laptop has Windows Vista installed already but has just one partition. I want to make another partition. How can I do this?

A.

You have several options here. One of the simplest options is to download or buy a decent partition manager, such as Partition Magic, and take it from there. Partition Magic is a GUI-based utility with basic and advanced partitioning functions. Its help files are pretty lucid on how to operate the software and modify partitions. You can also use Vista's Disk Management utility. Visit bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial133.html for information on how to use Vista's Disk Management utility. The other option is way cooler. We go command line with Windows' DiskPart utility and do it the quick way. If you're not sure you want to take the risk or are uncomfortable with command line procedures then you should disregard the following steps and go for one of the other two options mentioned above.

WARNING: This is only an example based on assumptions without specific details about your system. You could do something wrong and you could lose existing data.

- Click on the Start menu, type in diskpart. exe and hit Enter

- When the Diskpart command line window opens, you should see something like this:

Microsoft DiskPart version

6.0.6000

Copyright (C) 1999-2007

Microsoft Corporation.

On computer: SPIDBR-CJ

DISKPART>

- At the diskpart> prompt, enter; select disk 0 select volume 0

- Say you have a 80 GB drive and you want to divide that into two 40 GB partitions. At the prompt, enter;

shrink desired-40000

minimum-20000

The shrink command decreases volume 0 by 40 gigabytes to make unallocated free space. The argument minimum is provided in case 40 GB can't be freed up, 20 GB will be released. Let's assume 40 GB was

reduced from volume o.

- Now to create and prepare the new partition enter the following:

create partition extended

select partition 2

assign letter-d;

format

exit

You should now have a new 40-GB partition on you PC.