Diskpartion or Fdisk

Hi,
I want to partition my hard disk into two equal partions. Its 700GB. I have windows 7. Kindly guide how can i make two equal partition of 350 GB either by FDisk or DiskPartition. Do i have to run these (FDisk or diskpartition) from my usb cotianing system files (i mean command.com) or i can run it from harddisk??

Zulfi.

You can create a partition within Windows by running 'diskmgmt.msc', shrinking your drive volume(to partition from) and adding a new partition for the free memory...

Otherwise, here is the info for using fdisk....

tshuck is right. for most cases disk management is best. even MS strongly recommends this over fdisk. you really have to know what your doing with fdisk. you do something wrong and you can make all your data disappear. MS says fdisk use is strongly discouraged and even an administrator with experience use it infrequently and with due diligence. there asre cases for fdisk, but for what your doing disk mgmt would work fine. it's also fairly simple to use. shows disks as horizontal bars with bands to indicate usage, file system. if volume is whole disk right click it say shrink volume a wizard will ask for info like MB to shrink by. 1GB=1024 MB. then ask for drive letter, file system type, volume label. for file system NTFS is best, also their is a check box for quick format. it is best to leave this blank so that way the format looks for and should resolve or solve problems in formatting. at the end it will say formatting in the bar display with a % of progress. this may be short or take a few hrs.

Thanks. I would check and let you know. However i have got one question. Is it possible to run 'diskmgmt.msc' from USB. B/c if i fail , i would try to do it again by rebooting through my USB.

Zulfi.

if it failed your would most likely have to use the windows 7 cd or usb. then say repair, and use fdisk. it may be possible to run diskmgmt from windows PE (the OS install environment). it should be on the CD, or image, but may have to download. it's fairly easy to use diskmgmt. unless you format the wrong volume it's pretty hard to mess up. if the whole disk is currently 1 volume shrink it to the desired size, but it wont let you shrink smaller that the size of the data on the volume.

Hi,
Thanks for your guidance. I dont have one volume. I have 3 separate volume (c,d,e) and I have to create only two volumes. Kindly guide me because i am doing it for the first time and i dont have the image cd. However i can restore to factory fitted win7 installation.

Zulfi.

zulfi100 said:

Hi,
Thanks for your guidance. I dont have one volume. I have 3 separate volume (c,d,e) and I have to create only two volumes. Kindly guide me because i am doing it for the first time and i dont have the image cd. However i can restore to factory fitted win7 installation.

Zulfi.

Click to expand...

If you haven't created partitions before, odds are that the other two partitions are recovery files and drivers for your computer. How many drives are shown in "My Computer"? If you have only one shown, then the other two are as I said and you should NOT delete them. You will shrink C: (provided that is the one you want to shrink) to the desired size and create a new partition over the freed data.

if their showing assigned C,D,E then they should show in my computer so likely data or something got messed up. diskmgmt.msc will say recovery partition if that partition exists, this is usually quite small <1GB. so it sounds like the drive is full of partitions and no free (non-partitioned space). if you want 2 volumes then one has to be backed up if you want to keep anything on said volume. then once that is backed up if desired run diskmgmt.msc as administrator. right click the volume that your backed up then say delete it will prompt are your sure. click ok. then do the same with the second volume, or expand the 2nd volume. this is done by right clicking the desired volume and say expand. (expand only works on NTFS formatted volumes or volumes with no file system.)

Hi,
Thanks for your time. I have got following according to disk management:
Disk 0
Basic
698.64GB
=======
System
199 MB NTFS
======
C:
673.58 GB NTFS
======
Recovery (D)
20.98GB
NTFS
=====
vendorname_TOOLS(E
3.97GB FAT32

And when i right click on c: and pressed shrink it showed me:
Total size before shrink in MB=689746
Size of available shrink space in MB=330638
Enter the amount to shrink = 330638 (can be edited)
Total size after shrink in MB: 359108

For installing Ubuntu What value should i provide ? I would keep all the partition i.e (c, d, e) and create a new partition f for ubuntu

Kindly guide me.
Thanks for your attention.

Hello,

For installing a Linux version, you will need 3 partitions:

A ROOT partition, where all programs will be stored.
I have a partition that has 20 Gb size.

A SWAP partition, this is used for swapping, like the swapfile in windows.
The size should be 2 X the internal memory, with a maximum of 2 Gb.

A HOME partition, where all user data will be stored.
I have taken the rest of my free disk space.

These partitions can be made during the installation of the linux version you want on the created free space.
I have openSUSE as linux : http://www.opensuse.org/en/


Bertus

Hi,
I have created a partition of j 292GB. Do i have to format this partition in NTFS format before starting the installation process??

For installing a Linux version, you will need 3 partitions:

A ROOT partition, where all programs will be stored.
I have a partition that has 20 Gb size.

A SWAP partition, this is used for swapping, like the swapfile in windows.
The size should be 2 X the internal memory, with a maximum of 2 Gb.

A HOME partition, where all user data will be stored.

Click to expand...

Do i have to create root, swap and HOME partitions also before installation or installation process will create these partitions??
Kindly guide me.
Zulfi.

Hello,

Here is a page wich shows the installation of ubuntu linux:
http://www.wikihow.com/Install-Ubuntu-Linux

You will have to use most likely the advanced method for partitioning, as you already have some stuff on your disk.
The basic partitioning might wipe the complete disk and install the linux.

Bertus

The best way I have found to do this is to just shrink the windows partition(s), leave the empty space unallocated, then boot the linux CD. When the liveCD runs gparted, it will detect the empty space and should present an option to install to it. It will then present you with an 'ideal' solution, which will have the default partitioning.... or you can manually set it up. Just don't touch the window's partition and you will be fine.

There is the issue of installing GRUB as well. Many sources will instruct you not to write to the MBR and to jump through some other hoops to get it to work. I've always thrown caution to the wind and let GRUB take over the MBR and have yet to have a problem. Although if you do this, and you decide to ditch linux in the future, you will need to repair the MBR using the windows install CD. It's really simple, but not intuitive.

Hi,
Thanks for help. I have read the link provided by bertus which says defragmenting the harddisk

When any operating system (e.g. Windows) is already present and you want a dual boot system (both Windows and Ubuntu), then defragment your hard disk now. This may take an hour or so

Click to expand...

Is it necessary?

Also is it necessary to create image file:

Download and burn the image file (.iso), buy a CD, book with a CD or get a CD shipped to you for free

Click to expand...

Zulfi.

If your volume is fragmented, then you can have blocks spread throughout the entire allocated space. When you resize the partition, any blocks that exist past the new partition boundary will have to be moved. Defragmenting will tend to cluster these blocks together, if not move them towards the beginning of the partition, reducing the amount of blocks that need to be moved during the resize. It's not strictly necessary, but it's a good idea.

Imaging the drive gives you a mirror image of the drive in case something goes very, very wrong. Do you need to do it? No.....but if something does go very, very wrong...which is always a possibility when doing this sort of work...your data will be lost and recovery will be much harder than making the image in the first place (if it is recoverable at all). You don't need to image the full drive.... if you have the OS install disks, you can just manually back up your important files, which will take up less space. This does mean though that if you bork your drive, you will need to reinstall windows and all of your programs....but your files will be safe.

Hi,

Thanks for your enough guidance. I dont have enough data. Its a new computer. So i am not doing it becuse i can restore to factory fitted installation. I am now going to delete the newly created 'j' drive and start the installation process.

Zulfi.

Hi,
I downloaded the file: ubuntu-12.10-desktop-amd64 and tried to execute it. I also put a blank dvd in my dvd drive. It created several folders like .disk, boot, casper, dists, efi, imstall, solinux, pics, pool, pressed and four files. When i trid to run wubi, first of all it shows me two buttons (i)demo and full installation and ii)learn more. However when i clicked demo button, it showed a dialog box which ask me to boot or not to boot. If i say boot , it uploads the win7 again.
Kindly guide me why ubuntu not yet installed..

Some people say that i have dynamic partitions. For ubuntu i need extended partitions.

Click to expand...

Kindly guide me what i should be doing now?

Zulfi.

One thing to note when dual booting
make sure that you're installing both OS's in the same format, some newer computers use UEFI mode for the boot sector

I had about a week of no windows till i figured that out

zulfi100 said:

Hi,
I downloaded the file: ubuntu-12.10-desktop-amd64 and tried to execute it. I also put a blank dvd in my dvd drive. It created several folders like .disk, boot, casper, dists, efi, imstall, solinux, pics, pool, pressed and four files. When i trid to run wubi, first of all it shows me two buttons (i)demo and full installation and ii)learn more. However when i clicked demo button, it showed a dialog box which ask me to boot or not to boot. If i say boot , it uploads the win7 again.
Kindly guide me why ubuntu not yet installed..

Kindly guide me what i should be doing now?

Zulfi.

Click to expand...

WUBI creates all kinds of trouble, my advice is to burn an ubuntu boot disc and use that
defrag your harddrive if it's actually a harddrive, DO NOT DEFRAG IF IT'S AN SSD (solid state), it's pointless and hard on the drive

delete the partitions of whatever you're trying to use for ubuntu, like vortmax said
then run the ubuntu boot disc
when you boot from an ubuntu disc you'll get a full ubuntu OS, and from there you can run the installer which will guide you through the process

if you insist on using WUBI, search around here for helps and tips-
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1639198


I'm running ubuntu 12.04 right now, but i never used wubi

were those files you listed created on the DVD?


one last note, dual booting ubuntu and windows isn't always for the faint of heart
it took me many long hours, but if you get it working, you'll learn much about computers and you'll learn more every day
plus, theres no restrictions, so you can customize EVERYTHING , so long as you're willing to debug the stuff you mess with

EDIT
when creating partitions, be sure to allign to cylinder, not MB
you'll loose a tiny bit of space, but it helps keep things clean


EDIT EDIT
in relation to your origional question, i would recommend a third choice, Gparted
it's in ubuntu and you can use it if you create a disk, and it's great because it can handle more filetypes than windows (windows has no idea what to do with linux partitions)

Hi,
I changed the booting option and the DVD booted. I saw the dialog box
"Preparing to install Ubuntu". Then it asked the question related to wifi. However after some time(less than 10 minutes)it said remove your installation medium but it didnot say whether ubuntu has installed or not. I later on booted my system again but i didnt see any grub like operation and it loaded the windows7 again.
Kindly guide me how to find out whether ubuntu is installed or not. As you said, disk manager says nothing about ubuntu partition and it is still unallocated.
Zulfi.

did you check the hash of your disk to make sure it's burned properly?
bad discs is quite common, ive had more than a few

if it's still unallocated, i'd guess that it's not installed