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Resolved Question

C drive full, but D is empty, how to extend?

Aug 11, 2014 7:29AM PDT

Hi, My laptop's C: drive is almost full, but D: drive is 30% empty. I know I can extend it with a tool like partition manager.

The thing is I don't want to loose any data on C drive, it is OK to loose data on D.

Should I take a backup with http://clonezilla.org/ first?

Discussion is locked

agarwal29 has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Fixed
Aug 15, 2014 6:17AM PDT

Thanks everybody for your help.

I just removed all system restore data, cleared windows update cache, removed search indexes, moved some apps and freed 20 GB Silly

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Good job.
Aug 15, 2014 6:27AM PDT

That's certainly the easiest solution. I hesitated to suggest it (and I didn't) because you were so clear about your partitioning needs.

Personally, I have the OS (Windows 7) + the most used programs + 3 user profiles on my 64 GB c:drive (an SSD) with some 20 GB free, and all my data and some other programs on another (1 GB hard) disk. Once in a while I make an image of that c:-drive (and I even used the image once to restore it when something was wrong). I assume you do the same with your small c:-drive? That's the only reason I can see to use such a partitioning scheme.

Kees

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Answer
Re: partition
Aug 11, 2014 7:36AM PDT

The best thing to do seems:
1. Copy all you want to keep from d: to an external disk and from there to another PC (so you have 2 copies)
2. Delete the partition that is d:
3. Enlarge the partition that is c: to cover the whole disk
Before messing with partitions, it's a good idea to make a backup. Clonezilla would be fine.

Kees

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Re: partition
Aug 11, 2014 5:51PM PDT

Well, the thing is, this is the drive structure: screenshot

C: then Ubuntu then E: then D:

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Re: partitions
Aug 11, 2014 5:58PM PDT

Then you have an awful lot of work to do, if you want to change this.
By the way, what is "it:" in "extemd it" in your original post; do you mean the c: or the d: to extend? It's not clear to me.

Kees

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Sorry
Aug 12, 2014 2:52AM PDT

Sorry, I meant C: my parent directory.

I just don't want to reinstall Windows and Ubuntu.

First there is
C: (windows Parent)
() Ubuntu
E:
D:
etc

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Look into converting to Dynamic Disk.
Aug 13, 2014 10:44AM PDT
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You said D canbe delete, but...
Aug 11, 2014 6:21PM PDT

what about E (and fat32 yet)? Here is how it's done; delete E and D, then resize the "extend partition" so that the free space will be next to C, then resize C to include the free space. Good luck.

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But
Aug 12, 2014 2:53AM PDT

But there is Ubuntu in between

First there is
C: (windows Parent)
() Ubuntu
E:
D:
etc

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My Two Cents..
Aug 12, 2014 2:58AM PDT

I think your best bet is to load Ubuntu and launch "gparted". If that doesn't work, EaseUS partition manager in Windows, but if using this keep a way to repair your MBR if it becomes corrupted, such as Ubuntu's Boot Repair Live CD, a Windows installation Disk, or EasyBCD, which assumes you can boot Windows, but not Ubuntu.

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Help
Aug 12, 2014 4:23AM PDT

Okay.
C: (Windows)
Ubuntu
E:
D:

I can free up D:

Scenario 1:
I shrink D:
then extend E: to take space we got from D:
then shrink the beginning of E: to make space for ubuntu
then resize ubuntu to take space we got from E:
then resize C: to take space we get from shrinking ubuntu

Scenario 2:
Can I just move the C: partition data to D: ?

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Sceniaro 2 maybe the easiest solution, but...
Aug 12, 2014 5:39AM PDT

how much more space you can free up out of C...would depends on what can be move to D. Not "all" file can be move from C as you know.

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10GB
Aug 12, 2014 6:11AM PDT

I guess around 10GB.

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If you have Ubuntu installed, you can't change partitions
Aug 12, 2014 5:40AM PDT

If you have Ubuntu installed in the same partition with Windows, any attempt to change partitions will make your system unbootable. This is the voice of painful experience. Before doing anything, be certain to backup anything you don't want to lose.

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No
Aug 12, 2014 6:12AM PDT

It is on the same physical drive, not the same partition.

Thanks, will take backup now.

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When you install Ubuntu, you get the grub loader
Aug 12, 2014 7:16AM PDT

I'm no expert when it comes to the Linux boot system other than to say that whatever partition you have it in, when you also have Windows on that computer, you replace the Windows boot mechanism with the grub loader. Linux uses a different file system from Windows (it's not FAT, FAT32, or NTFS), so if you try changing partitions around, I hope you find an expert on the subject and be SURE you take all necessary precautions.

Good luck.

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Your best bet and a Revision
Aug 12, 2014 12:20PM PDT

I recommend creating a bootable usb/disk of Ubuntu and using gparted from it to do the dirty work.
From personal experience, gparted can not reallocate space from an active partition. I am sure this should work, so long as you delete the partition, then expand Drive C to your desired size.

SOURCE: I did this last week.

*Sidenote: If there is a partition between the two sectors and you find yourself stuck because you cannot move it, Try EaseUS. Should that fail, backup the data on the drive(s) between Drives C and D and delete partition sda2 (ubuntu, sadly) and Drive D. This is a last resort, deleting ubuntu's partition, but there are programs for ubuntu that can create a backup installation, so you lose no programs. Then move the amount of space equal to D to C and reallocate Ubuntu's Partition when finished.

Should you have any issues with your MasterBootRecord (MBR), use a Windows Install Disk (Repair)(if you can not boot into Windows), Ubuntu Boot Repair (LiveCD)(if you can not boot into anything), or EasyBCD (if you can boot into Windows, but not Ubuntu).

Good Luck.

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Thanks
Aug 12, 2014 5:40PM PDT

Thanks I will follow this word by word.

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must be unmounted
Aug 13, 2014 10:52AM PDT

You can't boot to Unbunto alreayd on the drive and then move it because it must be unmounted to move it. You would need to boot to a LIVE CD or DVD which had GParted or KParted on it and then be sure the volume on that partition is not mounted. You can create another partition near the end of the drive, must be a little bigger than the one you are moving. It is time consuming doing it that way because all the data must also be moved. You will then want to run

update-grub /dev/sda

from the LIVE DVD. You might need to use /dev/sda? where the ? is the EFI partition if using a 64 bit system.

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Referece
Aug 13, 2014 11:10AM PDT
I sincerely apologize for any mis-information I gave in the previous post, but I was sure to correct it in another post above titled: "Your Best Bet and a Revision" which is in reply to "help" by agarwal29.
Thank you for telling agarwal29 this as I was unsure whether they had noticed that or not, and if they hadn't, my information could have ruined their computer in some way had they tried to use gParted while in the Ubuntu OS. I've tried before and the result was a completely corrupted hard drive. Goes to show you that forcing the metaphorical triangle block into the square hole can result in needing to repair the entire "toy".

Thankfully, most of my information results from years of personal experience from times I corrupted my grandmother's computer years ago, to now, as I've learned how to undo, fix, and repair any damage I could potentially do to any computer should an instance of a software installation could go south.. extremely fast (i.e. Blue Screen of Death).
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Actually I don't see the Ubuntu partition on the scan.
Aug 12, 2014 5:30AM PDT

But in any case I think that should be the easiest to reinstall (of course I could be wrong).

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Nooo
Aug 12, 2014 6:13AM PDT

That would take lots of time, I already have it setup the way I like, everything up to date, everything I need is installed.

That is not a choice for me. Thanks for the advice though.

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Man!
Aug 12, 2014 6:32AM PDT

I'm with these guy's. You had better make sure you back everything up because this sounds like something can go awry.
Like when the MBR get's jacked up ....... Mischief

Digger

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'oh!
Aug 12, 2014 5:37PM PDT
Shocked
OKay, will take a backup.
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Ubuntu is "special"
Aug 12, 2014 12:43PM PDT

In a normal scan on Windows, Ubuntu will not be displayed because Windows can only detect the Fat and NTFS file systems. Ubuntu is generally EXT4 (or some variation of) and can only truly be shown on a linux system.

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ok
Aug 12, 2014 5:38PM PDT

OK, will you bootable version of the partition manager to do the extending and the shrinking.

Which backup tool should I use?

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Download "GParted live CD"...
Aug 13, 2014 1:58AM PDT
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??
Aug 13, 2014 5:27AM PDT

Ya, I'll download it from here, but which software do I use? Clonezilla?

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This is where I step down:
Aug 13, 2014 10:55AM PDT

Personally, I made a LiveUSB of a vanilla Ubuntu 14.04.1 disk image (.iso) from a vanilla Ubuntu 14.04 LiveCD. Post-installation, I re-added my files to their respective directories manually. This was done because I was upgrading to 14.04.1 from 14.04 and had a few corrupt programs. I reinstalled all of my programs manually and made sure all was well afterwards. It was. The catch is, Instead of reinstalling to the internal hard drive, I installed it to a separate partition of an external hard drive for use with any computer (you can not install Windows 7 and below to an external hard drive, but you can with Windows 8, except Windows 8 is a tabletOS and makes a horrible excuse for a non-touchscreen desktop operating system). The setup is basically the same as installing to any internal drive, and there should be no errors after the removal of the other partition(s). Your only worry may be the "Check Disk" screen at the start of Windows. This is normal due to adding space to the main partition (Drive /CHappy. Make sure to have an unallocated space of n Gigabytes (n being of your choice) to be reallocated for Ubuntu during setup.

Cheers.

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Just sharing.
Aug 13, 2014 11:00AM PDT

I've heard the rumble about 8 but after we added Classic Shell, the office staff isn't going back to 7. It's that good.
Bob