Help Needed Partitioning A Hard Drive Please!

[Scorpion]

Okay I'm going to launch straight into this.

I'm trying to fdisk a hard drive with 2 partitions on it. I want to remove the second partition which is showing as ext dos (extended dos).

On the first screen I select option 3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive.

I then select option 2. Delete Extended DOS Partition. It then says I cannot delete the Extended DOS Partition while logical drives exist.

If I press option 4 Display Partition Information it tells me that the extended partiton contains logical DOS drives.

Back to option 3 then the second option 3 - Delete logical DOS drives in the Extended DOS Partition - it then says No logical DOS drives defined!

I've even removed the primary partition but that made no difference.

I've formatted scores of hard drives in the past and have never had this problem before. Help! Please!

[BUSHWHACKER]

You'll need some 4"X2" and some 1/2" plasterboard to make a satisfactory partition, use a 5" lining if there needs to be a doorway.

[Scorpion]

You'll need some 4"X2" and some 1/2" plasterboard to make a satisfactory partition, use a 5" lining if there needs to be a doorway.

I could have built a full extension including digging foundations in the time it's taken to try and partition this blumming hard drive!

[Artful_dodger]

I could have built a full extension including digging foundations in the time it's taken to try and partition this blumming hard drive!

Probably easier and quicker to buy a new HDD
If you're putting XP on to it, delete the partition when in XP setup

cheers
Paul

[Scorpion]

Probably easier and quicker to buy a new HDD
If you're putting XP on to it, delete the partition when in XP setup

cheers
Paul

It was a new hard drive mate. I Ghosted a copy of my laptop hard drive onto it, that's how it ended up with 2 partitions!

[marky]

You need to run FDISK and delete extended partition then you can use PARTITION MAGIC to stretch that partition over the whole HARD DRIVE

[Artful_dodger]

Boot the machine from your XP disc and delete the whole lot in the set up
it's the easiest way to go

[Scorpion]

You need to run FDISK and delete extended partition then you can use PARTITION MAGIC to stretch that partition over the whole HARD DRIVE

That's the problem Marky, Fdisk won't let me delete the extended partion!

[catweazle]

What size is the disk? I ask because what you describe sounds like the problem that FDISK, being based on MS-DOS disk handling, doesn't work properly with bigger drive such as 250GB+.

What are you trying to achieve with the deletion? If it is for a re-install, say of XP, then the install allows you to delete partition or you can use the XP DIsk Management utility if it is in a PC with XP. But you probably already know that.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[marky]

quote! I Ghosted a copy of my laptop hard drive onto it, So he will lose his data.

[Albannach]

It was a new hard drive mate. I Ghosted a copy of my laptop hard drive onto it, that's how it ended up with 2 partitions!

Therein lies your problem, you allowed Symantec near your drive. Fix it with either a proper low level formatter or see if partition magic will work.

[Scorpion]

Boot the machine from your XP disc and delete the whole lot in the set up
it's the easiest way to go

Therein lies your problem, you allowed Symantec near your drive. Fix it with either a proper low level formatter or see if partition magic will work.

Nice one. Will give it a go tomorrow. Totally pee'd off at the minute, going to down a few Southern Comforts!

[marky]

FAT 16 - FAT 32 or NTFS ?

[Scorpion]

FAT 16 - FAT 32 or NTFS ?

NTFS, mate.

[marky]

NTFS, mate.

If you want to keep the copied data either back it up and start from scratch or use PARTITION MAGIC