Cannot resize partition

[SirDarknight]

These are my partitions:

I wish to shrink the partition "E" by 20GB and add it to partition "G". But the built-in Disk Management program won't let me.

So, I tried a third party app - Easeus Partition Manager, but it tells me it needs to finish the process during boot but fails everytime:

 

[USAFRet]

Do a full Defrag on that drive first.

 

[gasaraki]

I would use Gparted personally.

 

[ArtPog]

Your problem isn't really one of being unable to shrink a partition. Your problem is correcting the shambles of your secondary drive's configuration.

1. First of all...that 1 TB secondary drive should be a Basic Disk, NOT a Dynamic Disk.

2. The problem you face is converting the drive from a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk as the first step in getting your secondary drive in some sensible configuration insofar as its partitioning scheme.

3. Unfortunately this is not a simple, straightforward process in your situation since the Windows built-in utilities do not provide this capability.

4. You will need a third-party partition management program to accomplish the desired goal. Unfortunately (AFAIK, the freely-available pm programs such as the one you've used, i.e., the Easeus program, do not possess this capability). Their "professional" (commercial) version does I believe.

I'm not familiar enough with the GParted program recommended by gasaraki so I can't comment on whether that freely-available program would do the job. We use a number of different PM programs. One we particularly like is the AOEMI Partition Assistant Pro program, however, it is a commercial program that includes a Dynamic Disk Manager program.

5. Basically the process would be to first convert the drive to from a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk. As a result of that conversion the GPT-partitioning scheme is replaced by the MBR-partitioning scheme. So a follow-up conversion process to from MBR to GPT is then necessary. In view of the multiple (six) partitions on the drive this avoids a number of the drive's current six partitions being configured as Logical Drives (partitions). It's a relatively simple process using the AOMEI program I've mentioned.

6. So now you would have a GPT-partitioned secondary Basic drive and you could organize your partitions in some sensible fashion - perhaps contemplating organizing your data on that drive via the creation of folders rather than create that multi-partitioned scheme. But of course, "you pays yer muny and yer taikes yer cherce".

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah, I didn't want to comment on that abysmal partitioning scheme. Very wasteful on available drive space.

 

[ArtPog]

Yeah, I didn't want to comment on that abysmal partitioning scheme. Very wasteful on available drive space.

USAFRet:
1. Another approach the OP could conceivably employ would be to rectify the current abysmal configuration of his secondary HDD by using a disk-cloning program that had the capability of cloning the contents of a Dynamic Disk to a destination drive and manipulate the latter to create a sensible configuration on that drive. Then possibly re:clone the cloned contents back to the original drive should that be desired.

2. Unfortunately the d-c program I generally use - Casper - does not possess that capability, however, I'm aware that the Macrium Reflect (commercial) program presumably does although I've never worked with it. Probably other d-c programs possess that capability as well, e.g., Acronis, but I haven't worked with them in some time.

3. I'm aware that you use & recommend the Macrium program. I'm wondering if you've used the program in that fashion and if so, if you would respond to the following...
A. First of all, is my understanding correct that Macrium will clone the contents of a Dynamic drive to another drive?

B. If so, can I assume the destination (target) disk should of course be a Basic Disk? And that would not be changed as a result of the d-c operation?

C. Would it be necessary for the user to initialize the destination drive prior to the d-c operation? Or will the Macrium program automatically clone the partitioning scheme on the source disk to the destination drive regardless of how the user initialized the destination drive?

D. During the d-c operation can the user manipulate the partition-sizes?

Thanks for the info.

 

[USAFRet]

ArtPog,
I've not messed with Dynamic Disks (prefer to not have them that way in the first place), but...

The Macrium user manual does give instructions on how to manage a Dynamic, so I assume it can do it.
But not through the normal 'clone' process, but just Drag n Drop to the recipient partition.

https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/Cloning+a+disk
"A Dynamic volume is a logical abstraction of the underlying physical disk and may be striped or extended over multiple physical disks. Because of this, Dynamic volume file systems are copied not disk partitions."

....

"To convert Dynamic Volume(s) to standard partitions, select an unformatted or an MBR/GPT basic disk as the destination and use 'Drag and Drop' to copy the source volumes. After the clone operation you can leave the disk as a 'Basic' disk or convert to Dynamic using the Windows Disk Management Console."


Also, since this is just a secondary drive, a simple copy/paste to a normal Basic disk scheme would work.
A few top level folders to hold the contents of each of those partitions.

 

[ArtPog]

Now that I think about it (since as you point out the drive in question is a secondary drive) your suggestion re simply copying the data from the Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk is probably the most sensible approach in this situation. Obviously this assumes the user has the required HDD to contain the secondary drive's data contents. Then he could (probably "should") manipulate the partitions/data contents on the Basic disk in order to achieve a more sensible arrangement of his data, convert the Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk, and if desired, clone the data contents back to the latter drive