Example: How to manipulate free space needed for a resize operation
Important: During the Resize and Slide operations shown below, events beyond the control of BootIt BM can occur and can result in the loss of data. A known good backup of all partitions and volumes to be manipulated is highly recommended before proceeding.
For the purposes of this example, the following partition layout (as seen in Partition Work) will be the starting point:
MBR Entry 0 | Partition | 10000 MB | HPFS/NTFS |
MBR Entry 1 | Partition | 10000 MB | Extended |
Volume 1 | Volume | 5000 MB | HPFS/NTFS |
Volume 2 | Volume | 5000 MB | HPFS/NTFS |
In this example, the overall disk size is 20000 MB and is completely occupied by existing partitions. MBR Entry 0 is a primary partition of 10000 MB and MBR Entry 1 is an extended partition containing two volumes of 5000 MB each. The goal is to increase the size of MBR Entry 0 from 10000 MB to 11000 MB, an increase of 1000 MB.
Step 1 - Resize Volume 2 Down by 1000 MB
Since no free space exists on the drive, the first step is to create some by shrinking one of the volumes. It is determined that Volume 2 has enough unused space so that it can be resized down by 1000 MB. That is accomplished by highlighting Volume 2 and then choosing Resize. After the filesystem check completes, enter a value of 4000 in the New Size dialog box and then choose OK. This operation will result in the following partition table:
MBR Entry 0 |
Partition | 10000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
MBR Entry 1 |
Partition | 10000 MB |
Extended |
Volume 1 |
Volume | 5000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
Volume 2 |
Volume | 4000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
-------- |
Volume |
1000 MB |
Free Space |
Step 2 - Slide Volume 2 to the End of the Extended Partition
The required amount of free space now exists, but it is at the end of the disk and still inside of the extended partition (note above that the free space is indented and shown as a volume, which means it is still inside the extended partition). To get the free space out of the extended partition, it must be located at either the beginning or end of the extended partition. Since it eventually needs to be located immediately after MBR Entry 0, the next step will be to slide Volume 2 to the end of the extended partition so that the free space will then be in between the 2 volumes. This is accomplished by highlighting Volume 2, choosing Slide, and entering a value of 0 for Free Space After. That will result in the following partition table:
MBR Entry 0 | Partition | 10000 MB | HPFS/NTFS |
MBR Entry 1 |
Partition |
10000 MB |
Extended |
Volume 1 |
Volume |
5000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
-------- | Volume | 1000 MB |
Free Space |
Volume 2 |
Volume |
4000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
Step 3 - Slide Volume 1 to the End of the Free Space
Since the free space is still not at the beginning of the extended partition, it is now necessary to slide Volume 1 so that the free space comes before it. This is accomplished by highlighting Volume 1, choosing Slide, and entering a value of 0 for Free Space After. That will result in the following partition table:
MBR Entry 0 | Partition |
10000 MB | HPFS/NTFS |
MBR Entry 1 |
Partition |
10000 MB |
Extended |
-------- |
Volume | 1000 MB |
Free Space |
Volume 1 |
Volume | 5000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
Volume 2 |
Volume |
4000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
Step 4 - Resize the Extended Partition to Move the Free Space Outside
The final step in manipulating the free space is to resize the extended partition so that the free space is outside of it. That is accomplished by highlighting the extended partition (MBR Entry 1) and choosing the Resize button. That will bring up the extended partition resize dialog. In that dialog, you need to enter a value of 0 for Free Space Inside the Beginning of the extended partition and then choose OK. This operation will result in the following partition table:
MBR Entry 0 | Partition |
10000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
-------- |
Partition |
1000 MB |
Free Space |
MBR Entry 1 |
Partition |
9000 MB |
Extended |
Volume 1 |
Volume |
5000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
Volume 2 |
Volume | 4000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
Step 5 - Resize MBR Entry 0 to Increase the Size to 11000 MB
Now that the free space is outside of the extended partition and immediately follows MBR Entry 0, the desired resize operation on MBR Entry 0 can take place. Highlight MBR Entry 0, and then choose Resize. After the filesystem check completes, enter a value of 11000 in the New Size dialog box and then choose OK. The final result will be as follows:
MBR Entry 0 | Partition | 11000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
MBR Entry 1 |
Partition | 9000 MB |
Extended |
Volume 1 |
Volume | 5000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |
Volume 2 |
Volume | 4000 MB |
HPFS/NTFS |