Delete Dells Partition without Formatting?

I want to delete Dell's 10GB partition without formatting
is this possible?

 

the answer is yes

 

lol can you tell me how
i need the extra 10gb

 

This is how I did it:

Used Vista to delete the 10GB.
Defragged, and defragged again.
Used GParted to shift the Vista partition to fill that space.
Restart - Uh oh, doesn't find an OS, keeps rebooting.
Boot off Vista disc.
Go through motions to repair the install.
Restarted into Vista - Uh oh, takes ages to get through "Preparing Desktop" and then stops at a blank screen.
Hunt around on the web, discover the fix is to alter a registry string.
Get to blank screen, and then Ctrl+Alt+Del.
Select Task Manager.
Select "New Task"
Run "regedit"
Find registry entry in question, and change as required.
Reboot, and all is good.

I'd recommend trying to make a backup image of your drive, in case it screws up in the shifting of the partition (If you choose to undertake this method of course).

 

I just deleted it and added the space to the main C: drive, using Acronis Disk Director.

 

will the trial of that program get the job done or do i have to purchase it?

 

looks like I have to purchase it

anyway I am in disk management and it is letting me delete the partition
but I scared that it will delete the partition and not add the space to my C: drive

am i wrong?

 

you are right! cos it will just remain as unallocated data!

and you dont have to pay for Acronis Disk Director if you look in "the usual places".

 

You can make use of GpartEd which is as good as Acronis for the disk operation you need to perform

And the usual places for finding Acronis works as well

 

Couldnt you use vistas built in partitioning software instead? Wouldnt that be the safer way to do it?

You can change partitions and resize them on the fly with vista also.

 

Another 'thumbs up' for GPartEd.
It's absolutely free and works great!

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GParted

 

i was think about this partition myself,im not desperate for the space yet and also have a windows vista and media direct discs and drivers etc, so dont really need it, its handy to have it on a partition i spose, so i might just keep the 5gig of files on there, and fill the other 5 with all my important programs i always install , at least then thats always all safe on a partition !

 

I second that. There have been reports of problems with Vista's Disk management. GPartEd, and Acronis, are old reliables. I keep a GPartEd/CloneZilla bootable cd in my Tool Kit.

 

i dont understand how to run gparted?
did you guys download the cd version and burn it on a cd?

 

ok i booted gparted off dcd
I deleted the 10gb partition then It wouldnt let me extend my C: drive
the 10gb remained as a unallocated which I feared it would
so I ended up creating another 10gb partition

is there a way to extend my c: drive or no?

 

Like I said before. Try vistas partiion utility. Under Computer Management in Administrator tools. Then Disk Management.

 

tried that
same thing happened
if I shrink the 10gb partition it wont let me extend my c: drive

 

Instead of extending the C: partition, did you try moving it in GParted?

 

no?
what do u mean moving it?

 

From memory, there should be the option to just shift the partition along.

So lets say your C: drive is 70GB.

Merging with the 10GB will leave you with 80GB.

Shifting will remove the 10GB at the start of the drive, but now it'll be at the end. Which is exremely easy to deal with, you can use just the Vista partition manager to expand into that space.

I'm pretty certain that's how I did it.

 

so I deleted the 10gb partition, then move c: drive into the unallocated 10gb space?

 

Yep, that's it.

 

i just used Gparted and moved C: in to the 10gb space, it took 2 hours and now my computer is messed up
when I turn it on it keepps running the Dell Bios screen over n over
oh god, do I have to reformat now!
someone help

 

No, you don't have to reformat.

Put the Vista disc in, and boot off that.

Then, find the option to do a Repair. Do that.

Then, you'll be able to boot.

As my first post, you'll then be able to boot into Vista, but not all the way. It'll bring you to a blank screen.

Ctrl+Alt+Del - Select "Task Manager" - Select "New Task..." enter explorer.exe and run.
Is your C: drive now something like V: drive? Good.

Next will be a case of diving into the registry. I don't have the exact entry you need to alter on hand, give me about twenty minutes to get there.

 

thanks so much LordBug,
I looked at your post on page 1 of this thread and I found a site that told me what to do in regedit and now its fixed
thanks again!
i hope u see this post before u start looking

 

All sorted?
Damn glad to hear

I know how gut wrenching the feeling is. When I did it, I spent a good hour or so in a state of despair. But the discovery of that registry entry put a silly grin on my face ten minutes later

 

lol exactly how I felt
and now my harddrive has 119gb capacity, the way it should of came with

 

Hi I found ur post really helpful, even im in the process of doing the same. could u Plz Tell me the registry key that i need to alter??
Thanq.