How To Resize A Disk Partition In Windows Vista

I learned the hard way that programs like Partition Magic don’t work on Windows Vista. So that led me to the question: How do I resize partitions without losing any data with Windows Vista installed? Good news! Windows Vista can manage your partition resizing with its built-in partition tool.

1) Click on the Start menu

2) Right click on Computer and click on Manage

 

3) If you get a User Account Control dialog here; just click Continue

4) In the left pane, open up the Storage category and click on Disk Management

5) Here you'll see all the partitions for your hard drive configuration. Right click on the partition you’d like to modify.

6) Click on Extend Volume or Shrink Volume to extend or shrink the selected partition.

While not as robust as programs like Partition Magic which allow you to merge partitions without losing data (a very handy feature), Windows Vista Disk Management's partition feature allows the basic functions of resizing partitions or creating new partitions fairly easy for those with a basic knowledge of partitioning.