NTFS resize of my only partition safe w/ qtparted?

[FlorianK]

Hello, I'm a newbie and I'm wondering whether it's safe to resize my single NTFS hd partition (XP) with qtparted in order to create a partition on which I can then install knoppix. I've backed up my personal files and all, but I can't back up the entire system (don't have the software). I've looked thru the forum, and I can't seem to find a definitive answer on this. I'd really appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Florian.

EDIT: I realise that this is a question that seems to have been answered a million times, but among all the posts, I simply can't find one that tells me exactly whether it's ok to go ahead and partition a hd that has only one NTFS partition at the moment, using qtparted. It's just that I'm afraid of ruining my XP partition (i.e., system) because I'd be lost w/out the computer. If you could point me to a post that does answer my embarrassing newbie question, I'd be very grateful. Apologies if this seems like a stupid attempt at clogging the forum, I simply don't know what to do.

[hernan]

I've done it a couple of times, and it IS safe..haven't had a problem.
The only thing, make sure you leave 50 meg free at the end of your hard drive if u have winxp, since i've had some problems when i tried to use all of my space. I have no idea why that happens, but it just does.

good luck

hernan

[rickenbacherus]

Knoppix has two very excellent backup tools. Mondo and parted. Also if you have a spare hdd lying around you can use dd to make a copy of your existing drive.

[markleong]

First, KNOPPIX is great. Just love it.

I read that KNOPPIX is great in cloning system. Before I do so, are the following steps correct:-

- Prepare a blank hd (can be on another system or another hd on the same system)
- Partition the blank hd (bigger in size than the one I want to clone). Must this be the same format as the source disk? If I want to clone a Win XP system, must I format the destination disk using ntfs? If I use dd, must I format the destination disk after partitioning (since dd is a bit-by-bit replication)?
- Use dd to clone.

[FlorianK]

Thanks a million, I'll try it today - the backup thing is a great hint, thanks!!! I've tried to defrag my NTFS partition w/ a trial version of O&O, recommended in some other post, but even that doesn't seem to take care of some stray blocks used near the end of the partition. Is the answer simply doing it over and over again, till it works? I really am sorry to bother you with this more-than-basic stuff!!!

Edit: Here's a bit that worries me from the Knoppix FAQ:
--quote--
A3: Knoppix also includes a graphical partition utility, QTParted, which is compatable with ntfsresize. (does not work for XP home edition (tm) partitions, only option is commercial at this point (17/09/2003) see PartitionManagers)

My XP is "Home", and now I'm scared again ... sorry if I'm being a pain!!!

[Irgu]

Edit: Here's a bit that worries me from the Knoppix FAQ:
--quote--
A3: Knoppix also includes a graphical partition utility, QTParted, which is compatable with ntfsresize. (does not work for XP home edition (tm) partitions, only option is commercial at this point (17/09/2003) see PartitionManagers)

My XP is "Home", and now I'm scared again ... sorry if I'm being a pain!!!

No problem, but the FAQ answer isn't right. I did several times with QTParted and it did work. Moreover the ntfsresize page clearly indicates it works with Windows XP Home. QTParted uses ntfsresize and I can not see why it wouldn't work for others only for me and my friends

[FlorianK]

Thanks so much, that's a great relief! But there's still the defrag problem - there's several blocks (both "system" blocks and "locked" blocks) that O&O doesn't remove from the supposedly free part of the hd, even if I tell it to do a defrag at boot-up. Will those files (mostly log files, apparently, but not exclusively) pose a problem when repartitioning? (I realise that this is anathema, I'm bothering everyone with stupid XP problems here - but I do want to switch to Knoppix, which looks so much better when I boot up from CD!!! I just can't afford to break my box in the process.) You are all being extremely kind and patient, thanks very much!

Regards

[Dave_Bechtel]

--If you're that concerned about it, just buy a 2nd 20GB HD (or even an 8GB, but they're slow) and install knoppix on /dev/hdb. If you buy a drive that's equal to or larger than your current drive, you can also use it for (compressed) backups.

Thanks so much, that's a great relief! But there's still the defrag problem - there's several blocks (both "system" blocks and "locked" blocks) that O&O doesn't remove from the supposedly free part of the hd, even if I tell it to do a defrag at boot-up. Will those files (mostly log files, apparently, but not exclusively) pose a problem when repartitioning? (I realise that this is anathema, I'm bothering everyone with stupid XP problems here - but I do want to switch to Knoppix, which looks so much better when I boot up from CD!!! I just can't afford to break my box in the process.) You are all being extremely kind and patient, thanks very much!

Regards

[FlorianK]

--If you're that concerned about it, just buy a 2nd 20GB HD (or even an 8GB, but they're slow) and install knoppix on /dev/hdb. If you buy a drive that's equal to or larger than your current drive, you can also use it for (compressed) backups.

Thanks for the fast reply! I do in fact have a spare hd (Archos Jukebox, 15GB, USB 1.1) - but since I'm using a laptop, it's a USB hd (so, no boot option for the drive, and I haven't got a floppy drive to use a boot floppy from). But I think I'll go and experiment some before I start bothering everyone again. I've backed up my personal data (though not the program files), and perhaps I'll get desperate enough to just try it on my NTFS drive with qtparted, then following the process outlined in the poll section on this page. I'm really amazed at everyone's readiness to help, and that community spirit is what really gives Knoppix the edge for newbies like me!!!

Best regards.