Question asked in Microsoft forum
I would like to extend the system partition C: (12GB C:, 200GB D: ) on my 2 year old Dell Server PE1800 (Windows 2003 x64 std) with 4 SATA drives on a CERC SATA RAID controller 1.5/6ch (setup as RAID 5, type basic). The system partition is running out of space as it fills with Windows updates. Already tried Diskpart - doesn't work with system partition. Partition Magic 8.0 doesn't work in 2003 server…
I am convinced that great majority of Windows Server 2003 system administrators have encountered the similar problem that system partition is running out of disk space. However, it is not easy for them to fix the problem because of some limitations. Unlike Windows 7/Vista/2008, the built-in Disk Management of Windows 2003 Server couldn't support "Extend Volume" and "Shrink Volume". In such case, the only way is to backup data, format hard drive, reinstall Windows Server 2003, repartition hard drive and restore data. And Diskpart command line can only extend a data volume (not system, boot, page files) when there is contiguous unallocated space. Therefore, it is a wise and good choice to extend system partition for Windows Server 2003 with the benefit of Partition Magic Software.
Which Partition Magic Software available?
As we know there are lots of partition software in the field of disk partition management, however, it is difficult for users who have no experience to choose which one to use. Norton Partition Magic is a pioneer in this filed. As the question mentioned above, the newest Partition Magic 8.0 doesn't work in Windows 2003 Server. According to survey, Partition Magic Server Software - Partition Assistant Server Edition is the top choice because of its reliability and practicability. That is, the program allows users to perform basic and advanced features on Windows Server and non-server systems without losing data.
How to extend system partition in Windows Server 2003?
The following is a step by step instruction to extend system partition for Windows Server 2003.
Note: To avoid unexpected shutdown or any other hardware failure, I suggest you backup the data before the operations.
Step1: Launch Partition Assistant Server. All the disks and partitions connected in your Windows Server 2003 will be shown as below:
Step2: Select D partition. Right click on it and select "Resize Partition" in the drop-down menu.
In the pop-up window, drag the left slider bar rightwards to shrink D partition as shown below:
Step3: Click "OK". There will be some unallocated space behind system partition. Select system partition and drag the right slider bar rightwards to extend Windows 2003 system partition.
Step4: Now the changes can be previewed and are also listed in the "Pending Operations". Click "Apply" on the toolbar to save the changes.
As Partition Magic Server software, Partition Assistant Server Edition brings comprehensive disk partition management solution, including merge partitions, split partition, allocate free space, merge unallocated space, copy partition and copy disk on MBR and GPT disk, etc. Why not free download demo version and have a try before you buy full version?
Tips: For Enterprise users, Unlimited Edition allows unlimited usage within one company to save time and money, in other words, you can install it on unlimited servers and PCs in your company to maximize business productivity whilst minimizing the total cost of management.
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