How to Manage Storage in Windows Vista

Windows Vista offers a robust set of tools to manage hard drive storage. Unlike previous Microsoft operating systems, Vista allows changes to hard drive partitions without the use of third party utilities, offering the ability to shrink and expand partition space when unallocated space is available. Some storage management tools require professional training in managing Windows Vista, while others are accessible to the typical Vista owner.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Open the Computer Management console. Click "Start," then type "Computer Management" into the search field. Click on the link "Computer Management" at the top of the search field. Accept any User Access Control (UAC) warnings that appear. Expand the left window to make the contents easy to view.

2. Select Disk Management. A view of the hard drives and partitions will appear in the central window. Expand the windows as necessary to make all relevant information available. Make note of the hard drives and partitions installed, including their drive letters, total and free space and the types of partitions installed.

3. Shrink a partition. If you have one partition with more space than necessary, you can reduce the partition size to provide additional space for other partitions. Right-click the partition that you want to make smaller, select "Shrink Volume," and enter the amount of desired space by which to reduce the total size. Note that Vista may impose limits on the amount that can be removed.

4. Expand a partition. Conversely, if you have too small a partition and have available unallocated space, you can increase the size of a partition. Right-click the partition, select "Expand Volume," and enter the amount of extra space required. Vista may impose limits on the amount of space that can be added.

5. Delete a partition. If you are certain that you no longer need the contents of a partition, and would like to use it differently, right-click on the partition and select "Delete Volume." Accept the warning by clicking "OK" to delete the partition.

6. Create a partition. Right-click on the unallocated space and select "New Simple Partition." In the dialog, specify the amount of space you want to allocate to the new partition. Click "Next." Select the drive letter you want to assign to the partition from the dropdown list of available partitions. Click "Next." Format the partition by selecting the appropriate file system, usually NTFS, accept the default allocation size unless you have a specific reason to change it and give the new partition a "Volume Label" that makes sense for the partition's intended use. Check "Perform a quick format" to save time, and check "Enable file and folder compression" if desired. Click "Next."

7. Change a drive letter. Right-click on a partition and select "Change drive letters and paths." The current drive letter will display. The "Add" button typically allows the partition to be placed inside an existing NTFS folder. Click "Change" to assign a new drive letter. Vista will disallow any changes if the partition is currently used as a system, boot, or pagefile drive. Click "Remove" to remove a partition's drive letter, at which point the partition will not be visible to the file system.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient. Many of these processes may take some time to complete.
• Back up all files before making changes to your storage structure. Most of the tasks available in the Disk Management console are permanent and cannot be undone.
• Minimize the number of activities running on the computer before making any storage changes to avoid potential conflicts.
• Never change partition drive letters where system or applications are installed. Important links might be broken, rendering applications and perhaps Vista itself unable to start.