Expanding a Win2k server partition

My Win2k server is installed on a 4 GB partition. This has run out of space, and I need to expand the partition. There is an additional 33 GB available. How do I expand the partition to make the extra space utilized?

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You have a few options. First is to create a volume set. A volume set is when you combine two or more sections of space on one or more hard drives into a single logical entity and assign it a single driver letter. You can add free space from another drive to the existing 4 GB partition from any drive in the system. This is done from Disk Management in Computer Management from Administrative Tools. Just right click over the 4 GB partition and issue the Extend Volume command.

However, this method will result in a drive configuration that is not fault tolerant. If either of the hard drives in the set fail, all data on the expanded volume will fail as well. If you use this option, you must employ a reliable backup solution (such as mirroring or daily tape backups).

Another option is to use a third-party disk partition tool, such as Norton Ghost. With this tool, you can create an image of the 4 GB partition then restore it to a larger partition on a replacement hard drive. Then all you need to do is physically swap the old drive for the new one and use FDISK to make the new drive's partition active for booting.

This was first published in October 2003

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