Advice on partition management

[farm]

Here is my current HD setup:

Drive 1 (320GB unformatted)
C - 10GB primary partition (almost full)
D - 280GB secondary partition (about 50GB free)

Drive 2 (320GB unformatted)
E - 290GB (about 250GB free)

Drive 3 (500GB unformatted)
F - 465GB (empty)

My problem is that my primary C partition (which I thought was a good idea at the time) frequently fills up. I've moved everything I can to D other than Windows and system folders and a few applications.

I would like to either:
a) merge C and D without losing data
b) resize C to include some of the empty space on D
c) Image D and move to E and THEN merge C and empty D into one.

My concern with merging is the fact that applications will be directed to the wrong drive letter. Do partition managers fix the registry to change drive letter references that programs are applied to?

Does anyone have a strong recommendation for a partition manager?

 

[UncleDave]

No partition manager will change software settings. I like System Commander but generally partition managers do what it says on the tine.

I would suggest that you move the current D drive to "Drive 2" and make that the new D drive. Make the entire C & D drive the C drive.

My 5c

UD.

 

[farm]

If I transfer the entire contents of D to E (essentially changing physical drive and drive letter) is there a way to quickly find all the references to "D" and change them to "E". OR, do I just have to try and change everything manually (shortcuts, etc.) and wait for conflicts to discover what else needs to be changed.


Actually another thought just came up.
Can I transfer all of D to E and then change drive E's designation to "D", thereby keep all the programs referenced on drive D??

Thanks for any help.

 

[UncleDave]

Actually another thought just came up.
Can I transfer all of D to E and then change drive E's designation to "D", thereby keep all the programs referenced on drive D??

Bingo!

Thanks for any help.

Pleasure.

UD.

 

[sailer]

Actually another thought just came up.
Can I transfer all of D to E and then change drive E's designation to "D", thereby keep all the programs referenced on drive D??

Thanks for any help.

If you do it this way, you will then run into the problem of any programs in the persent drive E being mismarked. It appears that the third drive, F, is currently completely empty and unused. If so, it might be easier to move the contents of the present D drive to F Drive, then merge C and D into a single C drive. Following that, redesignate drive F as drive D and the program references should work as needed. Doing it this way will avoid any problems or conflicts with E drive

For future reference, I keep my C drive at about 80 gig in size, thus giving plenty of room for the OS, and related programs and apps that rarely change.

As for partition managers, I have used Partition Magic for years without problem, but I imagine that others have their own favorites.