Extend Partition

John · 03-09-2007

Hello all:

Here's the deal.

We got a new server with Windows 2003 x64 Standard. It has only 12GB for
the OS partition w/only 4 left.

We have 200+GB of unallocated space that I would like to extend this
partition onto (at least 8 more GBs).

I know this can be done with diskpart but since this is the system
partition, needs to be done from the command line (i.e. boot into DOS).

However, to do so requires a boot disk with the proper RAID drivers (this is
a Dell PowerEdge with a PERC 5/i).

We do not have a floppy and I have tried creating a boot CD with the drivers
slipstreamed, but that failed.

My next resort was to use the Windows Automated Installation Kit, but I am
unsure if that is the right course of action.

Has anyone else gone through this same issue? Any tips, ideas?

Thanks.

Lanwench [MVP - Exchange] · 03-09-2007

OT, but the first thing I do when I get a new server is wipe & reinstall the
OS to my own specs. Trust no one. ;-)

[pssst....there's no such thing as DOS in an NT-based OS ;-) ]

The system partition is a basic disk, right? diskpart won't work for you
otherwise.

Perhaps you didn't build the slipstream properly. That said, what about a
USB floppy? I still spec out all my servers with floppies (yeah, even in
2007)...but if you don't, make sure you have a USB one (and can boot from
it).

Have you seen:
"How to use Diskpart.exe to extend a data volume in Windows Server 2003, in
Windows XP, and in Windows 2000"
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=325590

....which says:

-----------------------------------
* Only the extension of data volumes is supported. System or boot volumes
may be blocked from being extended, and you may receive the following error:
Diskpart failed to extend the volume. Please make sure the volume is
valid for extending

* You cannot extend the partition if the system page file is located on the
partition. Move the page file to a partition that you do not wish to extend.

-----------------------------------

You might also check out http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;841650
(for a hotfix you may need).

That all being said, I confess to never having used diskpart, and would be
nervous about doing this on the system volume of a production server....
have you considered third party tools? I personally like Acronis stuff. Some
of it ain't cheap, but it's worth it.

http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/pr.../diskdirector/

If this is a brand new server, and it isn't in production, just flatten and
reinstall it, with a 30 or 40GB system partition.

seth · 03-09-2007

FYI - dell has a utility that will create a bootable iso and load the perc
drivers...then will boot from the windows cd itself and no need to do the f6
thing. i tried it on a server last week and worked beautifully in getting
to the recovery console to fix an issue

D-man · 03-11-2007

did you get your issue resolved?
we also have server 2003 r2 std x64 w/12GB. KB841650 is not for std edition.
i tried diskpart, but it will not extend the drive, even after i moved
thepaging file.

do you have a link for that Dell utility?

**rgr@vihc.com** · 18-10-2008

I have a production server with an array now containing 70GB. (HP Proliant ML370G5, SmartArray 6400) When I set this up I had a mirrored drive C: with 35 GB. Some of the programs we installed will only go to the C: drive so the space got smaller. We added another drive and chaged to RAID 5. Now we have the space, but the dynamic system volume will not extend using EaseUS/ Acronis or trying to connect with a VISTA machine and extending the drive.
Anyone ever dealt with this problem?
I see someone tried moving the page file to another partition, but I do not know how to do that and the same person said that did not help.
Please help if you know how to do this.

Ron Rossi
rgr*vihc.com

**stitch** · 18-09-2009

hi, to extend the drive on server 2003, i used this one easeus partition master server edition, and it worked flawlessly, and it also can use to resize dynamic volume now indirectly, see here for details