Anyway I can resize the acitve partiton within Linux ?

[TheBaldyMan]

I have Suse v10 & W2k on a dual boot system but I'd like to change the initial partition that was recommended by the set-up program.

No surprise, Windows has turned into a bloated resource hog and I'd like to make a few Gb availiable to it so it won't crash.

[Syrinx]

1. you've probably solved the problem by now, but...

I haven't done this in a long time, but I used to the DOS version of Partition Magic. However that program costs money.

Here's an article that describes how to do it with oss. It looks reasonable, but be warned, I haven't actually tried it. :)

http://www.cyberciti.biz/nixcraft/vivek/blogger/2005/09/how-do-i-resize-windows-partition-with.php

[TheBaldyMan]

2. thanks for that info - now I'll have to try out another flavour of Linux

I couldn't resize the active linux partition so I had to do a stripped down installation on another HD then resize the desired partitions from there.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Sorry to be late ...

This won't help you now, but it might in the future.

I keep an up-to-date Knoppix LiveCD around for situations like this. I use it to boot the system, make sure the partitions on my hard drives are unmounted, and work from there. If you're using a distro that has some sort of rescue system on the install CD/DVD, you can use that too. SuSE has this, and I use it if I'm pretty clear on the problem and just need to run fsck or something to rebuild a superblock. It boots a basic Linux system with a few commands at your disposal that allow you to manipulate things that have to be done on unmounted devices. I've never tried to repartition anything with rescuse, but I have used Knoppix for this.

Although I don't like to do it. I have really bad luck with messing with things at this level.

[TheBaldyMan]

4. I am prepared for the worst case scenario - total re-installation

Knoppix looks good but I haven't used it yet. I could just take the plunge and uninstal Windows for good. I really only use it for games, Paint Shop Pro and viewing .mov & .wmf files

[Syrinx]

5. You probably don't need Windows then

Maybe except for games. I guess there are good games for Linux, but I'm not really a gamer so I don't know for sure.

I imagine everything you use Paint Shop Pro for you could do with the gimp (unfortunate name).

And, at least on my seven-year-old computer, mplayer actually plays quicktime and windows media files better than Windows does.

[TheBaldyMan]

6. I was wrestling with mplayer but I think I might have hardware issues

but I'll persevere and get that *%$£*! working. I'm still getting used to Gimp, it's just that I've been using PSP for donkeys' years and know it inside out so if speed is an issue I'm still quicker using it.

Thanks again for your help. :D