How to partition harddrive

[pantangs]

Hi i recently purchased a dell optiplex 745 computer.I want to make a second harddrive to save all my files.I want to take the 260 gig harddrive and partition it it half.Which is the best way to do it.

[jameshgross]

In Windows go to HELP and type "Partition", follow the directions for Create Partition.

[Alex_ander]

The best (not free) and simple way to do it is using Norton (formerly PowerQuest) Partition Magic 8. Since you have main HDD with OS on your system, you can use it from Windows. You can set tasks for partition sizes and file system for each one and set an active partition if you want to install one more OS (very useful for solving any problems with main HDD, you'll never need any boot disc).

[piano632]

If using Windows XP, go to My Computer > Manage > Disk Management

Right-click on the drive letter you want and you can format & partition to your heart's delight. Make sure you have backed up everything you wish to keep that's already on your hard drive.

[tekkieman]

A gparted LiveCD <link> will let you shrink the existing NTFS partition in order to set up the remaining space as a new partition. You should defrag first to make sure no system files, swap, or system recovery files exist toward the end of the existing partition.

I have done this without affecting the existing data, however, YMMV, so CYA.