system partition full

zeffer111 · Post by **zeffer111** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:49 am

I have a client that has a c: (system partion) that is full.
They have two sata drives mirrored (80GB each). C partion is a measly 10GB, (not my doing) and is 90% full. I need to remedy this problem.

I was thinking about imaging the the drive to another as a backup.
Then I would attempt to resize the partion using re-partitioning software (I know its not the "ideal" solution).

Has anyone had any experience using re-partioning software on a mirror?
Is there anything that I should be concerned about?

thanks

A_old · Post by **A_old** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:05 pm

out of curiousity, why bother w/ a mirror? i've done this several times to a drive to the main partition and never had an issue. mainly used partition magic to do it..no data loss etc. sure, it's a LITTLE risky ...but seriously i can't remember how many times i've done it..lost count. never had a problem

so you could mirror to the second drive JIC it fails and go for it on the main drive....but i probably wouldn't even bother to do that much

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:15 pm

also...
How on earth does the c drive have 9 GB of os files and programs? The os, with sp2 and all updates and services is less than 2 GB. You're saying that there's 7 GB of 3rd party applications?

Just clean up the drive. 10 GB is plenty of space. Move documents and business data to another drive or partition. Get rid of temp files, prefetch files, etc. And instruct the person to alswa save documents and data to another drive or partition instead of the c drive.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:27 pm

TonyT wrote:The os, with sp2 and all updates and services is less than 2 GB. You're saying that there's 7 GB of 3rd party applications?

3.03 gigs for my windows folder, though this is XP x64.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:21 pm

TonyT wrote:also...
How on earth does the c drive have 9 GB of os files and programs? The os, with sp2 and all updates and services is less than 2 GB. You're saying that there's 7 GB of 3rd party applications?

Just clean up the drive. 10 GB is plenty of space. Move documents and business data to another drive or partition. Get rid of temp files, prefetch files, etc. And instruct the person to alswa save documents and data to another drive or partition instead of the c drive.

Not hard to fill up these days, do a full install of Office, 2-3 games, the pagefile....and if My Docs is stuck in the default location...she's chuck fulla nuts pretty quick.

zeffer111 · Post by **zeffer111** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:24 pm

I'm sorry I forgot to mention that is was a SBS 2K3 server..
The drive is filling up... with updates, etc.

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 10:29 pm

zeffer111 wrote:I'm sorry I forgot to mention that is was a SBS 2K3 server..
The drive is filling up... with updates, etc.

Undertstood.
You may want to config it so logs, updates, etc are stored on a different partition.

edit:
just read the system requirements for sbs 2003, minimum hd space od 4 gb is required, so better to resize the os partition.
http://www.microsoft.com/Windowsserver2 ... fault.mspx

zeffer111 · Post by **zeffer111** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:21 am

so there are no issues with the fact that is a mirror?
no need to break it first?

twwabw · Post by **twwabw** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:45 am

zeffer111 wrote:I'm sorry I forgot to mention that is was a SBS 2K3 server..

Oh my...

your problem just got a LOT more complicated. You won't be able to use any of the desktop partitioning software, as they won't work on Server2003. You'll need an enterprise grade product, and most are quite expensive.

But, the good news is you should be able to clean it up enough to get you out of trouble.

Do the basics first- any non-critical apps you could uninstall, then reinstall onto the data partition? Also- move the pagefile onto the data partition. If you have a GB of ram installed, your pagfile is likely 1.5Gb- moving that will free up a bunch of space. If you don't know how to do it, read up first. You DON"T just move pagefile.sys to the other drive.

Also, do you have Exchange Server running on this server? By default, the install puts both the exchange store and log files on the system partition. You can move the store to the 2nd partition, and free up all the space it's currently using. Log files don't take up much space, so they should be OK where they are. Again, if you don't know how, look it up or ask here- I'll tell you how. I'm assuming you're running backups to flush the Exchange logs, right?

I know for instance, a default Dell server install creates a 12GB system partition. Too small these days- wish they gave you the option at setup to change the size. If you wipe the install, and set up from scratch using the Server Assistant CD, you have the option of making the partition whatever size you choose.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:13 am

IMO to resize your partition just got more expensive, but your means of moving data just got a heck of a lot easier. You have SBS, so gone in the mystery, now we know you'll have a few easily grabbed large items which can be moved.

In addition to the pagefile, and possibly the infostore...SBS you have some default shares...and their locations. By default, most of the default shares will install to the C partition during the install wizard...something IMO most people don't pay attention to and redirect to your (usually larger) data share. So you have some shares like C:\ClientApps...which is almost 1.5 gigs in size. And your Users Shared Folders. The "My Documents Redirection"...if it's setup, can also be of substantial size.

zeffer111 · Post by **zeffer111** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:44 am

suffice to say the partition is full.
I have moved all exchange files (public/private) and the pagefile.

Now is good time (timing wise) to do the upgrade. I have done a server system repartition before, but not with a mirror. Is there anything else I need to know with the mirror? Is it transparent to the resize software? Do I break the mirror?

thanks

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:52 am

I take it you have a software mirror? Yes I'd break it first. If hardware, I'd probably break that too....that way you have a nice backup in case the first drive blows up.

I take it you moved the other "shares" mentioned above? Those can be several gigs worth..

twwabw · Post by **twwabw** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:04 am

What re-partitioning software do you plan on using?

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:37 pm

I'm about to undergo something similar (sorta) at an oil company...they run MAS90 on their SBS2K server...new MAS90 version requires a buncha more space (server originally built on a pair of 18 gig drives as hardware RAID 1, one single C partition). Only around 3 gigs left.

Replacing drives with a pair of 72 gigers...
Week 1..break mirror, remove first 18 gig drive, replace with first 72 gig drive...recreate mirror.
Week 2...break mirror again, remove remaining 18 gig drive, replace with remaining 72 gig drive...recreate mirror.
Week 3...create new extended partition with remaining 50 some odd megs...make it a data partition, and relocate the Company Shared directory and Users folders to the D partition.

I've become a fan of Acronis software lately...cheaper than Symantec (which continues to follow their raising price trends), and IMO works just as well.

zeffer111 · Post by **zeffer111** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:41 pm

I've been asked to use this software:
http://www.partition-manager.com/comparison.htm

anyone have any experience with it? good? bad?

Futurama_fan · Post by **Futurama_fan** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:57 am

Acronis Disk Director is the best to resize partitions.

It supports over then 100 OSes, I used it to resize my OS partition to make a multiboot system.
So this program has intuitive windows wizard that allows you easily manage the HDD without any harmful mistake.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:12 am

Futurama_fan wrote: is the best to resize partitions.
It supports over then 100 OSes, .

Over a 100 OSes?

It's a good product, yes, I use it often, other times Symantecs Ghost...however, it's not the best product for his needs. He's dealing with a server operating system. A production server for a client of his. Your link is for a desktop OS utility (see supported OS's..."Server" is not on there). I wouldn't monkey around and take the chance of trying to force a desktop utility to resize a servers RAID array. If he wishes to try an Acronis product, I'd suggest their full server grade disk management tool.