Re: Fwd: shrink drive c: to install a new operating system

On Tue, 12/24/2024 8:12 PM, 186282@ud0s4.net wrote:

 
 
 
-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: 23 2024 <>
X-Mozilla-Status: 0001
X-Mozilla-Status2: 00800000
X-Mozilla-Keys: Subject: Re: shrink drive c: to install a new operating system
Newsgroups: alt.comp.os.windows-10
References: <87r05wvnj2.fsf@example.com>
From: 186282@ud0s4.net <186283@ud0s4.net>
Organization: wokiesux
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2024 20:11:22 -0500
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:78.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/78.13.0
MIME-Version: 1.0
In-Reply-To: <87r05wvnj2.fsf@example.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Content-Language: en-US
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
 
On 12/24/24 3:22 PM, Salvador Mirzo wrote:

Please followup-To alt.comp.os.windows-10.  (Note this is not just a
Windows question, but I believe the Windows newsgroup is more
appropriate: perhaps there are other system's shrinking tool that could
help me here.  Thanks for any ideas.)
>
I'm interested in installing a new operating system.  Haven't decided
which yet---perhaps FreeBSD, perhaps GNU Guix.  I've got 195 GiB free in
my c: drive plus 655 MiB unallocated which I was able to get from
shrinking the c: drive using the Windows 10 Disk Management tool.
>
   Disk Management (how my storage looks right now)
   https://prnt.sc/WZ1fF5S9ARJ1
>
Disk Management is not able to shrink more.  It says it has been done
what it could with those 655 MiB.
>
   https://prnt.sc/ez9O5JUVUVXv
>
I turned hibernation off, restarted and tried again.  Same thing.
Looking at the defrag event in the application log, I find:
>
--8<-------------------------------------------------------->8---
A volume shrink analysis was initiated on volume (C:). This event log
entry details information about the last unmovable file that could limit
the maximum number of reclaimable bytes.
    Diagnostic details:
  - The last unmovable file appears to be: \System Volume
    Information\{fba11b84-afde-11ef-adfe-48684ad40403}{3808876b-c176-4e48-b7ae-04046e6cc752}::$DATA
  - The last cluster of the file is: 0x76e787e
  - Shrink potential target (LCN address): 0x466119b
  - The NTFS file flags are: ---AD
  - Shrink phase: <analysis>
    To find more details about this file please use the "fsutil volume
  querycluster \?\Volume{f5e639db-a758-4dfa-9804-d5d4d0286fb7}
  0x76e787e" command.
--8<-------------------------------------------------------->8---
>
Using the fsutil command, I get:
>
--8<-------------------------------------------------------->8---
C:\Windows\system32>fsutil volume querycluster \?\Volume{f5e639db-a758-4dfa-9804-d5d4d0286fb7} 0x76e787e
Cluster 0x00000000076e787e used by ---AD \System Volume
Information\{fba11b84-afde-11ef-adfe-48684ad40403}{3808876b-c176-4e48-b7ae-04046e6cc752}::$DATA
--8<-------------------------------------------------------->8---
>
Anything else I could try?  I have not tried to use other system's
shrinking programs.  Could they do a better job?  Perhaps this is not
the best newsgroup to ask this question.

 
 
  Winders can make a kind of a mess out of "C:" with
  'unmovable' files and 'recovery' stuff kinda scattered
  all around.
 
  If you are using a desktop then just install another
  HDD and use that. Some laptops have a socket for another
  m12 card or similar. "-ix' systems are much smaller than
  Winders, so you don't need a huge second drive.
 
  Otherwise, if even gparted or the 'Acronis' version
  for your existing HDD won't straighten it out there's
  little choice but to back up, manually format the
  disk with gparted into two distinct partitions and
  re-install Winders. Not terribly attractive ...
 
  I've wondered if the Win scheme is a subtle form of
  Bill "linux-proofing" PCs  :-)

You worry too much :-) Windows and Linux live in complete harmony.

I just shrank a C: partition down to the minimal size.
Nothing stands in my way. To do it, I need storage space.
Either for a Macrium backup (.mring) or space for a clone-with-shrink.

   [Picture]

    https://i.postimg.cc/52DsrbVW/Shrinking-With-Backup-Clone-Software.gif

While the Disk Management has overly conservative usage of the
Defrag API that prevents perfect control, not every software
developer has a limited imagination.

And the evidence of skill and the usage of Test Benches by the
external developers, comes from their bug rate. Which for Macrium,
is damn close to zero.

When I bought Acronis Disk Doctor, the very
first test I did caused a corruption. Macrium does not do
stuff like that. Acronis though, it promised to change cluster
size on an NTFS volume. I looked at this and said "No, you
can't do that". Well, I tested, and they *almost* pulled
it off, except some of my System32 files had zero size after
it was finished. A kind of "dumpster fire". I had a backup before
testing the only "stretch" feature the tool had, and I was not
really all that surprised at the result.

It's the same anywhere, YOU test the quality in, because
people you cannot see, may or may not care all that much.
In the previous paragraphs, are two diametrically opposed results.
Careful developers and... the other kind.

If you use a third party tool, it can take part time testing
for months, to conclude what kind of developers they were.

   Paul