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<p>at windows you may have data at the end of the hard or partition so what will happens if you make shrink exactly ?</p> <p> </p> <p>at Linux is more danger because your data are spread at the hard disk so what happens with shrink exactly</p>
Windows will only let you shrink your partition if its safe, meaning; if you have a500GB HDD and you are only using100GB and you want to shrink your drive to make room for (let's say)200GB into another drive; windows will analyse the data and how it is scattered around the disk, and then display the safe amount of space available for shrinking. You may or may not get your200GB for shrinking depending on your data and where is it saved. I always perform a defrag. before shrinking as I found out it helps.
Basm Allah Alrahman Alrahim
What I Know that every part of any file at windows when it saved or installed that the operating system will try to find the first good place sectors at the hard drive to fill it with data and that mean if we have empty sectors at the beginning of the hard the new installation file will be saved there until it fill that sectors and complete installation on another part of the hard ( sectors ) so it can be at the end of the hard , at Linux the installation files are installed at Sequential sectors not like windows so most of the time we don't need defragmentation except the case of near of full hard , So when I make shrink to any partition there is a danger when there is fragmentation , of course all operating system designer talk that in consideration but some time a problem may happens when make shrink , I tried that my self and I got a disaster , I loss the partition , so what we must to do ? first before shrink you must talk a backup to your hard that will be better , second before shrink you must make defragment to the partition (be careful defragment with allot of bad sectors at any hard is a bad idea) , there is a very good idea and that is make a copy of your MBR sector (master boot record ) , and after make shrink if something wrong happens just make restore to your MBR
Note
How to make backup for MBR ?
there is a lot of programs to do that but I prefer a Linux command called dd , I use dd command a lot of time and it is the best command I ever used
Window Shrink Feature - In this feature window will analyse free disk and recommend you partition size, this feature have limited options you can not set primary partition with low disk space.
Third Party Software - Third party software are more advance and flexible as compare to shrink volume feature.
In WINDOWS the main problem when we are shrinking, it will ask for changing the disk in to dynamic disk. it will not affect its performance but we cannot able to format the OS partition with another OS or same, and we cannot install another OS in the new partition also . when we are shrinking it will ask for changing the disk to dynamic disk give NO to that . so it will be safe..
yeah if you used a third party program i recommend you use the "create and format hard disk partitions " tool that is attacked with windows it self you find it in Control Panel\\System and Security\\Administrative Tools / create and format hard disk partitions
it depends on your partition, if your partition is primary, you can shrink from it.
windows
volume shrink have limitations.
Linux
Use LVM partition.by using LVM we can increase or decrease the volume either in the same disk or by adding additional HDD.
