Move existing hdd partitions to a smaller hdd

Try shrinking the old partitions first then
http://www.killertechtips.com/2009/05/05/how-to-resize-partitions-in-windows-7/
Should be no trouble after that.

Hi Tommy,

Thanks for your reply.  I've gone down that road - but Windows advised that it would only shrink to 120gb!  Shame!

You could defrag or zero out all the unallocated space (using something from here http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/securedelete.shtml) and then defrag.

OK thanks Tommy - I've also tried defragging, but not used the secure delete tool.  I'll see how I get on with that.  I was wondering if Norton Ghost might be able to solve my problem - but have little experience of it.

Tony

Also, try deleting as many of your unmovable files as possible. Tell your computer to use no space for virtual memory, disable hibernation, and delete the pagefile.sys and hiberfile.sys files.
This page also talks about diskpart, but I assume it has the same issues as the one from Disk Management.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2672-partition-volume-shrink.html

I would try this before deleting unallocated space since that should be all that is being considered anyway.

It may also help to wipe free space recursively using sdelete from the command line. Detailed instructions here:
http://mintywhite.com/software-reviews/productivity-software/rightdelete-and-sdelete-delete-your-files-permanently/

Acronis True Image 11 does what you require, as does Ghost. Having said that so should the software you're using. Perhaps it's just a matter of freeing up a little more space.

Can you uninstall any unnecessary software or remove a significant amount of data?

Run Windows' Disk Cleanup and get rid of System Restore files and hibernation files for instance. If that doesn't do the job sufficiently use CCleaner.

PS
Run Disk Cleanup as Administrator - right click on the icon and select "Run as Administrator". That allows you to remove any hidden stuff like Windows upgrade or update backup files which may be lurking.

try the free bootit-ng to shrink the partition : www.terabyteunlimited.com/       
how :
boot from cd - do NOT install it on the disk - hit Cancel
select your partition, and click resize..it will show how far you can go

First, decide what you want to keep.

Most likely, the PQService partition is a system restore partition that allows you to restore the Netbook to its factory state.    You don't need this on your new drive -- HOWEVER, you may want to retain the current drive with this partition to swap back in for the possibility that you may want to sell the Netbook.    More on this in a bit ...

The 100MB partition is probably part of the Windows 7 installation -- depending on how it's installed Windows 7 often creates a 100MB partition that's part of the boot process.

The 220GB partition is, of course, your main OS partition.

This process is MUCH simpler if you have an external DVD drive to use for booting the appropriate tools ==> is that the case here?

Assuming it is, do the following:

(1)  Download the free demo of Boot-It NG:  http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/downloads-bootit-next-generation.htm

(2)  Create a bootable CD using the included MakeDisk utility.     Select the "Partition Work" option for the CD instead of the "Normal" option.    This will cause the CD to boot directly to Partition Work.

(3)  Boot from the Boot-It CD.    You'll see a display like the example below that shows your partitions.    Highlight the 3rd partition (the large one);  then click on ReSize;  and select your new desired size.    I'd make it 100Gb (you can resize it larger after you get everything moved).

(4)  When that completes, remove the Boot-It media and reboot the system.   Go to Disk Manager [Right-click on Computer; select Manage; then click on Disk Management];  highlight the unallocated space on the disk;  right-click; and create a new Simple Volume in that space (you can use it all).    Assign it whatever drive letter you'd like [This is just going to be a temporary partition to hold images of the two partitions you need to move].

(5)  Reboot to the Boot-It CD.    Highlight the 100MB partition;  click on Image & choose Create Image;  when you see the "Paste Pending ..." message, highlight the new partition you just created (the last one);  click on Paste;  give it the name Old100MB  and let it complete.     Now repeat the process for the OS partition (the 3rd one) ... naming it OldWin7.

When you've got this done, post back and I'll detail the best way to transfer the system to your SSD.

BTW, Migrate OS to HDD will do the migration automatically itself. All you need is to select the copy target drive plus check the files and folders you would like to exclude during copy.

Many thanks for the comments - I'll try them later tonight once the kids have gone to bed and report back.

Tony

I have tried deleting pagefile.sys and hyberfil.sys and believe I have been successful.  I have defragged and now have 91.2gb free of 124 gb (I also shrank the partition earlier).  But the max shrink size, using win7 disk management tool is now 125079 (just 2006mb less than current).  So I will try the other suggestions above.  Please 'shout' if there's any obvious comment!

Thanks for suggestions so far.
Tony

Give a try to Migrate OS to SSD tool. That will let you exclude files automatically, and it will exclude pagefile by default.

Windows 7 is not very good at shrinking the OS partition => Boot-It will let you shrink it FAR more.    With the numbers you indicated [91.2gb free of 124gb]  you can shrink it down to as little as 33gb ... although I wouldn't go below 50gb with those numbers.

I bought a copy of Paragon's Migrate OS to SSD Tool.  It has very few options - you need to run from the origin drive and have the target drive connected at the time (no option to create an image etc).  But it is incredibly simple to use completes the task very well.  It failed to create and copy the PQSERVICE partition, but in fact, in my case that was an advantage as I have the original drive as backup and have the full ssd drive to use.

Many thanks for your help

@Vee Mod - you did?  

Thank for feedback Treder.
Nox