Resizing Bootcamp Partition Without Wiping

Question

I done goofed and made my Win7 bootcamp partition just a little too small (about 850mb left after installing critical software). So, I kinda really want to get a little bit more space. However, after the massive pain in the bum that was installing all of the software I needed, I'd really like to avoid reinstalling it all.

I've looked up a few solutions online, and it seems the general consensus is to use WinClone (no longer free) to backup and restore.

However, this page seems to suggest that I can do this with native tools safely. Further research has turned up mixed results. (Using native tools would be my preference)

Is there a way to do this? Or have I pretty much forced myself to give into some third-party software/mass-reinstall?

Answer 1

So, I would just suggest that anyone who wants to do this just purchase a software like WinClone or CampTune. I tried to do this on my own, messed up my partition tables, and just finished completely wiping my Mac (granted, luckily I don't save much work locally, so I'm just installing apps).

Here is a link to some guides. I would just use those.

Answer 2

I'm going to post my method here, so if anyone else tries to use GParted, hopefully it will work for them. You'll need GParted, rEFIt, and a Windows 7 Install DVD.

1. Shrink the OS X partition, inside of OS X. Use Disk Utility.
2. Still in OS X, install rEFIt and make sure it boots properly.
3. Insert the GParted disc and boot it.
4. Select the Windows partition and resize it. Drag the handles so that the partition fills the entire space.
   • This will take some time, depending upon where the Windows partition is located on the disc. It will likely have to move the entire partition to the left of the free space before resizing.
5. When GParted is done, reboot. At the rEFIt menu, select Start Partitioning Tool.
6. The Tool will tell you that the MBR needs to be synced, tell it Y/Yes.
7. When you leave the Partitioning Tool, the Mac will reboot. Insert your Windows 7 DVD, and boot from it.
8. Once it starts, select Next, then Repair your computer.
9. It should find an "issue" and tell you you need to restart. Personally, I would run the Startup Repair again after restarting, just to be sure.
10. Voila! You've resized your Boot Camp partition with only free tools.

Note: rEFIt has personally caused brightness adjustment problems for me in Window 7. Disabling it has fixed them. If you want to disable rEFIt, you can rename the /efi folder in OS X to something else (I use /refit_efi).