What it means is the gamer wants Halo 2 and has XP. halo 2 is not for XP, so he has to buy Vista. He doesn't have enough money to buy vista+Halo 2 or and xbox 360+halo 2, so he is left with halo 1 and unhappy faces.

This diagram proves my point that Vista is making money off of poor gamers and other people. XP is better, less focus on graphics, simpler desktop, more space left for you!

So: Vista (by my logic) is not as good a s XP, so Microsoft, you have been great, don't let us down.

I will leave you with one more diagram made by me on MS Paint:

Vista= =(            XP= =)

 

Before we start, here are a few terms you may need to know:

Mb/Gb: measures of storage; in this order, a megabyte (1,000 kilobytes) and a gigabyte (1,000 megabytes).
RAM: Random Access Memory. The temporary storage location for a computer.
Hard disk: the drive that stores your files.
Processor: the "heart" of the computer. Data that is pumped into it is routed to wherever in the computer it is needed. (Please note that I will not be recommending any AMD processors in my article, below; this is because, in my experience, they are unreliable.)
Ghz: measure of processor frequency; higher means faster (well, there is some debate on that, but it is generally accepted that a higher number is faster).

Also note that I may recommend values with a "~" in between them. For anything with that value, the lower end is better suited for your need and less costly; the higher value will work better and last longer, but will be more expensive.

Can you give me a basic rundown?

There are way too many factors for getting a new PC to just give a basic rundown. However, I can at least tell you this much about PC's: if you don't know much about PC's, go with a manufacturer's PC's. I recommend Gateway highest out of all of them; I have good experiences with their tech support and with the performances of their PC's. Hewlett-Packard (HP) is also a very reliable PC manufacturer. The worst choice would be Dell. Their computers are built sloppily and their tech support is more likely to not assist you in a moment of need.

However, if you're technically proficient, you should try to build your own PC. I'm going to cover that in a later article posted here. But the advantage to that is that your PC's performance is going to be much better due to the missing manufacturer crapware that negatively affects the performance.

Or, there's a third option, for those who want to do a little more work: contact a local PC builder. I'm one in my area; PC builders get parts from wholesalers, meaning that the parts are cheap. They don't install crapware on your PC. And most importantly, they won't overcharge you for a good PC.

What specifications do I need for a sturdy at-home PC?

I would recommend something that's not high in specifications, if you're not going to be using it for very intensive applications (running Internet Explorer or checking your e-mail, and maybe typing up word documents, for example; the occasional online game works as well in this package). Here's a sample build:

Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core, 2.0~2.4ghz.
RAM: DDR2, 1~2gb.
Hard Disk: 80~100gb, any speed.
Graphics Card: go with an onboard card, don't buy a separate adapter.
Sound Card: go with an onboard card, don't buy a separate adapter.
CD/DVD Drive: just get a CD writer/DVD reader. You'll be able to make your own CD's and watch DVD movies on your PC.

How about a PC for business use?

I'd recommend to follow almost the exact specifications as above, but go with Windows Vista Business instead of Home Premium, and maybe to get a hard disk that is slightly larger (120~150gb) so that you can hold more files.

I need a PC that can handle home media. It's not quite a gaming PC.

This would be a good thing for those who use digital media quite a bit. To complete the package, I'd recommend (if you don't already have one) a TV that has a DVI (white; its shape is like a rounded parallelogram) or S-Video (black, round, small) on the back of it so that you can watch movies on your TV that are on your computer.

Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, 1.8~2.4ghz, or for better performance, Intel Core 2 Quad at 2.33ghz.
RAM: 2~4gb, PC6400 (if you don't know what that is, then don't worry).
Hard Disk: 120~200gb (more towards the 200 if you want to store movies on your PC), at a speed of 7200RPM.
Graphics Card: any card that has a DVI port or S-Video port in back so that you can use your PC and TV in conjunction.
Sound Card: you don't necessarily need a separate sound card, but for best sound quality, get a Turtle Beach Riviera (uses the PCI standard port), which can handle surround sound.
CD/DVD Drive: go with a CD writer/DVD reader for writing CD's and reading DVD's on your computer, or get a CD/DVD burner if you want to be able to make your own DVD's.

I need a low-level gaming PC...it doesn't have to handle multiple games at once.

You might need to learn your terms better. Gaming PC's require some special specifications for the equipment used. I can try to define them better, but in reality, you may want to use Wikipedia or a Google search to figure out better what you need.
The term I'll introduce here is latency. Latency is the time between when data is received and when it is written to the memory. Latency configurations usually look like this: X-X-X-XX (where each X is a number). Lower numbers are better when dealing with latency.

Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.66~3.0ghz for standard performance, Intel Core 2 Quad 2.44~2.8ghz for improved performance, or Intel Core 2 Extreme (Dual or Quad) at 2.93ghz.
RAM: 4gb of PC6400 or above at a latency of 5-5-5-18 or better (lower).
Hard Disk: 250~500gb at a speed of 7200 or 10,000 RPM.
Graphics Card: an EVGA GeForce 9500 GT, which supports 512mb of onboard memory (so that your standard RAM isn't touched by the graphics card, for better performance) or better.
Sound Card: anything goes, unless you have a surround sound configuration, in which case I recommend a Turtle Beach Riviera (for good performance, up to 6 channels of sound) or a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE (for best performance; it supports up to 7.1 channels of surround sound, and is actually quite inexpensive). Do not, however, just go with whatever is built into your motherboard.
Multimedia: CD/DVD burner, hands down. Unless you want to watch Blu-Ray movies or play Blu-Ray games on your PC, in which case I'd recommend a Blu-Ray reader (which is very expensive, so watch out).

I'm a gamer that needs it all. I mean, ALL. What are the specs I need?

Despite being a geek, I'm no gamer. Well, maybe on occasionally, but no WoW or any of that. I really wouldn't know. But I can put together a PC with all the best parts. Note that this will be, hands down, EXPENSIVE. So if the regular gaming PC I've specified above cuts it, take that. If not, then read on.

Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate.
Processor: for great performance, a Core 2 Extreme Quad at 3.2ghz or for ultimate performance, a Core i7 or Core i7 Extreme Edition at 2.66~3.2ghz.
RAM: 8gb of DDR3, between PC12800 and PC15000, with latencies close to or lower than 7-7-7-24.
Hard Disk: 1tb (that's a terabyte, or 1,000 gigabytes), at a speed of 10,00RPM.
Graphics Card: actually, you'll want a two-pack of cards for best performance. My recommendation would be the PNY XLR8 GeForce 9800 GTX, which has 1 GB of GDDR3 memory between two cards. It can be found at TigerDirect.
Sound Card: see what I said in the last computer category for sound cards.
Multimedia: CD/DVD burner, Blu-Ray reader.

Final thoughts.

Finding a computer with these exact specs is a hard job. You'll need to call around to a lot of manufacturers and ask each for a custom PC; many of them can't customize to exactly what you need. Especially when we're talking about gaming PC's (unless you call Alienware, but they'll charge you thousands for a PC as good as the last one I describe).

For gamers, you'd more than likely want to build your own computer, both for cheapness and so that you get EXACTLY what you need from a PC. Not to mention that processors in manufactured PC's won't overclock (getting your processor to operate at a higher frequency than the default, which also helps gamers a lot).

In the near future, I'll be writing a guide to building your own PC. It's a lot simpler than you'd expect, actually. But for now, enjoy your new PC. I hope it works the way you want.

Windows Vista has many new features. It even has an updated graphical user interface called Windows Aero. It has live icons, live thumbnails, beautiful wallpapers and screen savers.

Here are some of the new features of Windows Vista :

Transparency Effect : This gives Vista a nice and clean look. Laptop users have however complained that this transparency feature shortens battery life.

Windows Sidebar : This is a transparent panel anchored to the side of the screen. Users can place Desktop Gadgets (small applets which have a specif use -  ex:displaying the temperature. {look at the screen shot above})on this sidebar.

Windows Mail : This is a replacement for Outlook Express that includes a new mail store that improves stability. There are also additional features such as integrated Instant Search. It has the Phishing Filter like IE7 and Junk mail filtering. This is enhanced through regular updates via Windows Update.

Windows Calendar : A  calendar and task application.

Windows Media Player 11 : the latest and best version of Windows Media Player. Has the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines. There is also X box integration and many other new features.

Back Up and Restore Center : Has the ability to back up the entire compute into a hard disk or DVD.

IE 7  : Microsoft's latest browser.

          (For more info in browsers click here...)

Here is a screen shot of a Vista desktop :

Windows Vista comes in four major editions.

Home Basic

A very simple version of Vista. I do not recommend this as it has reported to slow down many systems. This version of Vista is more secure than XP and faster in finding things compared to XP. Also has an easy networking feature.

You may purchase this edition of Vista for around $200.

Home Premium

This is the much better version of Vista for home users. This is preferred by most people as it is the only alternative for Vista Ultimate although this lacks some features. This version has the elegant Vista Aero style. There is also the media-center function. Good choice for laptops.

Easy backing up of data is possible. Networking and movie-making is much better than previous Windows versions.

You may purchase this edition of Vista for around $260.

Business

This version includes a secure Windows, the Aero experience, the ability to share documents, protection against hardware, the ability to scan and fax from your system and to remotely access your business resources. This has been identified as a very good business OS.

You may purchase this edition of Vista for around $300.

Ultimate

Vista Ultimate has it all. This includes a secure Windows, an Aero experience, a media-center functionality, protection against hardware failure, backing-up files, easier network connectivity and the ability to create high-definition movies.

This is also the only version of Vista which has better protection for data loss.

You may purchase this edition of Vista for around $320.

There are more versions of Vista such as Starter and Enterprise. These are not major editions of Windows Vista.

I hope you take into consideration the feature and the price. Use your money wisely.

Good Luck!

Buying a laptop gives you the advantage of mobility but there are many disadvanteges when compared with a desktop. Laptop keys are not that good compared to large key-boards. Laptops are also more expensive. Also be prepared to pay about an extra $300 if you choose a laptop over a desktop. Choose a laptop only if you need good mobility.

               

LCD vs CRT

Buy a 19" CRT better still if you could buy a 17" LCD monitor. Science has proved that LCD screens have many advantages over CRT screens. (for more information on this subject click here.) Don't buy small screened monitors. If it is a laptop the 15" is the minimum.

                 

Operating System

Well there are three options.

Windows, Mac or Linux. Unless you experience them first-hand don't buy Mac or Linux. This gives you Windows. If you are planning to buy a high-end PC then choose Windows Vista Ultimate. If your PC is going to be an average PC then Windows XP is your choice. Make sure your OS is genuine.

Processor

Buy an Intel Core 2 Duo, not too expensive but very good. Better still get a Core 2 Quad. If you are willing to spend a lot then buy an Intel Core 2 Extreme or the latest Intel Core i7.

Drive

Use a DVD writer or a combo drive.

RAM

This one is easy. For XP its 1GB. For Vista 2GB

Buy as much as you can afford. But there is no point is buying more than 2GB.

Graphics

Well if you are a heavy gamer then a GeForce 8500 will let you play most of the games and wont be that expensive. The graphics memory will have to be about 256MB. A GeForce 7300 will work for many games if the prevous option is unavailable.

Hard Disk

This is something that you must buy as much as you can afford. A 160GB will be OK for an average person but if you are a heavy gamer and music addict the a 500GB Hard Disk will do, (not that expencive). You may buy up to 1TB.

Others

Don't buy fancy key-boards. Make sure your PC has a network card and a sound card. 1 year warranty is enough and don't wait for discounts to come. Include a Fire wire port in your PC if possible. Have a pair of USB ports in the front.

Well use your money wisely. If you have a question please leave a comment.

Good Luck!

Though both the PCs and the Macs retain the feature of running an operating system, the operating systems that can be installed on each computer vary. An operating system is a collection of software that runs the computer while it is on. Nearly any operating system can be installed on a PC, including Windows and Linux. The only operating system that cannot be legally installed on a PC is the Mac OS. The Mac OS comes in several versions, and a new version is released nearly every year. Most PCs include an operating system pre-installed. Macs come pre-installed with Mac OS X, a series of Mac OS operating systems that have been used since September 13, 2000. The current Mac OS X version is Mac OS X 10.5.4 Leopard, and a future version of Mac OS X is planned for release sometime during the summer of 2009. Through the assistance of Boot Camp, a program that has been included with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and will be included in future versions, users are allowed to install different operating systems onto their Mac through the creation of partitions on their hard drive. Just as an operating system is a form of software, security programs are also a vital form of software for a computer.

Security is another issue between the PCs and the Macs. Both PCs and Macs have the ability to log onto the internet, and when they have fully accessed the internet, they can be easily bombarded by viruses, spyware, and adware; which are all harmful to a computer, whether it is a PC or a Mac. PCs never come with security software, and the Windows operating systems do not include security. Macs, however, have built in, high-level security that is built into Mac OS X because the operating system is coded in Unix, a form of coding language. Along with software differences, PCs and Macs have differences in hardware.

Hardware-wise, Macs and PCs are very different. The most noticeable design feature on the Mac is a glowing Apple logo. Macs usually have a glowing Apple logo on the lid of notebooks or the side of desktops. The design of a PC varies by the company that developed it. Ever since Apple has started using the PowerPC G4 Processor platform, they have started to use more environmentally-friendly materials in their Macs, such as aluminum and glass. Most Macs these days are made of aluminum, and have a glass monitor. For one to upgrade the hardware of a PC or a Mac is not uncommon. Hardware upgrades allow computers to run faster and more efficiently. Most upgrades on a laptop are for RAM, yet on the Apple MacBook, upgrading the hard drive, normally a difficult feat on a PC, is easy. Apple's professional desktop, the Mac Pro, contains no visible internal wires, and there are very few situations where a screw driver is required for an upgrade. Though the PC and Mac are very similar and different in scores of ways, they have made a great impact on the world today.

Computers have been the scaffolds for world-changing innovations since their creation, and they impact the world greatly. I could never imagine the world without computers, and the introduction of PCs and Macs has only opened a door of opportunity for the world, and although they are very different, they have created the path for more advanced technology, and will send mankind further into the future.

First and foremost, BACK UP ANYTHING YOU WISH TO SAVE!

This is a crucial step that many people forget about, yet it is absolutely vital if you have any files of value. There are a few options you have when backing up your data, and I'll go over a couple of them here. If you have a CD or DVD burner, you can burn your files to disc, if you have an external hard drive, you can just move your files on to it, if you're on a network, you can copy your data to another machine in your workgroup, or you could also use free online storage space (I personally recommend ADrive.com since you get a reasonable 50 gigs for free).

Some things I would suggest backing up would be your music, movies, pictures, word documents, saved passwords, your installers (you have been saving them, right?), save games, and configuration files are all good things to save. ***If you are formatting a Windows XP computer, you should back up your drivers as well, just to save you the hassle of finding them later. To do so, run a quick Google search for free driver backup program+win xp***

Once you've backed all your files up by whatever method you choose, you'll be ready to proceed with the installation. Pop the installer CD in your drive and reboot your machine. As it is booting up, you'll see a message telling you to press any key to boot from CD, go ahead and push anything, but do so quickly since it will only display the message for a few seconds. **Please note that if you do not see this message, you may have to access your BIOS setup and set your boot order to have the CD/DVD drive on the top position.**

After a couple moments a prompt will appear on the screen asking you to pick a location to install to. It looks something like this:

Go ahead and pick the location you want to install to, if there is only one option, that'll be the one you want. Once you have selected where you want to install XP, you're going to need to pick which filesystem to use.

Odds on, you want to pick NTFS instead of FAT, in this day and age, there is a very low chance you actually need a FAT partition. You can pick a quick format or a regular format, it depends mostly on how thorough you feel like being. A standard format will take longer, but you will be guaranteed a nice clean, speedy filesystem, but if you already have the same system in place (i.e. Picking NTFS partition to be overwritten is NTFS as well) you could just do a quick format since the basic filesystem structure is already there. Once you pick your location, if you need to delete the partition and re-create a new one, the installer will ask for confirmation, just in case.

Once the format is all done, it starts copying all the required files for installation onto your freshly created partition. Well that is going on, you might as well go make a sandwich or something, it takes a little bit depending on the speed of your disc drive.

After it finishes copying, it will automatically restart itself and load into the next stage of the wizard. It will take a bit of time as it installs most of the files you need to run Windows XP, but after a few minutes, it will ask for your Windows serial code. I'm not sure where you put it, but a good place to check would be the box or envelope your CD was in.

Once you've entered in your product key so setup can continue with the install, you're almost done. All that is left now is the final configuration of your OS. As it proceeds through the next few pages of the setup, you'll be customizing your computer to meet your own settings and preferences.

Conratulations, you've now finished installing Windows XP on your computer, and it took less then an hour to finish. Bet you can hardly wait to start using your nice, squeaky clean install. Have fun and as always, drop a comment if you need a hand, I'll be more then happy to help you out.

Example:

We can compare the operating system with our soul. All of us have soul. Without the soul we all are dead like that operating system is the soul for the computer hardware. Our soul does a lot of internal functions but we are unaware of it. Likewise OS does a lot of internal functions in the computer hardware.

Functions of Operating System:

Like mentioned above Operating System does a lot of functions (internally) to maintain the computer systems stability. We can able to classify the functions into 4 categories.

1. Memory Management
2. Process Management
3. Device Management
4. File Management

(1) Memory Management:

Memory is one of the important parts as far as the computer is concerned. It is a temporary storage. The contents of the memory will be available as long as the power is switched on. When the power goes off the memory looses the contents available in it. Some people have the doubts regarding the difference between memory and storage. Memory is temporary whereas the storage is permanent. Storage retains its contents even though the power is switched off. OS performs the memory management by adopting various memory management algorithms. Its main objective is to manage multiple programs in the memory during their execution.

Example:

In the real time, black board can be regarded as a main memory. We can use chalk or marker to write contents in the black board. Once we are done, it can be erased and cleaned up, like the memory.

Paper can be regarded as storage. If we use ball point pen to write in the paper then the contents written in the paper remains for a long while. It is one of the real time examples for the storage.

(2) Process Management:

The central processing unit is the most important part of the computer. It is like a traffic controller. The control of the whole system is done with the help of CPU. The major function of the operating system is to maintain and manage central processing unit. OS uses various algorithms like LRU, FIFO to manage processes.

Example:

We can take traffic controller standing in a traffic signal as a good example for Process Management. The job of the traffic controller is to process all the traffic without any traffic jam or accident. Likewise the job of the process management is to process all the processes without any collision or deadlock.

(3) Device Management:

Device Management deals with Hard Disk which is the main storage as far as computer systems are concerned. In this the operating system plays a vital role in storing, manipulating, retrieving data from the Hard Disk. All these are attained by Operating System by using various Disk Scheduling Algorithms.

Example:

We can take store keeper in any normal stores as an example for Device Management. The job of the store keeper is to store the things which are given to him, whenever needed he picks up the things from where he kept and delivers to the customer. Likewise Device Management stores the data to the hard disk, and retrieves them as and when needed.

(4) File Management:

File Management deals with creating, manipulating, editing, modifying, deleting of files. Almost everybody who uses the computers for their work uses files. So it becomes one of the vital functions for Operating System to carry out these functions in an efficient and effective manner. The File Management does it effectively.

Example:

Take Clark or any Executives as example, their primary work will be to create and manipulate important files, Submit them to the high authorities as and when required. Likewise File Management manages files and returns to the user as and when needed. It uses several algorithms for storing and retrieving files from the storage.

All the functions which are mentioned above are core functions of an operating system, except these OS does many more functions. In a single word we can describe an Operating System as a “Supervisor” which supervises all the activities which occurs in any computer systems. Now a days Operating Systems are used in Robots, Cell Phones and many other areas. It delivers optimum service wherever it is used.

R. Rajesh

Microsoft has recently released a new version of Windows, Vista, (released on January 30, 2007) that has been making people rethink whether they should stay with the Windows operating system. Although there are many pros and cons to Vista, there seems to be more pros than cons this time around. The first con is, the operating system itself takes up a large amount RAM, which means that programs won't be able run as quickly or efficiently. The second con is, Vista crashes a lot and there are incredibly slow loading times, especially during the startup. One pro, is that there is a completely new interface that is more attractive and easier to use. Although this is clearly a just an aesthetic change, it is number one on the list because it is always great to have something prettier to look at. The second pro is… well there really isn't one. There aren't very many pros to Vista and the cons far out weigh the pros.

Apple may be most famous for there iPod and most recently the iPhone, but what most people don't realize is that they have an awesome computer line as well. The current Apple operating system OS X, has many good things and many bad, but it may be just what you are looking for. First, there is the entertainment aspect of computing. If you have a large amount of videos, music, or any other media, OS X makes it very easy to organize it and use in the way that you want. Then you can play them all in iTunes very easily. Second, there is the lack of third-party software. Although there are very good applications made by Apple, not as many companies are programing for Apple. Since Microsoft has been more widely accepted by the work and home community, more programs are available for the Windows operating system. More developers are slowly making software cross-platform for both Mac and PC. Finally, there is that fact that there are absolutely no viruses in OS X. I am not sure how Apple has been able to keep viruses out of there systems, but there is no way at all to get a virus. Unless you use Boot Camp to install Windows on your system, then it is possible. (but why would you want to do that?)

Windows may have been on top for a while, but as time goes on it seems that Apple has begun to move its way up. Apple has a great way of arranging your various media and there are no viruses. Yet, all the Microsoft has is a new GUI. Microsoft may still be better in the workplace, as it has always been, but as a home entertainment system, many people should consider switching.

Step 1: Partitioning Purposes

Most of the desktops or laptops are available in preinstalled partitions as in Windows, Linux, and other operating systems. However, the partition is almost always fixed as one huge Drive C, or two partitions of Drive C and D which will take up most of the hard disk spaces.

Before beginning to partition your PC into several portions that you desire, make sure that you know how many partitions you need, how much space to allocate for each of them and what you want to use for the partitions.

You may want to separate the operating system files from other files such as MP3 folders, data files, Internet Downloads, image folders, audio files, or game folders. Or you may want to have multiple copies of the same operating system, or you just want to create a multi-boot system with different operating systems.

For your information, you can create up to four primary partitions in each hard disk. If you use an extended partition combined with logical partitions, you can create as many as 16 partitions. Nevertheless, in most cases, two or three partitions are just more than enough for most computer Geeks.

Step 2: Preparing for the Partition

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Prior to partitioning, let's do a bit “stock clearing” to make things easier. Firstly, you should use the Scandisk tool to scan the partition (say Drive C or Drive D or both drives) in your PC for errors. To do this, click Start, Run and then press the Enter button. In the Open box, type sfc/scannow and click OK.

Secondly, you should ensure that there is enough free space in your PC. To achieve this goal, you can start by eliminating or archiving all unnecessary or unwanted files by uninstalling them.

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Next, run the Disk Cleanup tool to free up more spaces. To do this, click Start, Run and press the Enter button. Now, type cleanmgr in the Open box and click OK. To clear up all junk files, you should delete items in Download Program Files, Recycle Bin, and any other items which are labeled as “temporary.”

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After the third step, now proceed to run Disk Defragmenter so that you can consolidate the partition's free space. Click Start, Run and press Enter. In the Open box, type dfrg.msc and click OK.

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Take note that if you're in Windows, you should alert with the size and volume label of the partition that you will plan to shrink. Click Start and My Computer to obtain this info.

Step 3: Backup your Existing Partition

At this step, you should know that the idea of using partition software such as Parted Magic is to avoid you from the hassle of deleting your existing partitions or formatting the hard disk. However, you should take notice that either shrinking partitions or partitioning a disk will involve a degree of a risk. Therefore, you are recommended to backup your important data or files prior to the partition. To know more about how to do step-by-step backup procedures for both Window XP and Vista, you can surf to this website here.

Step 4: Downloading and Creating Disc

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For you partition purpose, download Parted Magic software, which is the live CD ISO File, which is a bootable Linux-based image. You can download this software here. Look for its filename which is pmagic-2.2 iso and its file size is roughly 45MB. After you have downloaded the file, remember to locate this file in a separate folder, say, “c:\pmagic”.

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After downloading the iso file for Parted Magic, you must convert your newly acquired iso file to a bootable CD. You can create the bootable CD either using your existing CD burning software, or a freeware such as ImgBurn. Next, click Write image file to disk as shown above. Once this is completed, the CD should be removed to the bootable optical drive on your PC. You can download ImgBurn here.

Step 5: Disconnecting your Unnecessary Drives

Before carrying out this step, make sure you shut down your computer and disconnect all unnecessary devices and storage drives. These may include USB flash drives, external hard disks, card readers and extra hard disks. This step is essential to be taken in order to accelerate Parted Magic's boot time and its device detection process. Removing unnecessary drives are vital to prevent you from accidentally changing partitions on the wrong hard disks or drives.

Step 6: Booting Parted Magic CD

Photo credit: Kenny

Now, you should insert the Parted Magic bootable CD that you created in step 4 into your optical drive, and configure your system to boot from this drive. Just before the Windows starts, remember to hit the key sequence or the special key to access BIOS settings (you'll always be prompted on screen). Under Boot option, you should select optical drive or CD drive, and then exit BIOS.

Next, you'll see the Parted Magic Boot Options Menu at the beginning of the boot procedure. You should now select the Default setting (Runs from RAM/ Ejects CD) unless you've a system with less than 256MB of RAM. After you made your selection, the OS will copy itself into your system memory and boot into the front end interface. After some point, the CD tray will eject (that means you can put it away because it is no longer needed for the rest of the process) and is now fully operating from RAM.

Step 7: Launching GParted (Parted Magic)

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After completing the boot process, you should see the Parted Magic as shown above. Next, you should launch GParted by clicking on its icon, the one which looks like a hard disk (the first icon from its list of detected device). Then, you've to wait for a while as there'll be a little delay. This is because GParted scans for available devices before it is ready to use.

Step 8: Selecting your Task

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From the main window of GParted, select the targeted drive. Automatically, GParted will select the first storage device it detects. From the toolbar, use the drop-down list to choose the correct drive, if the drive is other than the default selection. After selecting the drive, a graphical view of its partition scheme will be displayed in the main window. Now, you can choose the partition that you want to shrink. This is the largest NTFS partition which is usually called /dev/hda1. Make sure its label and size matches the partition info from step 2.

Step 9: Resizing the Partition

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From GParted's toolbar, click the Resize/Move button, and the “Resize/Move/dev/” dialog box will open. The color-coded indicator guides you to shrink the partition. The yellow block marks the amount of data used on the partition. You're advisable to leave enough space to the right of this mark while choosing to resize the partition. In this example, we'll resize the NTFS partition from 38.1GMB to 20.5GB.

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Click the Resize/Move button at the bottom right, and you'll return to GParted main window. Notice that the graphical view of the disk has changed, and previously-grayed-out options on the toolbar are now enabled.

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The status bar in the window's lower-left corner will also report a “Operation Pending” message. To complete the operation, that is to resize the NTFS partition, choose the Apply button in GParted's toolbar. Before any actual operations take place, a window will pop up asking you to back up your data. You can click Cancel, or click Apply to continue.

Step 10: Creating New Partition

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The unallocated drive space is now available for partitioning after shrinking the main partition. Click on the unallocated remaining on the drive, and click on the New button to bring up the “Create New Partition” dialog box.

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In the new dialog box, choose Primary partition instead of extended partition in the Create as: section. You can also key in a volume label in the Label: section. The new partition will take up all remaining space on the hard disk by default, so you should resize it if you plan to add another partition. Click Add to complete this step and to return to GParted's main window.

Step 11: Exit Parted Magic

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Your new window is now updated with the new partition. At this point, you can exit Parted Magic and reboot into windows by clicking on the exit button at the bottom right corner.

Step 12: Rebooting into Windows

When you're in the boot process, Windows will warn about disk problems and run Chkdsk. Do not be panicked; instead, you just allow it to complete the tests and verify the partition. When completing the loading, Windows will detect the new partition and report “new hardware found.” Next, it will prompt you to reboot the system. After the reboot process, the new partition will appear in the list of storage devices in My Computer, in which it'll be assigned a new drive letter, typically E: or D:. Now, you've successfully partitioned your hard disk. And you can now use it just like any other hard disk.

I hope you find these tips interesting and useful! I would appreciate any feedback you may have.