How To Expand the Boot Partition During a Windows Server 2003 Upgrade (325857)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Datacenter Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
This article was previously published under Q325857
For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 289876.

IN THIS TASK

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to expand the existing operating system partition during an upgrade to Windows Server 2003. The revised partition can use only the free space that is adjacent to the partition that is being expanded. The partition must use the NTFS file system or be converted to NTFS.

IMPORTANT: Microsoft recommends that you create a full backup of your whole computer, and then make sure the backup works correctly before you upgrade to Windows Server 2003.

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Expand the Operating System Partition

To expand the operating system partition:

Modify the Unattend.txt File

  1. Save the drive:\I386\Unattend.txt file to your local hard disk, where drive is the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM.
  2. Use a text editor such as Notepad to open the Unattend.txt file you saved to your local hard disk.
  3. In the Unattend.txt file, locate the [Unattended] section of the file, and then add the following text to this section:

    ExtendOempartition=1
    Filesystem=convertntfs
    Ntupgrade=yes

    Make no other changes to the Unattend.txt file.
  4. On the File menu, click Save, and then quit Notepad.

Start Windows Server 2003 Setup with the Modified Unattend.txt File

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type CD-ROMDrive:\i386\winnt32.exe /unattend:HardDisk:\unattend.txt, where CD-ROMDrive is the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM and HardDisk is the hard disk that contains the modified Unattend.txt file.
  3. Press ENTER.
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Troubleshooting

Consider the following items before you extend the partition:
  • You must first convert the partition to be expanded to NTFS. The conversion and the partition expansion can both occur during the upgrade process.
  • If the boot partition is configured to use disk mirroring, it cannot be expanded. You must break the mirror before you use the In-place Upgrade option.
  • The disk to be expanded must be a basic disk, it cannot be a dynamic disk.
  • The partition expansion cannot use the free space that is separated from the boot partition by another partition. This space includes the free space that resides in an extended partition that is adjacent to the boot partition.
  • The upgrade process requires 650 megabytes (MB) of free space on the boot partition for temporary files. Because the boot partition is extended after the file copy is completed, this method cannot bypass the free space limitation that is required for the upgrade process to start.
  • The ExtendOemPartition option only expands the boot partition. No other partition can be expanded by using this entry.
  • The size you type for the ExtendOemPartition option must be in megabytes. If the current size of the partition and the ExtendOemPartition total value is greater than the available space, the partition is not extended.
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Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/15/2004
Keywords:kbMgmtServices kbStorageDev kbHOWTOmaster kbsetup kbUpgrade w2000upgrade KB325857 kbAudITPro
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