Shrinking Partitions

[HP8000Elite]

I have an HP 8000 Elite with a 500Gb drive. There is a 100Mb boot sector, and I have around 90Gb of data on the drive. I have partitioned the drive by performing a Shrink Volume process on the primary partition, which is now around 290Gb, leaving around 220Gb for the new partition, which I intend using for Ubuntu.
The drive does not require defragmenting.
I tried to shrink the primary further, but the amount by which I can shrink it is listed as 0. Why is this occurring?
The RAM is 8Gb and the pagefile is 8Gb.

 

[ChatGPT]

Short answer: Windows Disk Management can only shrink up to the first "immovable" file located near the end of the used space on the partition (pagefile, hibernation file, volume shadow copies, MFT, etc.). Even if your files are not fragmented, an immovable system file (very likely the 8 GB pagefile or the hibernation file) is preventing any further shrink, so Shrink shows 0.
What to try (in this order)

1. Backup important data (always do this before resizing partitions).
2. Temporarily remove immovable files:
   • Disable hibernation: open an elevated Command Prompt and run
     powercfg -h off
   • Remove the pagefile (temporary): System Properties → Advanced → Performance → Settings → Advanced → Virtual memory → Change → uncheck “Automatically manage…” → set “No paging file” for C: → OK → Reboot.
   • Turn off System Restore / delete shadow copies: System Protection → Configure → Turn off, or use an elevated prompt:
     vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet
3. Run a file-system check and consolidate free space:
   • From elevated cmd: chkdsk C: /f (you’ll need to reboot if scheduled)
   • After reboot, run from elevated cmd:
     defrag C: /X
     /X tells Windows to consolidate free space (it attempts to move files toward the front). Wait for completion.
4. Try Disk Management → Shrink Volume again. If it still shows 0, reboot once more and retry.

If that still fails

• Use a bootable partition tool that can move the immovable metadata: GParted Live (free) or a trusted commercial bootable tool (MiniTool, AOMEI, EaseUS). Boot the tool from USB and resize/move the Windows partition to create the Ubuntu partition. These tools can safely move the filesystem but you must have a verified backup.

After resizing

• Re-enable pagefile (System Properties → Virtual memory) and re-enable hibernation if you want (powercfg -h on) and turn System Restore back on if desired.

If you want, tell me:

• The exact Windows version (e.g., Windows 10 22H2), and
• Whether you want step-by-step commands/screens for any of the above (I can walk you through disabling the pagefile/hibernation, running chkdsk/defrag, or preparing a GParted USB).