How to recombine partitions ? Also how to secure it ?

[RakaKaKaka]

Is it better to have 2 partitions in a removable drive or 1 for reliability ? I salvaged a hard disk from a laptop i once had and put it in a portable hard drive convertor case. Also it has 4 partitions right now so how to combine them all in 1 or 2 partitions. Will i need to transfer data somewhere before doing it ?

I also need it to be protected /encrypted with a password. That is when ssomeone plugs in the hard disk he will need to do a security check to access the data. how to do this ?

 

[NotMyRealName]

I don't think there would be any specific benefit to multiple partitions on a removable drive from a data integrity POV. Other please chip in with your opinions.

I'm also interested in the 2nd part, afaik, you can't protect a standard removable drive without the manufacturer having added the features in hardware.

 

[vishalrao]

Not sure if this is overkill and even whether it works for removable disks, but see https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html

 

[6pack]

Will i need to transfer data somewhere before doing it ?

yes, if you want it back 100%. I think the only safe and fastest way is to copy off all the important data first to another disk, then delete all volumes from the entire disk or just format it into one big volume.

encryption - no idea.

 

[seshu]

check easeus partition manager

I used it a couple of times to merge partitions without data loss
not noticed any critical problems after merging the partitions

 

[RakaKaKaka]

check easeus partition manager

I used it a couple of times to merge partitions without data loss
not noticed any critical problems after merging the partitions

Can you share the link in private ?[DOUBLEPOST=1544896328][/DOUBLEPOST]

check easeus partition manager

I used it a couple of times to merge partitions without data loss
not noticed any critical problems after merging the partitions

2 drives got merged but i still have 2 drives left now. i want just 1

 

[vishalrao]

2 drives got merged but i still have 2 drives left now. i want just 1

try moving the data from the full partitions to the last nearly-empty one, these partition merging programs need some free space on partitions to merge i guess.

 

[RakaKaKaka]

try moving the data from the full partitions to the last nearly-empty one, these partition merging programs need some free space on partitions to merge i guess.

no this method dint work. now both drives are empty but still cant merge the. anybody who can help ??

 

[nRiTeCh]

Yes. You can't merge drives if they are located Faraway from each other.


In your case between F and I drive there are 2 raw partitions.
So start by partitioning these drives one by one and merge it with F until you are only left with F and I and finally merge them so you get one single drive or partition.

 

[Futureized]

If data is crucial why play with same, transfer data first and do all the rest later..
No software can guarantee proper working unless you purchase same..
(even purchased OS fails )
Suggestion..

 

[nRiTeCh]

Yes. You can't merge drives if they are located Faraway from each other.


In your case between F and I drive there are 2 raw partitions.
So start by partitioning these drives one by one and merge it with F until you are only left with F and I and finally merge them so you get one single drive or partition.

This.

 

[RakaKaKaka]

Yes. You can't merge drives if they are located Faraway from each other.


In your case between F and I drive there are 2 raw partitions.
So start by partitioning these drives one by one and merge it with F until you are only left with F and I and finally merge them so you get one single drive or partition.

okay i will try it. Veracrypt also i downloaded but looks too confusing without reading help, any simpler method to password protect the drive ?

 

[nRiTeCh]

EaseUS is best. Using it since 10 years and never has it disappointed me.
Did all types of mergers, extend, shrinks, partition recovery etc.

 

[Futureized]

EaseUS is best. Using it since 10 years and never has it disappointed me.
Did all types of mergers, extend, shrinks, partition recovery etc.

Agree used/tried same, never got wrong results.. But data is more important, why risk it. unless you are going to purchase..

 

[booo]

My suggestion would be copy all the data to other place and then delete all the partitions and create a new one. that would be the easiest solution. most of the partitioning softwares do really stupid stuff with partition table. regarding the encryption; It will make the disk slow. I dont think there are any reliable softwares out there. try using bitlocker if you want to create ntfs partitions.

 

[RakaKaKaka]

My suggestion would be copy all the data to other place and then delete all the partitions and create a new one. that would be the easiest solution. most of the partitioning softwares do really stupid stuff with partition table. regarding the encryption; It will make the disk slow. I dont think there are any reliable softwares out there. try using bitlocker if you want to create ntfs partitions.

Yeah i have removed all data from drive. I have windows 8.1 so cnt use bitlocker