problem combining partitions

[Alex_L]

on my thinkpad laptop i've got the hard drive has ended up split into three partitions:

1. 65gig ntfs with windows on
2. fat32 recovery partition that came preinstalled
3. 5gig ntfs partition i accidently created (no files on it)

the problem is i want to move the 5 gig partition before the fat32 one, and then combine it with the ntfs windows one, but the old version of partition magic I have won't let me (version 8 i think), or at least i can't work out how to do it.

Is there anyway to recombine the 2 ntfs partitions beyond doing a factory restore using the built in recovery software.

 

[smids]

Isn't the recovery partition at the beginning of the drive? Is it FAT32 partitioned? - I'm not so sure it is because FDISK couldn't see it when I wanted to access it to completely format my T41 and then recover using the CD's.

I don't think you'd have much luck with the recombining - it is quite risky, especially if you don't have the recovery CD's and rely on the backup partition. I managed to get my recovery CD's free from IBM after complaining that my thinkpad only has a DVD-ROM drive and therefore I couldn't create my own (I'm still in warranty). I mean if partition magic screws up, you'll be left with a non-starter of a laptop.