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Understanding Dell's Choice of Partitions
Just received a new XPS 8700. I was told the computer came with a 3TB hard drive plus a 256GB SSD.
Taking a look under Windows 8.1's Disk Management, I see the following:
Disk 0
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[D:] 2794.39GB - Primary
Disk 1
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[ ] 500MB - EFI System Partition
[ ] 40MB - OEM Partition
[ ] 490MB - Recovery Partition
[ ] 8.4MB - Recovery Partition
[C:] 229.30GB - Boot, Primary
I'm kind of confused about a few things.
1) I assume Disk 0 is the 3TB hard drive and Disk 1 is the 256GB SSD. Why is 2794.39GB and 238.35GB so much less than 3TB and 256GB?
2) I can understand wanting to boot from an SSD. But why does the SSD also include all my Windows application and library folders, as well as 5 separate partitions? I guess I can move my libraries to drive D:, but why wasn't it set up that way and does that really leave plenty of room for all my applications?
3) Why so many partitions? This computer didn't come with a word of documentation. What are they for?
4) And how to I access these partitions if I want to see what is on them?
I'm pretty sure I want to move *at* *least* my Windows library folders to D:. But I would also like to see a bit more room left on C:. If I can delete some of these partitions, I could expand C:
Thanks for any tips.
theflash1932
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March 4th, 2014 16:00
Disk 0 THIS IS YOUR 3TB HDD FOR DATA
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[D:] 2794.39GB - Primary THIS IS YOUR PRIMARY DATA PARTITION, ENCOMPASSING YOUR ENTIRE DATA DRIVE
Disk 1 THIS IS YOUR 256GB SSD FOR OS/PROGRAMS
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[ ] 500MB - EFI System Partition THIS PARTITION IS REQUIRED FOR WINDOWS TO BOOT TO GPT ON UEFI
[ ] 40MB - OEM Partition THIS IS THE DIAGNOSTICS PARTITION FOR RUNNING PRE-BOOT DIAGNOSTICS
[ ] 490MB - Recovery Partition THIS IS THE BOOT PARTITION ALLOWING YOU TO BOOT TO THE FACTORY RESTORE
[ ] 8.4MB - Recovery Partition THIS IS PROBABLY IN GB NOT MB AND IS YOUR ACTUAL FACTORY RECOVERY IMAGE
[C:] 229.30GB - Boot, Primary THIS IS YOUR ACTUAL OS PARTITION
I would also recommend leaving them alone, UNLESS you plan to do a clean install and plan never to need the recovery partition. Windows will still create UEFI and recovery partitions during a clean install. These do not have drive letters because you don't have any business accessing them directly. You could delete the 9GB recovery partition to gain the most space after a clean install (or using a partition editor to move C: to the left - Windows CANNOT expand to the left).
Disk space:
http://www.ussscctv.com/harddrivesizecapacitiescalculator.aspx
You want everything on your SSD that you want to run/access fast. Applications, as well as Windows files should be installed on the SSD whenever possible - that is why you get an SSD. Data files/folders don't need to go on an SSD, but having them there doesn't hurt anything - they will be accessed at SSD speeds, but the files are typically small enough and accessed few enough at at time that putting them on an HDD will have little effect on their access speed. Windows does not reorganize the folder structure, and neither does the OEM - they may be moved at the user's discretion.
You also cannot move Libraries ... their location is fixed on the C: drive, but they are only pointers to other data locations. If you want to move the folders that the Libraries point to, then open your documents folders in Windows Explorer, right-click Pictures, Documents, etc., Properties, Location, and change it to be found on your HDD. This location will still show up in your Libraries.
osprey4
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March 4th, 2014 10:00
Hi ALSDKFJALSKDJF,
You can google why hard drive room is always less than claimed. That is the standard setup for Windows 8, and quite frankly, I would leave it just as it is. I've seen a few cases where people tried changing partition size and rendered their OS recovery inoperable. Of course, you can install applications onto the D drive and keep all of your data files there, but I would recommend you leave the SSD alone.
alsdkfjalskdjf
15 Posts
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March 4th, 2014 13:00
Thanks for responding but I'm not quite satisfied with the suggestion to just leave it alone.
I've got a bunch of partitions that I don't know what they are for or how to access them, and they're taking up a sizable portion of a drive with very limited space.
As it stands, with the lack of documentation and the fact that these partitions are not tied to drive letters, I would have no idea how to recover anything from those partitions even if I wanted to. So it really seems like a change is needed here. Too bad Dell doesn't tell me what all these partitions are for or how to access them.
alsdkfjalskdjf
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March 4th, 2014 17:00
Thank you for the detailed response. You are correct that the 8.4 should have been GB.
There are a few things that make me uncomfortable about this. While I'm not a hardware expert, I am a software developer, and I think I should at least be able to look at the data I've purchased and own.
I have no idea what "boot to GPT on UEFI" means. But I do know how to use Google :emotion-1: so I guess, with your help, I'll do a bit of research.
theflash1932
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March 4th, 2014 18:00
UEFI is a replacement for the old BIOS ... it enables many features long-overdue at the hardware level. UEFI is required for pre-installed Windows 8.x, as it supports Secure Boot. In order for Windows to use a disk larger than 2TB, it must be converted to GPT, and UEFI is required in order for Windows to boot to a GPT disk. You have a small enough boot disk that GPT is not necessarily required, but you will find the practice of converting all disks to GPT when UEFI is enabled widespread among all OEMs. UEFI requires a special UEFI partition in order to store management data about the disk and partitions.
"While I'm not a hardware expert, I am a software developer, and I think I should at least be able to look at the data I've purchased and own."
You are free to try ... typically things like the diagnostics partition are written in a format that cannot be viewed from Windows, often intentionally, for which you would likely need a utility like a disk editor to see/read the contents. I'm a developer too (with a sweeping background in hardware, servers, network/systems management, and track and field), but that doesn't give me any particular desire to open hidden maintenance partitions (I have also heard that the actual Dell factory recovery partition is now encrypted, so good luck with that). If you are going to mess around with stuff, I would suggest you order an installation disk from Dell ... if you damage the recovery partition during your experiments, the recovery partition will not work to restore your OS, and you will need to do a clean installation of Windows from an installation DVD.
As a developer, I'm also sure you know the difference between purchasing and licensing :)
PJNewman
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January 11th, 2015 19:00
Similar question but potentially different issue. I just bought the Dell XPS 8700 with 3TB hard drive and 256GB SSD
However, in Disk Management, my Disk 0 is showing as 238.GB and all my other Disks (1-4) say 'No Media". I am having trouble understanding where my 3TB hard drive is located. Dell tech support just said to "trust them" that it's there...but I don't believe it since I can't see it anywhere. I'm beginning to think it wasn't installed. Am I looking in the wrong location?
theflash1932
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January 12th, 2015 09:00
Can you post a screenshot of Disk Management and of [My] Computer?
Do you see ~3TB under [My] Computer? It should show under your list of disks for the system.
PJNewman
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January 13th, 2015 18:00
Issue resolved. I finally opened the cover to look in the tower and found that the hard drive was not fully connected. Only the power connection was plugged into the hard drive and not the data connection. Once I plugged in the data connection and restarted the machine...I now see the 3TB in Disk Management. Very frustrated at the Dell support team that I talked to over the phone.
Donald357
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February 18th, 2015 10:00
GREAT EXPLANATION theflash1932 ! ! !
Follow-Up Question if you do not mind.
I have that exact same system, but my Recovery Partitions are 750 MB & 10.93 GB
Probably a STUPID Question - but why are my Recovery Partitions larger than the OP's?
Also, why do those 4 Partitions show that 100% of the space of each Partition is "Free"?
theflash1932
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February 19th, 2015 08:00
The format/contents of the partitions are hidden from the OS.
The size of the partitions can vary depending on what is preinstalled - OS version (Starter vs. Ultimate), preinstalled apps (Photoshop, AutoCAD, etc.).