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15736
C drive full...
I'm really a noob when it comes to this stuff, but I've been doing a lot of research trying to figure out what to do about this problem, anyways bear with me here...
I bought a Dell Inspiron 1750 used about 2 months ago, and shortly after I started using it, I started getting low disk space warnings. As it turns out, whoever formatted the HD and wiped it clean and sold it to me only gave the C drive 14.5gb of space, and my Windows 7 Home Premium takes up 13.8gb. So it makes sense to reformat again and change the partition so that I have 30+gb on C, right?? Well, the computer didn't come with any Windows 7 installation disks, AND it seems that I can't use the "Dell Factory Image Restore" option that I read about elsewhere, I don't see that option when I hit F8 during startup like people said I should. So, what are my options here? I only have about 20mb left and I have NOTHING on the C drive except for Windows7, and I've been running a disk cleanup about twice a day to fend off problems. Are there any legitimate ways to add space to the C partition without having to reinstall Windows 7? Thanks in advance.
dgkpcon
3.6K Posts
1
March 2nd, 2011 08:00
It sounds like the previous owner used the other 464GB on the (E:) drive instead of the other way around.The E drive should have 14 GB and the OS gets installed on the C drive.As previously stated,back up the files you want to keep (pictures,music,etc..) then do a clean install of the OS assuming you can get the OS disk to do it.You can also get a full windows 7 retail disk (i got a windows 7 Ultimate full retail unopened for $48.00 a week ago) from ebay for $45.00-$75.00.
nckhammond
56 Posts
0
March 1st, 2011 20:00
seems like the 1750 should have come with a much larger hard drive. How many partitions does it have? (press Windows key + e). Under computer how many local driver are there? C ... D ... E...
If windows was installed in a small partition i can walk you thru how to decrease the size of other partitions and increasing the C drive one.
If the drive was replaced with a small hard drive.. not much you can do other then ether install windows XP, or buy a new hard drive.
What OS did that laptop orginally come with? THere is usually a sticker on the bottom.
grandtheftlunch
5 Posts
0
March 2nd, 2011 06:00
It's got the factory 500gb hard drive. It's just the C drive that's full. The D drive is almost empty. However, upon trying to create recovery disks last night (and failing, for some reason it couldn't use the blank DVDs I bought), I got frustrated and went to bed. Woke up this morning and turned the computer on, and now it goes straight to the system repair screen and tells me I need the Windows installation disk. Not sure why this happened, but apparently I wasn't meant to work with computers. As far as I know, the computer came with Windows 7 Home Premuim 64-bit.
Enceladus
297 Posts
0
March 2nd, 2011 08:00
Before you do anything I suggest you remove the hard drive and connect it to a known working computer. Back it up. Get any files you want off of it.
The version of windows the system is licensed for is on a sticker on the base of the unit. Assuming it is licensed for Windows 7 Home Premium then you need such a Dell disc, if the on-board restore to factory is not working. Borrow one from somebody else with a Dell laptop and the same version of Windows.
Maybe somebody over-wrote the factory hidden partition and installed Windows into that.
grandtheftlunch
5 Posts
0
March 2nd, 2011 09:00
I think that's exactly what happened. When I open my computer, The D drive would show up as "OS". The E drive is named "System Reserved", I'm assuming that's the recovery partition? Either way I'm not too worried about backing up files, I just bought the computer and as of now there really isn't anything important on it except for Windows itself. I have a friend who says he has a Windows 7 installation disk but I'm not sure if it's for a Dell computer, let alone being Windows 7 64-bit Home Edition. I may go the route you did and just get Windows 7 Ultimate. Thanks so much for the help everyone, I appreciate it! Oh, and one more thing- assuming I get lucky and it is for Win7 64bit Home edition, do I need the factory Windows product key? because there is no sticker on the bottom of the laptop... All I see is the service tag.
dgkpcon
3.6K Posts
0
March 2nd, 2011 09:00
If its a retail copy then yes and the product key will be with the retail version anyway.Dells OS disks are tied to the BIOS you DO NOT need the product key for it.I am not sure if another disk from a different system will in fact install on your system,as i posted,they are tied to the BIOS.
FYI: (C:) >OS -Remainder of the HDD space here
(D:)>Optical drive
(E:)>Recovery partition-14-15GB space here
Enceladus
297 Posts
0
March 2nd, 2011 10:00
Have you checked the license sticker on the bottom of the laptop? On the assumption that you have and it says Windows 7 Home Premium then any Dell Windows 7 Home Premium DVD will install on your system. Likewise Vista and XP. Before you spend any money ask around among friends and neighbours, somebody near you has a Dell Win 7 Home Premium DVD. This is entirely legitimate as the original Microsoft license was for your system and was not tranferrable to any other system.
And all Dell Windows 7 Home Premium DVDs are identical.
You will have to reinstall all of the Dell drivers and additional software from the Dell website. But this also applies to the retail edition of Windows.
Ask around before you spend any money duplicating a licence you already own. And be aware that some of the MS CDs & DVDs on EBay may be counterfeit.
grandtheftlunch
5 Posts
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March 2nd, 2011 10:00
Awesome. I will do that. Thanks so much.
grandtheftlunch
5 Posts
0
March 3rd, 2011 05:00
I ended up finding the sticker on the bottom of the laptop, it came from the factory with Windows 7. In any case though, my problem is solved! I found a friend who had Windows 7 Ultimate that he gave me for free, I installed it last night and everything looks great and works fine, and I fixed my partitions :) Thanks again for the help everyone!