inspiron 1564 C : D : drive configuration/ sizes

Interesting, you're not the only person to recently ask this.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19328989.aspx

I've sent out an email trying to get an answer.

i spoke with dell tech today about this for an hour, they claim this (60 gig C partition) is  now standard for my inspiron, I am no expert but win 7 can only use 4 partitions. dell uses 2 hidden ones, 100meg and 9.97 gig, os goes on C,  and all thats left is D an dell puts the recovery data hidden on that about 4 gig file. I find this ridiculous as my c drive is full after three days,and the repartition process looks daunting..........

I also have a brand new xps 16, win7 prof, 500 gig hd, it does not even have the D partition on it, only the two hidden and the C with 450 gig on it

I just purchased an Inspiron 1564 and  would also like an answer to this as my C drive is filling up fast.  

I am not a techie but I have seen several complaints in this vein. Please see review # 4  at 

<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

Specifically where the reviewer says: "I have issues with the out of the box setup. For some reason, Dell chose to partition the 500GB hard drive into a 60GB primary drive containing the operating system (C:) and a 400GB blank storage drive (D:). That setup would make the Documents, Pictures, and Music folders integrated into Windows 7 useless."

Please explain why this set up is a feature not a bug, and how do I effectively use this configuration with Windows 7 or what do I need to do to "erase the partitions and have a unified hard drive" so that my computer works effectively with the operating system? 

Thanks.

I reinstalled, windows 7 and deleted the d partition, I left a litle room at the end of the drive empty, for what ever was on  the d partition, but i had a very difficult time understanding the tech support guys, the problem now, is replacing all the applications and programs, and mcafee 15 mos subscription......good luck

I'm trying to help my mom with her new inspiron as well.  So far she has had NO success with the Dell Support resources.  I purchased a new Dell about 6 months ago and the hard drive was partitioned correctly ... large C partition and a small D partition labeled RESTORE.  Dell's advice was to re-partition the hard drive.   Not very good advice to a non-technical home pc user.

Yes, someone at the factory let an animal loose with the 1564s.

How to fix:

1.  Clean install of Windows 7 (google and you'll find good step-by-steps)

2.  Go to My Account on Dell.com, and reinstall ALL applicable drivers

3.  Also under My Account on Dell.com, you can see an option to Download and Reinstall factory software (that was NOT shipped to you... i.e.: PowerDVD, Roxio, etc.)

4.  You're good to go with one partition now.

In sum, no, it makes no sense and someone goofed at the factory, and is still goofing.  But if you do a clean install to include drivers and software, it will run better than when it left.

Enjoy.

 Also you must enable your mcafee subscription before you wipe the drive, windows 7 also gives you the option to save your existing files in "windows old" this was helpful as i had 21 gigs of music........cheers

If you haven't already, please do not fdisk/format the PC. We are researching a fix and will post it as soon as possible.

Updating. Will repost when finished.

This is only my opinion, and therefore isn't worth a lot, but if I received one of these machines I would not be in a hurry to make one large C drive on it.  If the Dell Restore works like all the rest I've seen since 2004, it only restores the C drive.  In the past we've had to warn everyone about to use it to save any data they want to keep to something else before they hit the restore key.  If the data is on a D partition it is possible to restore a C drive without bothering the data.  Of course, if you also put programs on the D drive you will still need to re-install those since the registry that knows about them will be replaced.

I would have chosen option 2 if this had been posted earlier, but  I did manage to do a clean reinstall of the operating system and drivers, although it was sometimes confusing and frustrating, not to mention time consuming. The computer seems to be running fine and is now set up to my liking, with one visible partition "C". Caveat emptor, I suppose, but I really don't understand why Dell thought this was a good idea as a standard set up, rather than being offered as an option.

if you buy your laptop at a retail location such as Best Buy, it is configured with this NEW screwy configuration. i have bought many laptops from Dell and this is the 1st time i have come across this. :(

Read this.