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Hard Disk Partition on new PC....confused, please help!
Hi there,
I'm sure this is a very stupid question but having not owned a PC for a number of years I'm a little behind the times.
I've just got an Inspiron 1564 with a 500gb HDD. I hadn't realised but its partitioned roughly C: 60gb, D: 400gb. I've put itunes, some spyware stuff and a few other programes and the C drive is already full. I want to utalise all the free space on the D drive, but dont want to have to endlesly move things across from C onto it.
I thought maybe I should just get rid of the partition but after reading a bit on the net it seems like a good thing for recovery (?!). Could some one explain/give me a link to a decent explanation of this principle and what I need to keep 'seperate' for such an eventuality? If it is indeed best to keep it partitioned, what should I do? Can I set windows up so things save onto D drive as default? Will it cause problems running programes if they're installed on the D drive rather than the C:/Program Files directory?
As I said, I'm sure this is a very basic problem, but I'm keen not to start messing up the PC almost as soon as its arrived.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Steven
C3PO5
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May 25th, 2010 16:00
Hi Steven
I think this link will help you http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?docid=871D98A25A66C539E040AC0A66E90529 it is a sticky topic from the laptop general hardware forum about your guestions !
Good Luck
someboyman
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May 26th, 2010 03:00
Thanks for that, whilst I now know how to remove it, is it a good idea to do so? From the link above it seems that the partition has been put on at random rather than by design, but I was under the impression having one was a good thing....?
Mary G
4 Operator
4 Operator
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20.1K Posts
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May 26th, 2010 08:00
You can combine the partitions but you should consider uninstalling all the installed programs and reinstalling on the D drive. Then you must open Libraries by selecting the folder icon on the bottom left and add folders that you have set up on the D drive and make them the defaults. This is not explained in the sticky and is very important. You will still have to Custom install all new programs so they don't automatically install on the C partition. The new partitioning scheme is by design, not random. I wish Dell had mentioned this in a notice to new owners before you and I installed anything on our new computers. To see how the drive is partitioned go to Disk Management by typing it in the Start box. You will see 4 partitions--diagnostics, recovery that are both hidden without drive letters and C and D partitions.
someboyman
6 Posts
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May 26th, 2010 10:00
Thanks very much a detailed and most useful reply. I'll give it a go.