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Sean4568

4 Posts

13243

August 11th, 2006 01:00

Lost 10GB of my hard drive when I uninstalled Norton Ghost

I have an E1505 with a 60GB hard drive.  From the factory it had Norton Ghost installed which I elected to unistall.  During the uninstall process it asked me if i wanted to reclaim the 10GB of space that had been partitioned for Norton Ghost and I'm sure I said yes.
 
When I look at the drive in File Manager, my hard drive only shows 50GB so I'm thinking I never got my 10GB back.
 
Can someone help?? 

GreyMack

2.2K Posts

August 11th, 2006 02:00

The "missing" 10GB may be due to the way 60GB is counted in Windows plus two or three hidden partitions.

GM

Sean4568

4 Posts

August 14th, 2006 17:00

Thanks for the feedback.  I really don't think this has anything to do with the way 60GB is counted in windows - I understand that.  Before I uninstalled Norton Ghost, I had a D: drive that (I believe) was about 10GB.  After I uninstalled Norton Ghost, the D: drive.  Also, my DellMediaDirect doesn't work (truthfully, I never tried it before I uninstalled NG) so I think I may hve corrupted the partions.

OK - I went to the support site and downloaded the Dell MediaDirect Repair Utility.  I saved it to my computer, extracted the files and double clicked on the *.ISO file.  The instructions say that this should have initiated my CD Burning software - but this is where the wheels come off.

Can someone please step me through the next steps.  I'm reasonably literate about computers so your not dealing with a total knucklehead - although a little knowledge is probably a bad thing in this case.

Any help that can be provided is very much appreciated.

dg1261

623 Posts

August 14th, 2006 22:00

"File Manager ... shows 50GB so I'm thinking I never got my 10GB back ... I really don't think this has anything to do with the way 60GB is counted in windows - I understand that."

Then you understand it's not supposed to add up to 60.  If FM is showing 50, you can't be missing 10.

XP would show 60 billion bytes as 55.8 GB.  FM shows 50, there's probably about 4 in a hidden restore partition, and another 2 in a HPA for MediaDirect.  Sounds like all space is accounted for.  But it's easy to confirm: just look at Disk Management (Start, Run, "diskmgmt.msc"), and if there's any space you didn't get back, you'll see unallocated space between the XP system partition and the restore partition (which is identified as "Unknown", and about 3-5 GB).

As far as burning the iso, it depends on whether your burning software is capable of burning an iso.  Some 'lite' versions can't.  Try right-clicking on the iso file and see if the popup menu gives you a choice of opening it in your particular burning software.  If not, try launching your software first, then seeing if it has a "File, Open..." option or something about burning an image file.  If all else fails, you can always download the ImgBurn freeware (www.imgburn.com) to burn the iso.

Dan Goodell
www.goodells.net/dellrestore/mediadirect.htm

 

GreyMack

2.2K Posts

August 15th, 2006 05:00

It's not entirely suprising that various results and details have been reported on these boards regarding the uninstallation of the trial version of Ghost and the D: partition. The special requirements of the Dell PC Restore and MediaDirect features complicate any partitioning adjustments, and the automated process doesn't always go as intended.
 
I don't know which File Manager you are using, but most, including Windows Explorer (or My Computer), just don't provide the right details required for analysis of the hard drive layout. Windows Disk Management or a similar third-party tool is key to this task. Maybe the space previously used by the D: partition has already been absorbed by the C: partition, or maybe you can do that manually with a tool like Partition Magic. Whatever you decide to do about it, you should at least be able to verify the current state of the hard drive partitioning and account for all your space, although it may be necessary to infer the presence of HPA.
 
If partitioning adjustment is necessary to meet your objective, you should make any corrections or adjustments before repairing the MediaDirect feature, because any partitioning or MBR changes made after repairing the MediaDirect feature are likely to disable it once again, and probably the PC Restore feature also. I would ultimately recommend an entirely different partitioning strategy, but the objective of absorbing the D: drive's space into the C: drive should be achievable - if your investigation doesn't show that it has already been accomplished.
 

GM

Sean4568

4 Posts

August 15th, 2006 12:00

Thank you for your feedback.  You were right - everything is OK.  diskmgmt.msc is a great tool.

Also, I ran the repair utility from the drivers and applications CD that came with the computer - all systems go!!

Thanks Again!!

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