unknown partition

Question

Just discovered that my main drive (C) is partitioned into 3. The bulk of the drive, 74.94 GB is in NTFS format, but the 2 much smaller partitions (a 47MB, labeled as healthy EISA configuration & a 3.50 GB labeled as healthy-unknown partition) are in FAT 32 format. I didn't partition the drive. Is it normal for a drive to be partitioned this way when it comes from Dell? The computer is a Dimension 4600 , XP Home, that I've had for 2 or 3 years. When I right click on either one of the smaller partitions, the option to explore the volume is greyed out. Is there a way to tell whats on the smaller partitions? I would like to reformat them or delete them altogether. I discovered this because I am about to  connect a 500GB external drive that I want to partition into 2 (one partition to back up my 2 internal drives, and one forproject files). I have looked at the Acronis software for disk management. Have any of you used it, and can you recommend it? Thanks for any advice. Milt. Message Edited by Milton C on 04-15-2008 08:21 AM

PETER345 · Answer

Yes, that is normal. The first and smallest partition is the diagnostic partition. The third partition is the PC restore partition. You can delete them all and create a single partition if you like. The PC restore partition won't work once you install any OS without some effort on your part. I generally get rid of it.

Peter

Milton C · Answer

'It is there for people who aren't up to a reinstall.'   That's me. Thanks again!

Milton C · Answer

Thanks for your reply, Peter. If I delete the pc restore partition, does that mean that the restore function will no longer work? Thanks again for your help, Milt.

PETER345 · Answer

If you delete it, then it definitely won't work. If you install or reinstall the OS, then it won't work unless you repair it. Normally, if you are the type who reinstalls the OS, you can just get rid of it. It is there for people who aren't up to a reinstall.

Peter

PETER345 · Answer

But aren't you planning to repartition, reformat and install clean?  Maybe I missed something.   Peter

Milton C · Answer

No, Peter, I wasn't planning to repartition, or reformat, or clean install. I am planning on partitioning the new external drive that is to be delivered tomorrow, that's why I was poking around in my disk management area and discovered that my C drive was partitioned. Everything is working well, so I won't stir up any trouble with the existing system, I'm not very compu-literate. Thanks for your help, and I will probably be back on the forum if I run into any problems in partitioning my new drive, never done it before. Thanks again, Milt.

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unknown partition

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