Hi Ravi,

If you are using Windows 7 on this system you do not need to re install the OS to create partitions. You can create partitions in your hard drive by following the steps below :

As your system is a new system it might not have unallocated space in this case you will need to Shrink volume. You can do this by following the steps below:

The Windows 7 Disk Management tool provides a simple interface for managing partitions and volumes. Here’s an easy way to shrink a volume to free up space so you can create a new partition on your disk. 

To shrink a basic volume, simple volume, or a spanned volume:

1. Open the Disk Management console by typing diskmgmt.msc in the search box after clicking on Start
   
   
2. In Disk Management, right-click the volume that you want to shrink, and then click Shrink Volume.
   
   
3. In the field provided in the Shrink dialog box, enter the amount of space by which to shrink the disk. 
   
   
   
   The Shrink dialog box provides the following information: 
   Total Size Before Shrink In MB Lists the total capacity of the volume in MB. This is the formatted size of the volume. 
   Size Of Available Shrink Space In MB Lists the maximum amount by which you can shrink the volume. This doesn’t represent the total amount of free space on the volume; rather, it represents the amount of space that can be removed, not including any data reserved for the master file table, volume snapshots, page files, and temporary files. 
   Enter The Amount of Space To Shrink In MB Lists the total amount of space that will be removed from the volume. The initial value defaults to the maximum amount of space that can be removed from the volume. For optimal drive performance, you should ensure that the volume has at least 10 percent of free space after the shrink operation. 
   Total Size After Shrink In MB Lists what the total capacity of the volume in MB will be after you shrink the volume. This is the new formatted size of the volume.
4. Click Shrink.

Once you have unallocated space, you can use that space to create a new partition. 

After you have created unallocated space, you can follow the steps below to create partitions :

1. 
   
   
   
2. In Disk Management’s Graphical view, right-click an unallocated or free area, and then click New Simple Volume. This starts the New Simple Volume Wizard. As your system is a new system it might not have unallocated space in this case you will need to Shrink volume. You can do this by following the steps below
   
   
   
   
3. Read the Welcome page and then click Next. 
   
   
4. The Specify Volume Size page specifies the minimum and maximum size for the volume in megabytes and lets you size the volume within these limits. Size the partition in megabytes using the Simple Volume Size field and then click Next. 
   
   
   
   
5. On the Assign Drive Letter Or Path page, specify whether you want to assign a drive letter or path and then click Next. The available options are as follows: 
   
   
   
   Assign The Following Drive Letter Select an available drive letter in the selection list provided. By default, Windows 7 selects the lowest available drive letter and excludes reserved drive letters as well as those assigned to local disks or network drives. 
   Mount In The Following Empty NTFS Folder Choose this option to mount the partition in an empty NTFS folder. You must then type the path to an existing folder or click Browse to search for or create a folder to use. 
   Do Not Assign A Drive Letter Or Drive Path Choose this option if you want to create the partition without assigning a drive letter or path. Later, if you want the partition to be available for storage, you can assign a drive letter or path at that time. 
   
   
6. Use the Format Partition page to determine whether and how the volume should be formatted. If you want to format the volume, choose Format This Volume With The Following Settings, and then configure the following options: 
   
   
   
   File System Sets the file system type as FAT, FAT32, or NTFS. NTFS is selected by default in most cases. If you create a file system as FAT or FAT32, you can later convert it to NTFS by using the Convert utility. You can’t, however, convert NTFS partitions to FAT or FAT32. 
   Allocation Unit Size Sets the cluster size for the file system. This is the basic unit in which disk space is allocated. The default allocation unit size is based on the size of the volume and, by default, is set dynamically prior to formatting. To override this feature, you can set the allocation unit size to a specific value. If you use many small files, you might want to use a smaller cluster size, such as 512 or 1,024 bytes. With these settings, small files use less disk space. 
   Volume Label Sets a text label for the partition. This label is the partition’s volume name and by default is set to New Volume. You can change the volume label at any time by right-clicking the volume in Windows Explorer, choosing Properties, and typing a new value in the Label field provided on the General tab. 
   Perform A Quick Format Tells Windows 7 to format without checking the partition for errors. With large partitions, this option can save you a few minutes. However, it’s usually better to check for errors, which enables Disk Management to mark bad sectors on the disk and lock them out. 
   Enable File And Folder Compression Turns on compression for the disk. Built-in compression is available only for NTFS. Under NTFS, compression is transparent to users and compressed files can be accessed just like regular files. If you select this option, files and directories on this drive are compressed automatically. 
   
   
7. Click Next, confirm your options, and then click Finish. 
   
   

The Windows 7 Disk Management tool will now show the space configured as a new partition.

Hope this helps. Please reply for any further questions.

Dear Mr. Abhishek,

Thanks for your immediate reply. I will follow your guidelines.

What may happen if I don't make partitions? If I feel let it be like the Dell factory settings, what will be the pros and cons?  

Thanks and regards,

Ravi

Hi Ravi,

Thank you for the reply.
Disk partitioning is one of those things where you find many conflicting opinions. A partition is nothing more than a way to organize the physical space on a hard drive. We typically think of a hard drive as a single disk, but partitioning allows you to split a hard drive into appearing as multiple, different drives. It's still the same single disk in hardware, but the space on it is divided up and appears as two or more drives in Windows.

• Single partition. Typically, your computer has a "C:" drive and all of your programs, data and operating system files are contained within it.

• Two (or more) partitions. You hard disk is divided into two or more partitions. "C:" remains, and typically contains at least the operating system and often installed programs, but additional drives - perhaps "D:", "E:" or others, also exist and are then used for data storage.

Pros of partitioning your hard drive:

• Organization: some people feel that splitting data or components across multiple "drives" is a better way to organize their data than creating more folders on a single drive.

• Backup: specifically, backup granularity. It's easier to backup entire partitions separately. Say your operating system is on drive C: and your data is all on drive D:. If you ever need to re install or revert to a backup it's possible, depending on the situation you're recovering from, that only drive C: would be affected, leaving your data on D: untouched.

• Security: whole-drive encryption is often really "whole partition" encryption. Thus with multiple partitions you could pick and choose which might be encrypted (typically a single partition containing your sensitive data.

• Speed: Depending on how you use your data, it's possible that moving less-frequently used data to a separate partition "out of the way" of the data you use frequently can have a speed improvement.

• Multi-boot: If you want to have multiple operating systems installed on your computer that you select at boot time, each must reside in a separate partition. It's also common to create an additional data partition that they all then use.

Cons of partitioning your system.

• Drive Letters: each partition is typically assigned a separate drive letter. While there are some ways around this, letters can quickly become a scarce resource for machines that are heavily network connected, have multiple memory card slots or CD/DVD readers, or use software that also requires drive letter allocation.

• Backup: more specifically, backup oversight. If you have multiple partitions it's either more work to make sure that they're all being backed up properly, or it's easy to miss it.

• Speed: Once again depending on how you use your data, it's possible that by having data on separate partitions your hard disk will have to work harder to access data that's spread out further apart on the media.

• False Security: even though separate partitions look like separate drives to Windows, they are not. What that means is that if the physical hard drive holding those partitions fails, all the partitions go with it. While you might be applying different backup criteria to different partitions, the fact is that underneath it all they share several common risks.

I would recommend that you do not partition the system, unless you have any specific reason.

Please reply for any further questions. 

Hi Ravi,

Just wanted to check, whether the information was helpful. In case you want to partition the hard drive for any specific reason, please let me know, so that i can help you according.

Please reply for any further questions.

Hi Abhishek,

Thanks for your follow-up. The information which you gave was helpful. As said by you, I am NOT going to partition by HDD as I have no specific reason now.

Further, I wish to know about battery stand-by in Inspiron 15R. Once I charge my battery to 100%, what is the best way for optimal usage? Should I connect to adapter everytime when the machine is in use? Is it wise to discharge the battery totally at any time before plugging?

After use, can I keep the machine horizontally or vertically in a cup board? Or should it be kept in the way as used?

Best regards,

Ravi

Hi Ravi,

Thanks you for the reply.

You can read the articles on 'Tips to improve the battery life' and 'Laptop battery FAQs' from the links below to have a better understanding on battery life and how to get the most out of it.

http://dell.to/SNwkTU
http://dell.to/Q0xxTc

It really doesnt matter whether you keep the laptop horizontal or vertical as long as it is placed in a stable position and doesnt fall down. If you are keeping it inside a laptop bag you can keep it vertically or else it would be better to close the screen and keep it the way it is.

Please reply in case you have any further questions. 

Thanks for your information and links Abhishek.

I don't use a cooling pad underneath the machine now. But the machine tend to get heated up upon usage. Is it essential to use a cooling pad to keep the machine cool always?

Best regards,

Ravi

Hi Ravi,

It is not essential to use a cooling pad with the laptop, as it has its own cooling mechanism. However, if you are using the laptop to play games requiring high graphics usage you may use a cooling pad with the system.

Please reply for any further questions.

Hi Abhishek,

The machine don't get heated up unusually but it is getting warmed up, which you say is normal.

I haven't backed up the contents of the machine after purchase. I feel it is essential. Is it better to back-up in a usb drive or cd / dvd? How much storage capacity in GB is required for back-up operation?

Best regards,

Ravi

Hi Ravi,

Thank you for your reply.

It is always better to backup your personal data on a USB flash drive or external hard drive than to copy in on a CD/DVD. This is because there is always a risk that the CD/DVD might break or develop scratches and the data may get corrupted. Secondly, if you have more data you will need more CD/DVD every time you want to backup.

The best option would be to go for an external hard drive, as you will get ample space in it to backup all the data, it will be in one place and some external hard drives can backup data automatically once you choose the folders you need to backup. You can also backup multiple systems on external hard drives and can carry the data with you anywhere you go.

The amount of space totally depends on how much data you have, you can get external hard drives ranging as low as 16 or 32 GB to 1 TB.

Please reply for any further questions.