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  • Partitioned disk

    My desktop is one which was built for my daughter many moons ago.

    It has a C drive - size 59.8 GB, free space 14.2 GB and a D drive - size 14.6 GB, free space 12.9 GB

    Can someone please tell me
    a)why a disk needs to be partitioned
    b) whether "unpartitioning" is possible
    c) whether I would gain anything by doing this

    I've never knowingly used the D drive so have no idea how anything got onto it.

    Thank you.
    Gillian
    User page: http://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki/...ustGillian-117

  • #2
    The D drive is often created by PC manufacturers, for the purpose of storing backups and factory reset software. This allows the contents to be easily preserved should you ever need to reinstall windows on C drive.

    Whilst it is possible to delete the D partition and expand C to fill the unused space, this is an advanced task and not something to be undertaken by someone without technical skills.

    In my opinion, for the gain of only 12GB, it is not really worth the hassle (or risk of losing your data should something go wrong during the procedure).
    Last edited by dave pusey; 23-02-10, 19:31.
    Dave - Hungry Monkey
    IT Support Specialist

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    • #3
      I agree with Dave, its not worth the hassle.
      I would buy something like this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139836 or something like it.
      reinstall windows on new drive, install old drive as a slave or use this for old drive
      and use it as External Hard Drive http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120659

      All your data will be fine

      Before ordering drive check if its IDE or Sata, I think its IDE

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks Dave - I'm definitely "someone without technical skills" so will leave the partition alone.

        Brian - thank you. The PC was bought second hand, and we didn't know till some years later that the Windows XP was a non-authentic copy, so I wouldn't be able to re-install it on a new drive I presume?

        I don't understand what a slave drive is.

        What should I check re IDE or SATA - the current C drive or the new one in your link?

        I currently have a 500GB external hard drive which I back everything up on.

        Does the fact that my current hard drive is almost full make any difference to the general operating efficiency of the PC?
        Last edited by Just Gillian; 16-02-12, 20:19.
        Gillian
        User page: http://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki/...ustGillian-117

        Comment


        • #5
          Glad Gillian asked this question as I have duel discs and daughter has told me to move all pictures and documents to D drive to free up space on C drive ;;;so is this wrong thing to do ???/
          borobabs passed away March 2018

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          • #6
            There are a number of reasons to partition a drive.
            One is to create a "safe" area for crucial software backups.

            Another is/was to enable faster access to data, and a third to keep the C drive free of programs to allow the operating system space to work and avoid losing data if the OS needs to be re-installed.

            If one hard drive is smaller than another hard drive the smaller hard drive will normally return data faster then the large drive due to sector size.
            In addition housekeeing (defragging etc) on the smaller drive will normally be carried out more quickly due to the smaller amount of data requiring to be moved.
            This is of course are rather general statement as other variables also play a part in this.

            There is a school of thought that all data should be kept on a seperate drive to programs. This is to enable the programs operating systems etc. to be installed, uninstalled updated etc. without the possibility of losing the data.
            It also allows the data to be easily backed up by simply copying the files or folders rather than using back-up programs.
            Cheers
            Guy
            Guy passed away October 2022

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks Guy that fits in with what she was trying to explain to me , just not sure which things I should move to which drive at mo so had better ask her to go through it again ;;;
              borobabs passed away March 2018

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Gillian

                Well if you have a 500GB drive then you wont need another drive, you may have a recovery partition which you can use to restore your computer back to factory settings. Does the case have a Windows Sticker on it with Windows Key? Have you backed up all your data to External drive to free up space? uninstall all programs you dont need? redirect My Docs to D:\ drive to free up space on C:\

                What is it you want to do? Free up space? speed up PC?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Guy - thanks for that explanation. I can now understand the purpose of partitioning.

                  Brian - Thanks. I can't see any Windows sticker on the case.

                  I have all My Docs, Legacy backups and backup gedcoms etc backed up on my external hard drive. My Docs has loads of images - census, parish records, newspaper articles etc etc - so is too big to fit on the D drive, but, if I deleted them from the C drive and just accessed them from the external drive, I'd no longer have any backup. I've deleted all the programmes I don't need, or, at least, all I recognise.

                  My PC does seem to be particularly slow these days, which is why I started to look at the drives and the amount of space on them, in case that was the cause.

                  So, are you saying that, if I cleared my docs from the C drive, the PC would speed up?
                  Last edited by Just Gillian; 16-02-12, 20:21.
                  Gillian
                  User page: http://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki/...ustGillian-117

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hi Gillian,

                    Have you thought about upgrading to windows 7...aleast that way you be legit.

                    Try running Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. This will tell you if you computer can handal Windows 7



                    As for hard drive space in your computer you only have free space or 14.2 GB
                    When you hard drive is near full...it can start to slow pc down.
                    you might be wise to upgrade to a bigger hard drive at some point

                    Do you defrag? if not defrag hard drive
                    Do you clean junk files like temp internet etc etc? maybe run ccleaner
                    Run chkdsk /r
                    Clean your registry

                    Slow computer could be a number of things.
                    defragmented drive, full hard drive, malware, dust inside case, overheating, ram, system errors, registry errors..etc etc hard to tell without looking at it.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thanks for your help Brain.

                      I defrag and disk cleanup regularly plus malwarebytes. I haven't run ccleaner for a long, long time so will try that.

                      Run chkdsk /r
                      Clean your registry
                      Do those refer to the ccleaner or are they something else?

                      I'll clean inside the case too - haven't done that for ages.

                      I suspect that my elderly PC won't be up to Windows 7, plus I can't really afford it at the moment, but I'll run the advisor just to confirm.

                      I suspect the size of My Docs may be the biggest problem (24.6GB). So, as I need to access them all the time, it seems the cheapest solution would be to remove them completely from the PC and buy a second external hard drive for a backup.
                      Gillian
                      User page: http://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki/...ustGillian-117

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Brian you raise some good points , I defraged today and also do clear temp files every day as well as history and still my comp is running slow
                        daughter brought up where it shows like a wheel with disc on and it was coloured that I only had 1/4 of my C drive left clear ;;
                        Yet only 2 tinights on D vDrive thats why she told me to move photos and documents to D Drive is that ok to do that ??
                        borobabs passed away March 2018

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                        • #13
                          Hi borobabs,

                          As lond as your D:\ is not your recovery drive...then it should be ok to move Doc's accross to D:\
                          This will free up space on your C:\ drive

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Hi Gillian

                            chkdsk /r is run from command prompt, it checks for system errors and fix's them.
                            it will say do you want to run chkdsk on next reboot say Y for yes.
                            It takes a while to run so be patient.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Brian is copying the same as moving them , I am just moving documents to D disk and it says copying 2,778 items 1.04GB so do I just delete them from the original place now they are on D disk ;;???

                              cor hope you can understnd that !!!
                              borobabs passed away March 2018

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                yeah you can delete them from c:\ once there copied. you could cut and paste, this will more files from C:\ to D:\ nothing to delete on C:\ that way

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Thanks Brian dont understand cut and paste ???copy and paste yep ???
                                  borobabs passed away March 2018

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    Babs - ctrl x for cut and paste. "Cut" removes the item but copies it at the same time so you can paste it elsewhere in the normal way.

                                    Brian - thanks. I've now run ccleaner and chkdsk. I ran the Windows 7 compatability thing and I don't have the space to install it. Plus, my webcam and, more importantly, Office 2000 premium would no longer work. Strangely, it didn't say yea or nay about PaintShopPro9 - probably my most frequently used programme after Office.

                                    I had a look for a second portable hard drive, thinking I could probably get a 120GB one much more cheaply than the 500GB I bought last year, but the smaller ones aren't in fact much cheaper.

                                    The only thing I haven't done yet is clean inside the case - I'm a bit wary about doing that in case I dislodge something vital lol

                                    Guess I'll just have to keep buying those lottery tickets till I can afford a new PC!

                                    Thanks for all your patient help Brian. At least I am better informed now which will no doubt be helpful in the future.
                                    Gillian
                                    User page: http://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki/...ustGillian-117

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      Gillian I bought my external one from aldi for under a tenner its a 149 GB and I use mine just to back up FT stuff census and FTM files etc

                                      Dont know how to do cut and paste lol
                                      Last edited by borobabs; 25-02-10, 16:16.
                                      borobabs passed away March 2018

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        Wow Babs!! What a brilliant price! We don't have Aldi here unfortunately, but I'll certainly have alook next time I'm on the mainland.
                                        Last edited by Just Gillian; 16-02-12, 20:17.
                                        Gillian
                                        User page: http://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki/...ustGillian-117

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