Partitioned Hard Drive??

[billt]

I have Sony Vaio that has a 160 Gig hard drive that is partitioned into "Drive C" that has a 13.9 Gig compacity, and a "Drive D" that has a 130 Gig compacity. The problem is that the much smaller "C" drive is filled, and the much larger "D" drive is almost empty. I have been told by several people you just can't start dumping files into "D" from "C" without causing a lot of problems. It seems silly they give you such a large hard drive, then partition it off so the bulk of it is all but unuseable. Has anyone else had this issue? If so, what can you do about it? Computers and I don't get along too well so I'm reluctant to start trying things I'm not sure of. Bill T.

[Coustain]

You essentially have two options here, start "Cut" and "Paste"ing files from your "C" to your "D" drives, OR insert your Operating System Disk and do a full reinstall after you BACKUP YOUR IMPORTANT FILES YOU DONT WANT TO LOSE. This will allow you to format it to where you only have one hard disk drive.

[awkx]

Moving program files from drive C to drive D will definitely cause problems. However, moving data files (e.g., documents, photos, music, movies) will generally not cause problems.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can try to re-partition your hard disk. PartitionMagic is a product that can do that; it sells for about $40. However, I would like to point that that it is alway a good idea to backup your important data, esp. before messing with your partition table and file systems.

[Coustain]

You essentially have two options here, start "Cut" and "Paste"ing files from your "C" to your "D" drives, OR insert your Operating System Disk and do a full reinstall after you BACKUP YOUR IMPORTANT FILES YOU DONT WANT TO LOSE. This will allow you to format it to where you only have one hard disk drive.

As the poster above pointed out, probably not a good idea to move anything in your Program Files folder or Windows Folder. Stick to pictures and music.

[awkx]

Also, if you're using Windows, you might want to move your pagefile (swapfile) to drive D. To do this in WinXP Pro, do: Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System, (or right-click on My Computer icon and choose Properties), then click on the Advanced tab, then click Settings under Performance, then adjust the Virtual Memory settings.

[NoHackrLtd]

That's one reason I don't buy commerical PC's..... I build my own and don't worry about it!

If the D: drive is the one that Sony loaded most of the applications on (look for a folder called "Program Files"), you're partially screwed unless you have the apps to reload after repartitioning the drive.

From the C: drive being left at 15GB (just guessing - XP/Vista take up over 1GB to install, just using some fuzzy guessing math), it sounds like it may be the "boot drive" and the apps are put on D:.

If you want a quick analysis of how it's been done, go to www.belarc.com, download the free Belarc advisor, and run advisor.exe. At the bottom section, you can find the section called "Software Versions (mouse over * for details, click * for location)". Find Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, or another major program and click on the asterisk at the end of the line - it'll llaunch Windows Explorer (My Computer) and give you the location in the address window and show you where the program is installed. Just hit the Back button to return to your Belarc page.

If it takes you to the D: drive, it will be a hassle to repartition the drive. Simply moving program files from D: to C: will break the registry keys that the program relies on.

BTW - the Belarc Advisor is free for home use. It's a neat program that'll give you your software keys, serial number, motherboard specs and model numbers, etc. - good program to run on a new machine, print it out, and save with your computer documentation for later use. It's saved my butt on a few projects at home and at work.

A nearby knowledgable friend that KNOWS what they're doing can probably help some by using a product such as Partition Magic by Symantec to give you more room equally on the drives, but I'd be careful on who I let horse around on my machine without a good backup, such as "ghosting / cloning it" to another drive just in case they screw up.

Good luck!

[LittleRedToyota]

It seems silly they give you such a large hard drive, then partition it off so the bulk of it is all but unuseable.

the reason they do that is so you can keep your system files and data separate. that way, if your system becomes corrupt or you want to install a different system, you can just wipe the C: drive clean and start from scratch without losing your data. it also makes it easier to back up just your system or just your data, etc. etc.

(it is certainly not necessary to partition a hard drive that way, but that's why some people like to do it that way.)

sounds like nobody explained that to you, though, and you have been storing your data on the C: drive instead of the D: drive.

you can go ahead and just move your data from the C: drive to the D: drive. like everyone said, though leave the system and program files where they are.

[billt]

You can go ahead and just move your data from the C: drive to the D: drive. like everyone said, though leave the system and program files where they are.

So I can just "cut and paste" stuff like pictures, music, and most everything else that isn't a driver or operating system for the computer itself, over into "D" from "C" which is overcrowded?? I'll be able to find it OK without grief? Bill T.

[Atomic Dog]

That's about it!

The only time you might have problems is if a program tries to find your data in the old location and it's moved, you have to point it to the new folder. The best example is your iTunes library or something of the sort.

Other than that it's an easy fix and it certainly beats patritioning the entire drive.



It's also a VERY good idea to start backing up your data in a regular basis. You can find external hard drives with plenty of size in the $100-$150 range that can backup at night, or the touch of a button. It's cheap insurance, especally if you have important information on the computer.


Good Luck!

Brian

[LittleRedToyota]

So I can just "cut and paste" stuff like pictures, music, and most everything else that isn't a driver or operating system for the computer itself, over into "D" from "C" which is overcrowded?? I'll be able to find it OK without grief?

as long as you remember where you put it.

as someone else stated above, though, don't include any programs (generally stored in or beneath the "Program Files" folder, but not always) in the "most everything else".

it might actually be a good idea to re-install the programs on the D: drive (and uninstall them from the C: drive), but that's a lot more work. you can't just copy them. i'd recommend just moving your pictures, movies, music, etc. first and see how much space that frees up on the C: drive.

music and movies (and to a lesser extent pictures) can take up a *huge* amount of space.

you can view this as an opportunity to better organize all your data, too. then you'll be more likely to be able to find it in the future.

one caveat to this is that if you have a bunch of shortcuts set up to certain files, those shortcuts won't work anymore...you will have to go and point them to the new location for the files. (but, you gotta do something...imho, moving your data is the least painful way to deal with the situation.)

another thing that sometimes takes up a lot of space that you can safely move to the D: drive (or even delete if you have the installation CD your operating system came on) is the I386 directory.

(that directory just contains system installation files that are also found on your installation CD...they are just on the hard drive so you can access them faster if you decide to install new OS features or if you have to fix corrupted OS files...but, if you have the CD, you can always just get the files from there.)