# New Laptop Advice



## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

My new Dell Laptop with Windows 7 had dedicated hard drives but here is my dilemma. The C drive is the operating system and currently has 16 of 58 gb free. The D drive has 394 of 397 gb free.

Best Buy (where I bought it) says the can repartition the hard drive. Is that what I should do?

Also, why would a computer be configured like it is in the first place? almost everything I download goes to the c drive and sometimes I am given the option to choose where I want to down it to and sometimes it just does it.


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## Jelly Donut (Apr 13, 2009)

On my desktop, I have a partitioned hard drive. I use the C for programs/operating system only. My D drive (or as I refer to it as my "Data" drive) is purely just for data, downloads, pictures, etc...I also have an external hard drive, which I use to back up my D drive every some often, so I dont lose that important stuff. I generally dont back up my C crive that often.

I dont know how much BB will charge you for the partition, but you can buy a program called "Partition Magic" for $60 and if you are even kinda computer savvy you wont have any issues using it. You can then move some of your D drive space over to your C drive, to make that bigger or vice-versa. I did it and made my C drive a little bigger, just so I could add some more programs. Hope this helps!

Sean


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## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

I am going to say that the computer probably has only one hard drive and it is actually partitioned that way. If that is the case with a program such as partition magic, I believe you can re-size those partitions. I know how to do it without out the program, and have done it before, but just make sure you have everything backed up.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Best Buy will do it for about $40, maybe it's best to let the pro's do it?


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## Just Add Dirt (May 5, 2009)

X2 on the program"Partion Majic"; make sure you get the right one for your operating system (Winows 7 32bit v. 64bit). You probably only have one hard drive I don't recall ever seeing a factory laptop with 2 internal hard drives.
Eric 
I just researched Partiton Majic 8; it has been aquired by "Symantec" (used to be a PowerQuest program) and as far as I can tell it is *not compatiable* with windows 7
If I find one that is I will post here.

I just found this program which you can download and do it yourself:
http://www.partition-tool.com/landing/partition-magic.htm?gclid=CPeDmZrsg6ACFeh_5QodKFMIjg


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> Best Buy will do it for about $40, maybe it's best to let the pro's do it?


Buy the Partition Magic and do it yourself or you will just end up in the same hole again.

Either go with one big drive so you do not have to think about where to put programs or remember that C should only be for the operating system and required files and D is used for EVERYTHING else. This makes it much easier when you want to back up your computer.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Just Add Dirt said:


> X2 on the program"Partion Majic"; make sure you get the right one for your operating system (32bit v. 64bit). You probably only have one hard drive I don't recall ever seeing a factory laptop with 2 internal hard drives.
> Eric


My DW's 17 inch Inspiron has two HDD bays, it only came with one installed but I added a second and mirror the primary drive to the second as a way to back it up.


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## Just Add Dirt (May 5, 2009)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> Best Buy will do it for about $40, maybe it's best to let the pro's do it?


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## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

I have two HDD bays in my Toshiba laptop, but when I ordered it I had it built with a single 500 gig drive, and still have the ability to add more, but for something that is supposed to be portable I will just have to "suffer" with only 500 gigs.


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## Just Add Dirt (May 5, 2009)

outback loft said:


> I have two HDD bays in my Toshiba laptop, but when I ordered it I had it built with a single 500 gig drive, and still have the ability to add more, but for something that is supposed to be portable I will just have to "suffer" with only 500 gigs.


Yeah my HP DV7 has 2 hard drive bays, but it only came with one drive installed, from the factory.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

so there isn't a way to just move something from the c drive to the d drive ?


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## Just Add Dirt (May 5, 2009)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> so there isn't a way to just move something from the c drive to the d drive ?


You'd have to uninstall the program you want to move to "D" drive thru Control Panel->"Programs & Features" reboot, then reinstall it using the custom install choice and then pick "D" drive as the "default", or "install to" drive. At $30 it might be a simpler and better choice, to buy that partition manager program I linked to in my previous post. Most programs by default install to "C" drive.
Eric


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Backup EVERYTHING before giving a laptop to Best buy. (This goes along with the laughing about them being pros....)


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Nathan said:


> Backup EVERYTHING before giving a laptop to Best buy. (This goes along with the laughing about them being pros....)


Haha! I am going to buy the product and do it myself. I back up to Carbonite but will also back up to external hard drive









Wouldn't it be better to but the program instead of downloading?


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## Just Add Dirt (May 5, 2009)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> Backup EVERYTHING before giving a laptop to Best buy. (This goes along with the laughing about them being pros....)


Haha! I am going to buy the product and do it myself. I back up to Carbonite but will also back up to external hard drive









Wouldn't it be better to but the program instead of downloading?
[/quote]

When you buy the program it is for downloading including a licence for 1 install:
https://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?offer_id=1519321&item=1266792800-12838-497568&orderid=1266792800-12838-497568

I don't think you can actually get a hard copy on disk. If I were you I would save the download file and the licence info on an external disk.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Office Depot has a program called Partition Commander 10 Professional. 
The box doesn't say it is for Win7 but it doesn't say it isn't. It says Win95,XP,98,Me, and 2000. It also says x86 32-bit processor or better. I have 64 bit. 
???

Revision: it appears I need Commander 11 and they didn't have it, so may have to download after all


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Doxie, did the laptop come with windows disk(s)? Some laptop manufacturers add another, sometimes hidden partition where all the windows disk and other software original copies are stored. My toshiba didn't come with windows disks but it had software that would let you create your own "recovey disk" from the archived data on that partition.

My point is, that if you use partition magic or similar software, it may find another partition that you may not know about. Whatever you do, don't get rid of that partition. It may have your only backup copy of the operating system and other software in it.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Okay I just did this on a new Dell laptop I bought for my wife. First, Partition Magic is great but it has been discontinued and I've read that it is not compatible with Window 7. I downloaded a free utility called Partition Wizard Home Edition. With it I was easily able to repartition the C and D drives to give much more space for the C drive. It was really easy and I would not pay BestBuy $40 for something you can finish in 30 minutes or less for free.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

the 16gb on the "C" drive will be more than enough.

When you download pictures and video files, just save them to the "D" drive.

You can make Win 7 point to the "D" drive for all the default "picture" movie" folders.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> the 16gb on the "C" drive will be more than enough.
> 
> When you download pictures and video files, just save them to the "D" drive.
> 
> You can make Win 7 point to the "D" drive for all the default "picture" movie" folders.


Jim, sometimes it doesn't offer me the choice of where to download something, it just does it to the c drive. That is why I was asking about making changes.

I am STILL having trouble with getting hotmail to default when I went to send a link. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. AND when it does send it, it says it didn't and THAT message is stuck on my screen until I kill it in task manager.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

thefulminator said:


> Doxie, did the laptop come with windows disk(s)? Some laptop manufacturers add another, sometimes hidden partition where all the windows disk and other software original copies are stored. My toshiba didn't come with windows disks but it had software that would let you create your own "recovey disk" from the archived data on that partition.
> 
> My point is, that if you use partition magic or similar software, it may find another partition that you may not know about. Whatever you do, don't get rid of that partition. It may have your only backup copy of the operating system and other software in it.


Yes, it came with discs


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> My new Dell Laptop with Windows 7 had dedicated hard drives but here is my dilemma. The C drive is the operating system and currently has 16 of 58 gb free. The D drive has 394 of 397 gb free.
> 
> Best Buy (where I bought it) says the can repartition the hard drive. Is that what I should do?
> 
> Also, why would a computer be configured like it is in the first place? almost everything I download goes to the c drive and sometimes I am given the option to choose where I want to down it to and sometimes it just does it.


Are you SURE Dell set it up this way? I have two Dell laptops, and they have their largest partition as a C: drive, and then they have a tiny partition as a D: drive, where the recovery files are located.

I seems odd to me that Dell would partition a C: drive with less than 60GB and then create a D: drive with 400GB. You're not mixing gigabytes with megabytes by accident, are you?

Before you go to Best Buy or purchase Partition Magic, call Dell's toll free tech support and have a little chat with them, they may be able to set you straight without spending any unnecessary money.

Take it from an freshly minted retired 30 year IT tech veteran - I was a nerd before being a nerd was cool.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

raynardo said:


> My new Dell Laptop with Windows 7 had dedicated hard drives but here is my dilemma. The C drive is the operating system and currently has 16 of 58 gb free. The D drive has 394 of 397 gb free.
> 
> Best Buy (where I bought it) says the can repartition the hard drive. Is that what I should do?
> 
> Also, why would a computer be configured like it is in the first place? almost everything I download goes to the c drive and sometimes I am given the option to choose where I want to down it to and sometimes it just does it.


Are you SURE Dell set it up this way? I have two Dell laptops, and they have their largest partition as a C: drive, and then they have a tiny partition as a D: drive, where the recovery files are located.

I seems odd to me that Dell would partition a C: drive with less than 60GB and then create a D: drive with 400GB. You're not mixing gigabytes with megabytes by accident, are you?

Before you go to Best Buy or purchase Partition Magic, call Dell's toll free tech support and have a little chat with them, they may be able to set you straight without spending any unnecessary money.

Take it from an freshly minted retired 30 year IT tech veteran - I was a nerd before being a nerd was cool.
[/quote]

Here is Snippet from my computer


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> My new Dell Laptop with Windows 7 had dedicated hard drives but here is my dilemma. The C drive is the operating system and currently has 16 of 58 gb free. The D drive has 394 of 397 gb free.
> 
> Best Buy (where I bought it) says the can repartition the hard drive. Is that what I should do?
> 
> Also, why would a computer be configured like it is in the first place? almost everything I download goes to the c drive and sometimes I am given the option to choose where I want to down it to and sometimes it just does it.


Are you SURE Dell set it up this way? I have two Dell laptops, and they have their largest partition as a C: drive, and then they have a tiny partition as a D: drive, where the recovery files are located.

I seems odd to me that Dell would partition a C: drive with less than 60GB and then create a D: drive with 400GB. You're not mixing gigabytes with megabytes by accident, are you?

Before you go to Best Buy or purchase Partition Magic, call Dell's toll free tech support and have a little chat with them, they may be able to set you straight without spending any unnecessary money.

Take it from an freshly minted retired 30 year IT tech veteran - I was a nerd before being a nerd was cool.
[/quote]

Here is Snippet from my computer






























[/quote]

That is a typical build.

You should NEVER be limited to just loading to the C drive, a program may put some files there even if you tell it to load to another drive but those do not normally add up to much.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

CamperAndy said:


> My new Dell Laptop with Windows 7 had dedicated hard drives but here is my dilemma. The C drive is the operating system and currently has 16 of 58 gb free. The D drive has 394 of 397 gb free.
> 
> Best Buy (where I bought it) says the can repartition the hard drive. Is that what I should do?
> 
> Also, why would a computer be configured like it is in the first place? almost everything I download goes to the c drive and sometimes I am given the option to choose where I want to down it to and sometimes it just does it.


Are you SURE Dell set it up this way? I have two Dell laptops, and they have their largest partition as a C: drive, and then they have a tiny partition as a D: drive, where the recovery files are located.

I seems odd to me that Dell would partition a C: drive with less than 60GB and then create a D: drive with 400GB. You're not mixing gigabytes with megabytes by accident, are you?

Before you go to Best Buy or purchase Partition Magic, call Dell's toll free tech support and have a little chat with them, they may be able to set you straight without spending any unnecessary money.

Take it from an freshly minted retired 30 year IT tech veteran - I was a nerd before being a nerd was cool.
[/quote]

Here is Snippet from my computer






























[/quote]

That is a typical build.

You should NEVER be limited to just loading to the C drive, a program may put some files there even if you tell it to load to another drive but those do not normally add up to much.
[/quote]

ok,I'll keep an eye on it


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Win 7 has all the tools built in to adjust your partition size.

http://www.recipester.org/Recipe:Resize_and_adjust_partition_without_data_loss_in_Windows_7_46226061


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Win 7 has all the tools built in to adjust your partition size.
> 
> http://www.recipeste...dows_7_46226061


you are just to dang smart, how'd you find that?


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> Win 7 has all the tools built in to adjust your partition size.
> 
> http://www.recipeste...dows_7_46226061


you are just to dang smart, how'd you find that?
[/quote]

Partition Wizard is the one I used and it worked perfectly. It's not a "built-in" part of Win 7 but an add-on utility that works great. Win 7 can adjust partition size but you can't increase the C partition with it, I tried. It let me decrease the size of the D partition but it would not let me increase C into the empty space. I could create another partition in the empty space but that was it. Partition Wizard did it all and it only took a few minutes. There are other products that do the same thing but most are not free. I don't understand why the companies start off with a large D and small C partition. I can't think of a good reason for it and since most programs want to install in the Program Files directory you can run out of space over time with photos, videos, and music files. I put most of them on D but since most stuff is in My Documents some of it still fills up the C drive. On my older computers with XP I still use Partition Magic but Symantec discontinued the product after they bought it and they don't seem to offer anything else with similar functionality.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

so is the space on my c drive enough to not need to do anything? yep, I swear, sometimes when downloading, I am not given the choice of where to . Weird. Pros and cons of partitioning?


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> so is the space on my c drive enough to not need to do anything? yep, I swear, sometimes when downloading, I am not given the choice of where to . Weird. Pros and cons of partitioning?


..then change the default download location to the "D" drive. (recommend d:\dowloads)

http://www.windowsreference.com/internet-explorer/how-to-change-the-default-download-directory-for-internet-explorer/


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

Windows starting with Vista has a built in utility to repartition the drives. I don't have 7 on any of my machines but guess it is pretty much he same as the Vista utility. It is pretty easy to use and won't let do something that would erase data. 
Not sure this is true but there used to be a program called Aloha Bob that I used which is an excellent back up utility. It is no longer available and some on the internet claim Microsoft bought the rights and that that program is the basis of their backup program that came out with Vista. Aloha was better because you could chose the files you wanted to back up or didn't want to back up. It won't run on Vista. Wonder if Norton made a deal with Microsoft and that is why Partition Majic is no longer available?


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