Extremely stupid hdd partition question

[flxnimprtmscl]

Ok, I'm going to get laughed at for this but I need to know so here goes. On my last fresh install I set up a 15 gig partition for windows out of an 80 gig drive. My question is how the hell do I use the rest of the drive I've always left things as one big partition before so I have no idea about this. Please be gentle

 

[Wolfsraider]

you can:
cut and paste
set the drive path of the application if installing ie...c:\program files to d:\ or whatever drive you are using
or save to d:\ in whichever folder you make ie... music ,downloads etc...


hope this helps


mike

btw its not a dumb question ...you needed to know

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Oops, I should have been a bit more clear. It's not that I can't save anything to the larger partition but rather the other patition doesn't show up anywhere. When I check the properties of the C: drive it shows 15 gigs (roughly) and that's it. So... what'd I screw up while doing the install or what am I missing?

 

[AMDfreak]

Actually if I'm reading this right, you only have access to 15GB, right? If that's the case then you'll need to use a Win98 or Me boot disk and use fdisk to create a logical partion from the remaining space. Or if you have a copy of Partition Magic the process is even easier.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Ok, that's simple enough. How do I avoid this problem next time I do a fresh install? I'm assuming the problem is because I wasn't able to format the unused partition when doing the XP install which I wondered about at the time. But I assumed that the partition would at least show up under properties and I'd have the option of formating it there since it does list a format option for hdd's

 

[Wolfsraider]

yep fdisk or partition magic etc... sorry my bad lol

mike

 

[Wolfsraider]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Ok, that's simple enough. How do I avoid this problem next time I do a fresh install? I'm assuming the problem is because I wasn't able to format the unused partition when doing the XP install which I wondered about at the time. But I assumed that the partition would at least show up under properties and I'd have the option of formating it there since it does list a format option for hdd's

next time you format the partitions will still be there

if you format c:\ then d:\ will not be touched and all info will still be there

if you want to format d:\ you can just right click on the drive and format it from windows

mike

edit

if the partition is there then all you have to do is format the drive from windows to make use of it
mike

btw which os are you using?

if your using xp...then partition the disk with fdisk
go to start \ control panel \ performance and maintainance \ administrative tools \ computer management \ disk management and select the partition in there and format

 

[AMDfreak]

Here's how it would work with your XP install. Sure, you can opt in the XP install to take 15GB partion of the 80GB unformatted space and install the OS. Once windows is setup though, all it's gonna see is that 15GB primary partition. Because no extended partions were created or formatted, Winblows says it doesn't exist, hence the need to use fdisk or Partition Magic to create an extended partition. After fdisk, Winblows should be able to see an unformatted space that you can then format. OR if you're still using FAT32 for some reason then you can just do a format d: when booting off your boot disk to format it that way.


Edit fer badd spelinng

 

[stevewm]

For christ sakes... Fdisk is not needed at all.


To partition and format the remaining hardisk space all you need to do is fire up Disk Management. To get to disk management right click on ANY My Computer icon and select Manage. When the Computer Management window appears click on Disk Management in the left hand frame, it will take a few seconds to load. When it loads find your hardrive, you'll notice it has a large grey part labeled Unallocated. right click on this and choose "Create Partition and Format" The dialog boxes will walk you through the steps to create a partition and format it. Once formatted it will show up with a new drive letter in My Computer

 

[AMDfreak]

Pardon me while I go slap myself silly now with a herring. Thanks for setting us straight stevewm! :beer:

<wanders off muttering something about always doing stuff the hard way.......>

 

[Wolfsraider]

Originally posted by: AMDfreak
Pardon me while I go slap myself silly now with a herring. Thanks for setting us straight stevewm! :beer:

<wanders off muttering something about always doing stuff the hard way.......>

what's an easy way lol

<wanders off to check out the right click management feature of win xp

woot it works thanks

i am the greatest.......uhum after stevewm of course...thanks for the shortcut lol

 

[bigpow]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Ok, I'm going to get laughed at for this but I need to know so here goes. On my last fresh install I set up a 15 gig partition for windows out of an 80 gig drive. My question is how the hell do I use the rest of the drive I've always left things as one big partition before so I have no idea about this. Please be gentle

1. make sure you already format the other partition (FAT32 or NTFS, depends on your OS)
2. I'd recommend you to use the 15GB as your program files storage and the 45GB as your data (document, desktop, etc.). That way, it's easier to backup/restore.
3. you can always re-direct installation (if the 15GB is full) to the other partition, just make sure you select custom installations and change the path to the biggie

Good luck.


There's no such thing as stupid question...
... there's a lot of stupid answers!