Partitioning my hard drive

So, here's the deal:

I recently picked up a new PC equipped with a 320 GB hard drive, and the guys over at Best Buy decided to split the drive into two separate partitions—one sitting at 50 GB and the other at 270 GB. Now that I’ve filled up that initial 50 GB chunk with a few games and some basic files, I’m running into a bit of a snag; whenever I try to install new software, the system keeps nagging me to free up space as if that second partition isn't even there to be used. I'm looking for some guidance on how to get that larger portion working in full capacity alongside the first one.

Just a fair warning, though—I am completely clueless when it comes to computer hardware.

Just install your games on the D drive.

Benjamin King2 said:Just install your games onto the D drive.

Or just download Norton Ghost and expand your C drive to whatever size you want.

Benjamin King2 said:Well, why don't you just try installing your games onto the D drive?

The thing is, I actually did give that a shot, but every time I attempt to select the secondary drive during the installation process, the game simply refuses to proceed any further...

Well, if you aren't opposed to the idea, I’d say just go ahead and reinstall Windows from scratch—that way, you can set up your partitions exactly how you want them!

😕 I haven't actually run into an issue where you couldn't install it onto a different partition yet... what kind of error message are you getting?

Maybe you could just try expanding your C drive partition. If you happen to be running Windows XP on that machine, I suppose you could track down some Partition Magic somewhere and resize the partition from there; however, if you've moved up to Windows Vista, you should be able to just use the Disk Manager to extend the C partition size directly. 😁😁

If you are indeed on Vista, this is more or less how you handle it...

http://vistarewired.com/2007/02/16/h...windows-vista/

goldencanyon89 said:Look, if you aren't against it, just reinstall Windows and set up your partitions exactly how you want them!!!!

FormatC crew! 😂

Roger Robinson682 said:Just expand your C drive. If you're still running Windows XP, grab Partition Magic from somewhere and resize the partition. But if you've moved up to Windows Vista, you can actually just use Disk Management to grow the C partition.........😁 😁

If you're on Vista, here is a quick guide on how to handle it......

http://vistarewired.com/2007/02/16/h...windows-vista/

x y

Don't even bother—c: doesn't need to be bigger than 50 GB anyway

Just stick your programs on c: (Windows, games, whatever else you run)

Dump everything else onto d: (movies, music, all that stuff)

When you're downloading something, make sure it goes to d:, not c:

The whole point is to keep c: clean and empty so Windows and your apps actually run smooth.

Agreed.
I had the exact same issue. First, you should copy everything from My Documents over to your D: drive—basically, just create a new folder called My Documents there and move all your files. Then, right-click that desktop icon, go to the target folder location, and point it toward this new folder on the D: drive. I guess that way the system recognizes it as My Documents immediately, so there shouldn't be any confusion. 👍

rapidfox27 said:I'm with you on this one.
just create a new folder in My Documents and copy everything over there.

Why would you bother copying files when you can just move them? It's not rocket science!

http://thundercloud.net/information-.../my-documents/

Go ahead and download Partition Magic via this link http://www.mininova.org/tor/1069166. You should probably expand your C drive; I suppose 50GB is a decent amount. My suggestion would be to keep Windows and your essential programs on the C drive, while moving everything else—music, movies, and such—over to the D drive.

Do you think I could use Partition Magic to fix an HDD that didn't get fully formatted when the partitions were being split?
My brother picked up a laptop, and the guys who set it up split the drive into two partitions and installed Windows, but they never actually finished formatting the second one—they just left it unformatted.
Now, whenever I try to go in and hit "format disc," it just fails. An error message pops up saying it can't be done... though I don't quite remember the exact wording since I haven't really tried again in a few months. Luckily, it's only about 80 GB, so it's more than enough space for whatever he needs.

If that partition is giving you grief, just wipe it and start over. Or do whatever else you need to do, like bumping up the size of your C drive...
Otherwise, just format it in Magic City and the old system should run fine.

Does anyone have Partition Magic for Windows Vista, or know where I can grab it?

I'm also open to suggestions for something similar—just need to squeeze out another partition...

Ronald Allen5 said:Does anyone have Partition Magic for Windows Vista, or maybe know where I can download it?

I'm also open to recommendations for something similar; I just need to carve out one more partition on my drive...

Honestly, you don't even need Partition Magic when you're running Windows Vista—everything you need is already built right in. Just spend a little time poking around in the Administrative Tools!👍

I'm running into the exact same issue, except mine's split into three parts—which is just great. I guess the real question is, what’s the least bloated option for Windows XP that isn't crawling with viruses?

Anthony Kern said:You don't even need Partition Magic for Windows Vista; everything you need is already built in. Just dig around in the Administrative Tools for a bit.👍

I'm tinkering around, but I can't quite get what I'm after. I want to expand a partition from my C drive—keep the C drive at about 15 GB and let the new partition take up everything else.