[help] Harddrive Problem?

I'm not sure if anyone here at A-S can help me.. but I can still try..

Recently my computer has been acting rather.. weird. Sometimes it wouldn't shutdown, and would go really slow at times..

I have a Compaq Presario 6312US, and today i decided to do the Compaq Restore that came with my PC.. i backed up my documents and stuff... and i started the restore. The restore was supposed to reset everything to factory default.. erase and reformat the hard drive, reinstall the OS.. etc...

Well when it finished and i went to check the hard drive.. Here's what I had..

Total Size: 15.9 GB

It was originally a 40 GB hard drive :rant:

I really hope someone here can help or tell me where I can get help

Thank you.

#149072

maybe there's some hidden partition that's taking up all the space.

i'd backup all the data, then do a complete reformat and reinstallation of the os.

#149308

I Agree with Dreamz.

After reinstalling Windows numerous times, I find that Windows likes to keep old files on the HD even when your doing a "clean" install.

If you "show hidden files" in C:/control panel/folder options you'll see all your old files in the "Program Files" and "Documents and Settings" folders.

I would recommend downloading the appropriate HD utility for the brand HD (Maxtor, WD, etc..) you have.

Maxtor: Maxtor Utilities

Western Digital: Western Digital Utilities

If you cant find a utility, you can just delete all those old "hidden" files.

Good Luck

#149390

I tried showing all the hidden files, but none of the folders that were there before i did the restore were there.

How do i do a complete reformat?

Does the file system have anything to do with space? Because i'm pretty sure before the restore it was NTFS, but now it is FAT32

#149494

how many partitions do you have? how big is the c: partition?

to do a complete reformat, pop in the xp installation cd and begin setup. choose to install xp, select nfts (normal or quick), and install xp.

#149518

where do i go to see how many partitions i have?

#149553

Originally posted by vcokett89@Apr 23 2004, 06:15 PM
where do i go to see how many partitions i have?

partitions look like drives in "my computer." so you might have c:, d:, e:, etc. if you have different partitions.

if the partition is hidden, you might not be able to see it.

you can check partitions by going to run > diskmgmt.msc.

does it just look you have one drive, c:, that's smaller than it should be? is that the problem?

#149561

Yah. I only have one drive (C:) and when i went to disk management it had the Disk divided into (C:) 16GB and 22.29GB Unallocated. Can i like merge the two? or should i just make the unallocated into a new partition?.. or what is the best thing to do.

I'll attach an image of the disk management window

#149648

that's what i thought. you have that space that you need to format. i'll try to explain it. a partition is, like in mathematics, a way of dividing something up. so when you partition your drive, you're creating separate areas of the drive, together totalling the entire drive. it's like you're cutting up a pizza.

anyway, you have 3 basic choices:

1. if you want to keep your data and partitions (i.e. c: and the other space) intact, you can leave c: as it is right now and right-click the unallocated space in disk management and format it. then you'll be able to use that space (probably going to be called something like d:. it's a partition, but it'll appear like a drive to you) like you would another drive. so you can put your data on that partition.

2. if you want to merge them, you can use a program like partition manager to merge the partitions and create one giant one (i assume that's what you had before). i personally like partitions, because that means i can put all my personal data on a separate partition, giving windows its own partition. that way, i can reformat the windows partition easily while leaving my data intact. it's really up to you, though.

3. if you don't mind reformatting and if you want to reallocate space, you can completely wipe out your disk by deleting the partitions, creating new ones, and reformatting. then you can install your os and set up your computer again.

#149653

thank you dreamz... i tried the assisstance from compaq.. but none of them know what they are talking about.. and they make you think you're the dumb one and don't know what you are talking about.. when you do.

Well i'll see what i can do in Disk Management.. and figure something out.. thanks for your help

#149658

o another question..

can you change the size of a partition? like make it smaller, for example.

#149659

Originally posted by vcokett89@Apr 23 2004, 11:09 PM
thank you dreamz... i tried the assisstance from compaq.. but none of them know what they are talking about.. and they make you think you're the dumb one and don't know what you are talking about.. when you do.

Well i'll see what i can do in Disk Management.. and figure something out.. thanks for your help

yeah, i think a-s provides better support than those companies.

good luck, and let us know if you need more help.

#149660

Originally posted by vcokett89@Apr 23 2004, 11:13 PM
o another question..
can you change the size of a partition? like make it smaller, for example.

yeah, that's what i was talking about. you can resize your partitions by using a program like partition magic (shareware).

if you're willing to clean off your drive, though, you can simply delete the partitions and repartition your drive using your xp installation cd. i prefer this method.

#149661

I would strongly advise you not to use partition magic. I used it once, and it corrupted my partitions, which meant i lost all data on them. A friend of mine used it, and lost his partition table, so he had to do a complete reformat of all partitions. I fear partition magic now. :cry:

#149784

Originally posted by rooskee@Apr 24 2004, 08:35 AM
I would strongly advise you not to use partition magic. I used it once, and it corrupted my partitions, which meant i lost all data on them. A friend of mine used it, and lost his partition table, so he had to do a complete reformat of all partitions. I fear partition magic now. :cry:

yeah, i've also heard these horror stories, that's why i think it's better to just backup the data and completely redo the partitions using the xp cd.

#149809