Joining 'C' and 'D' drives
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From: tonyb on 17 May 2010 16:53 At present most items and applications go into 'C' which is nearly full. On the other hand 'D' is massive and virtually empty. It is suggested I join the two together. Firstly how is this done. Secondly what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? -- 43322
From: peter on 17 May 2010 17:36 Do you actually have 2 separate Hard drives?? or are C and D 2 partitions on the same Hard drive?? Once we know the answer to that someone can give you a definite reply. Most programs during the installation procedure actually gives YOU the choice of where to install to...all you need to do is pay attention and point it to the D drive/partition Any programs you have already installed would need to be uninstalled and then reinstalled onto D. Personal files created can also be saved to D once you create a folder for the files most often from within the program you are using to create the file. good luck peter -- If you find a posting or message from me offensive,inappropriate or disruptive,please ignore it. If you dont know how to ignore a posting complain to me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate :-) "tonyb" <tonybenton(a)hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message news:7F53570D-3B8C-4B5A-8C51-E5C519903C8B(a)microsoft.com... > At present most items and applications go into 'C' which is nearly full. > On the other hand 'D' is massive and virtually empty. > It is suggested I join the two together. Firstly how is this done. > Secondly what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? > -- > 43322
From: Peter Foldes on 17 May 2010 18:04 crossposted to the xp.general newsgroup -- Peter Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged. http://www.microsoft.com/protect "tonyb" <tonybenton(a)hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message news:7F53570D-3B8C-4B5A-8C51-E5C519903C8B(a)microsoft.com... > At present most items and applications go into 'C' which is nearly full. > On the other hand 'D' is massive and virtually empty. > It is suggested I join the two together. Firstly how is this done. > Secondly what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? > -- > 43322
From: Twayne on 18 May 2010 12:19 In news:%23fLbpzg9KHA.5464(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl, Peter Foldes <maci252211(a)hotmail.com> typed: > crossposted to the xp.general newsgroup RAID 0? Just teasing, though it would work. You need to move things from the full drive over to the empty drive is all it really takes. Keep the operating system on one drive, and move My Documents (assuming you've put all your data under it, which is what it's for) to the other drive by clicking My Documents and then the Move button. Do NOT try to copy or just make another folder on the other drive. You must use the MOVE feature button! HTH, Twayne` > > "tonyb" <tonybenton(a)hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message > news:7F53570D-3B8C-4B5A-8C51-E5C519903C8B(a)microsoft.com... >> At present most items and applications go into 'C' which >> is nearly full. On the other hand 'D' is massive and >> virtually empty. It is suggested I join the two together. Firstly how is >> this done. Secondly what are the advantages and >> disadvantages of doing this? -- >> 43322
From: Paul on 18 May 2010 14:28
tonyb wrote: > At present most items and applications go into 'C' which is nearly full. > On the other hand 'D' is massive and virtually empty. > It is suggested I join the two together. Firstly how is this done. > Secondly what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? Start : Run : then type in diskmgmt.msc Are C: and D: on the same disk ? Like this ? Disk 0 +-------------+-----------------------+ | (C:) | (D:) | +-------------+-----------------------+ If the partitions are both on Disk 0, you can do this: 1) Move the files you want to keep from D:, onto C: If there are too many files, move them to your backup disk. 2) Delete the D: partition. 3) Exit Disk Management. Now, it looks like this: Disk 0 +-------------+-----------------------+ | (C:) | empty | +-------------+-----------------------+ Now, use a partition management program, to "stretch" the C: partition, to cover the entire disk. I use a copy of Partition Magic to do this, but there are other free options. For example, Easeus offers a free version. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disk_partitioning_software No matter what partition management software that you use, accidents can happen. You should have a backup copy of C: and D:, before you begin this adventure. Backups are easy to make, and the necessary ingredient is a spare hard drive. You can get USB based hard drivers for around $100, which can be used to back up the contents of the computer drives. Once the backup is completed, you can use Easeus or GParted or whatever you want. The backup method you use, should have the capability to restore to "bare metal". This usually means, the backup program will burn a "boot CD", which can be used if you ruin the contents of all your disks. GParted, at least to me, is a scary program. I notice GParted doing unnecessary steps, steps I did not request. And I can't tell whether those steps are "null" operations of no physical significance, or not. So while I've looked at GParted, and have the self-booting CD to be able to use it, I find the information displayed while it operates, to be disturbing. All the more reason to have a backup!!! No partition management program is bulletproof. They've all caused problems at one time or another. ******* If your setup looks like this: Disk 0 +-------------+ | (C:) | +-------------+ Disk 1 +-----------------------+ | (D:) | +-----------------------+ You could solve the problem, like this: 1) Copy the files you want to save from the D: partition, to space on C:. If there isn't room on C:, store the files on your "backup" hard drive. 2) Use "diskmgmt.msc" to delete the D: partition. Now the Disk 1 is empty. 3) Use a partition manager program, or a cloning program, to move the contents of C:, over to the now-empty Disk 1. 4) Change the boot order in the BIOS setup screen, to select Disk 1 to boot from, on the next reboot. Note. If the method you used in step (3), leaves the original information on C: as well as D:, you'd want to unplug Disk 0, before letting Disk 1 boot for the first time. If the method you used in step (3) erased C:, then you'd have nothing to worry about. Once Disk 1 has booted at least once by itself, you can then connect C: back to the computer. Windows will become confused, if it boots from Disk 1, and sees the copy also present as Disk 0. If Disk 1 boots by itself the first time only, then you can do whatever you want (like connect Disk 0 back to the computer), after the next shutdown. To move a bootable partition, there are two component parts. There are the files (and we all know of ways, some good and some bad, to just copy files). But another important part, is the "boot sectors". A backup program knows about the boot sectors, and will copy them to the empty disk for you. The boot flag on the Disk 1, must also be set for the new partition, which would make that copied and stretched partition, bootable. (Picture showing boot sector, at the beginning of the partition.) http://i.technet.microsoft.com/cc781134.737c1f18-1bbc-45c7-9cb7-d61387d78324(en-us,WS.10).gif http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc781134(WS.10).aspx If all you have, is a program that copies files, then the boot sectors can be put back, using the Recovery Console on a Windows installer CD, and issuing the command "fixboot" and using the correct drive letter, of the partition to fix. For example, I dual boot another Windows OS, use Robocopy, to copy files from one disk to another, then use "fixboot" to correct the fact that I didn't copy the boot sectors. And then my "cloned" partition, is ready to boot. I disconnect the source disk, before booting the clone for the first time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_Console http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058 "FIXBOOT fixboot drive_name: Use this command to write the new Windows boot sector code on the system partition. In the command syntax, drive name is the drive letter where the boot sector will be written. This command fixes damage in the Windows boot sector. This command overrides the default setting, which writes to the system boot partition. The fixboot command is supported only on x86-based computers. You have to know the current drive letter, of the cloned partition, to pick the right letter to use in the fixboot command. The first situation above, where the partitions are on the same disk, is a bit simpler, as you're not "cloning" anything, and there is nothing to disconnect before a reboot. A stretched partition, is hardly a change at all. Did I mention backups ? Backups are so you don't come back, complaining about bad advice :-) If you have a backup, you have a means to recover from whatever happens... In fact, backups is how I learned (safely), how to do this stuff. I haven't lost a partition yet, while experimenting. I had a couple close calls. HTH, Paul |