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Please explain Disk Drives on new laptop

  • 09-04-2009 3:26pm
    #1
    grey squirrel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 122 ✭✭


    I've just received a new Dell laptop (Studio 1537)

    It's supposed to be 320 GB Hard Drive

    When I click on Computer it shows 2 x Hard Drives
    OS(C) 269 GB free of 287 GB
    RECOVERY (D) 4.96 GB free of 9.99 GB

    Please explain to me what the OS & Recovery are about and the total is 297 GB - where's the other 23 GB?


Comments

  • #2
    yoyo
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,017 Mod ✭✭✭✭yoyo


    Its all one drive, just the manufacturer partitioned it into two drives, a standard "C:" drive and a "Recovery" drive with simple OS recovery software on it

    Nick

    My Beer Glass collection site 🍺

    My Irish Callcards site



  • #3
    ITDept
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 281 ✭✭ITDept


    The 'missing' space is often a problem with the space as Windows sees it as opposed to how the manufacturer sees it. A nuisance but nothing to worry about really.


  • #4
    Spocker
    Moderators Posts: 6,900 ✭✭✭Spocker


    ITDept wrote: »
    The 'missing' space is often a problem with the space as Windows sees it as opposed to how the manufacturer sees it. A nuisance but nothing to worry about really.

    Not specifically Windows, it's actually how manufacturers specify *byes and how *bytes are calculated

    More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte#Consumer_confusion


  • #5
    grey squirrel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 122 ✭✭grey squirrel


    In the course of working what type of stuff will end up on the recovery disk?


  • #6
    Spocker
    Moderators Posts: 6,900 ✭✭✭Spocker


    grey squirrel wrote: »
    In the course of working what type of stuff will end up on the recovery disk?

    Ideally you should leave it alone. If theres a recovery partition on your disc (D) then you didn't get any physical media with your laptop, which means if anything goes wrong you can restore it from that recovery partition. Most manufacturers will provide a small program to make a copy to keep


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  • #7
    grey squirrel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 122 ✭✭grey squirrel


    Should I take a copy of it - just in case??

    It's 5.64 GB - wouldn't fit on one DVD so how could I do it?

    Files on view are
    dell
    Program Files
    source
    Tools
    Users
    Windows


  • #8
    Spocker
    Moderators Posts: 6,900 ✭✭✭Spocker


    grey squirrel wrote: »
    Files on view are
    dell
    Program Files
    source
    Tools
    Users
    Windows

    Thats the contents of your C: drive.

    I'm not overly familiar with the current Dells, but if there is an application somewhere to make the recover/restore discs (usually a couple of DVD's) then do it. I'll leave the D: partition alone though, it's only a few gigs....


  • #9
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    Any Dell ive bought has come with recovery discs anyway. So I always nuke the recovery partition, I don't want it or need it. Usually i'll have swapped out the drive after a few months anyway so it makes little or no difference to me.

    If you don't have the discs or don't know how to use them, leave the recovery partition be. If you ever have a problem with your OS that isn't fixable, you can run the recovery utility, and basically wipe your whole laptop back to it's factory-fresh state. Leave it alone unless you really need that 10GB of space.


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