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    PC Restore partition: remove?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by derfel071, Jul 31, 2007.

  1. derfel071

    derfel071 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm considering removing the restore partition from my 1520 (just got it, review later tonight when I get my camera back); it seems to me that it's just a waste of space since if my computer is screwed I might as well just do a clean Vista reinstall. Should I delete it?
     
    derfel071, Jul 31, 2007
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  2. derfel071

    derfel071 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Bump, any opinions?
     
    derfel071, Jul 31, 2007
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  3. adamkost

    adamkost Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'd like to know too.
     
    adamkost, Jul 31, 2007
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  4. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    If you're the type who doesn't mind doing the clean install when you need to then by all means you should delete the partition. Hell, the first thing I did on my new Dell was wipe the whole drive and start from scratch.

    If you're less adept at the whole reformat/reinstall thing, though, you may want to consider some more... But Vista installation (the few times I've run through it... elsewhere) was pretty quick and straightward, so I don't think it should be too much of a hassle.
     
    Commander Wolf, Jul 31, 2007
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  5. adamkost

    adamkost Notebook Enthusiast

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    I did that as well but I didnt find an option to manage and edit partitions before reinstalling the OS. So now I have this:

    http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7627/partitionmanagerjw7.jpg

    It's all hacked up and messy, please tell me there is some way I can mesh this all together into C: and then cut off a 1/3rd chunk of that for my MP3s and videos.
     
    adamkost, Jul 31, 2007
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  6. derfel071

    derfel071 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks Wolf. I'm going to delete it now.
     
    derfel071, Jul 31, 2007
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  7. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    @adamkost: During the installation routine Vista itself should have a step in which you can edit the partitions of your drive. If that doesn't show up then I'm pretty sure there's a problem...
     
    Commander Wolf, Jul 31, 2007
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  8. adamkost

    adamkost Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hmm, maybe I overlooked it or something. But I have everything set on my computer now and I don't particularly want to reformat again. Do you know how I could use Vista's Computer Management to turn all these pieces into one partition? (New to Vista :/)
     
    adamkost, Jul 31, 2007
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  9. derfel071

    derfel071 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Is there any way to extend the main boot partition so that it takes up the unallocated space left behind by the restore partition?
     
    derfel071, Jul 31, 2007
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  10. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    Ok had to boot into Vista to figure this one out...

    Control Panel > Administrative Tools >Computer Management > Storage > Disk Manager.

    Basically if I understant it correctly all you have to do is select the drive you want to expand, right click and you'll have the option to "extend partition". And if you've got empty space (such as that left behind by the restore partition) you can just "extend partition" until it fills the space.
     
    Commander Wolf, Jul 31, 2007
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  11. derfel071

    derfel071 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Nah I tried that, it won't let me extend the partition to fill the empty space. That option is greyed out. My friend suggested using partition magic, would that work?

    Frankly if I can't find a decent way to extend my main partition, I'll just format the 10 gigs of free space for linux and dick around on that, but I'd rather just have an extra 10 gigs for music or whathaveyou without having to screw around with directories.
     
    derfel071, Jul 31, 2007
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  12. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    I use a program called "Paragon Partition Manager 8.5". I had no problem with it. From my experience chances are if you paid for it, it'll probably work. Most freeware paritition managers are just crippled versions of their payware siblings. There are a few freeware programs out there that probably DO work, but you'll need to make a boot disk and run the system in some strange boot mode which I didn't feel like trying.
     
    Commander Wolf, Jul 31, 2007
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  13. Kaosfury

    Kaosfury Notebook Consultant

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    Look up gParted. You can download that and put on a bootable cd. With that you can do (almost) everything that you can with partition magic. It is an open source option that I use on desktops with much success.

    For XP anyways the steps are thus: expand to fill -> Disk Defragment -> shrink. The excess will be after the original partition.
     
    Kaosfury, Jul 31, 2007
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  14. adamkost

    adamkost Notebook Enthusiast

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    I read a little bit about gParted to try to figure out how to fix my problem.

    Is there anyway I can merge F: with C: as seen in this screenshot:

    http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7220/captureyf4.jpg

    Will gParted be able to do that?
     
    adamkost, Jul 31, 2007
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  15. zfactor

    zfactor Mastershake

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    zfactor, Aug 1, 2007
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  16. Kaosfury

    Kaosfury Notebook Consultant

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    I'm not sure. I would delete F: and grow C:

    I don't have Vista. My new Vostro (which should be here in a few hours) is coming loaded with XP Pro. I can not use Vista for the work I will be doing at school or at my job.
     
    Kaosfury, Aug 1, 2007
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  17. adamkost

    adamkost Notebook Enthusiast

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    And this would be possible with gparted?
     
    adamkost, Aug 1, 2007
    #17