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    Problem with 7811FX Hard Drive Already?

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by mikel2290, Aug 14, 2008.

  1. mikel2290

    mikel2290 Newbie

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    I picked up my 7811fx last week and finally opened it today. When I went to "My Computer", I noticed the hard drive was setup in 2 partitions right out of the box. I figured this was normal as the recovery partition would be the second partition. Not so much. There is absoutely nothing on the second partition.

    Anyone else notice this? Did anyone have a recovery partition with recovery information on it? :eek:
     
    mikel2290, Aug 14, 2008
    #1
  2. Jakamo5

    Jakamo5 Tetra Vaal

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    We noticed this, it is setup in 2 partitions on all of them. We don't know why (or no one I've talked to does know why), but it doesn't really cause any problems so theres no need for concern.
     
    Jakamo5, Aug 14, 2008
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  3. ashura

    ashura Notebook Evangelist

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    They probably expect you to store your recovery/backup files on the 2nd partition and reinstall Windows on the first. BYOB of recovery...
     
    ashura, Aug 14, 2008
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  4. irablumberg

    irablumberg Notebook Consultant

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    On my 7811 there are 3 partitions, a recovery partition of 10 G, an OS partition that appears as the C: drive and a "data" partition that appears as the D: drive. The D: drive partition is intended for user data and is empty on delivery.

    As I prefer a single partition per drive, I deleted the empty D: drive and then extended the C: partition to the full drive size. Now I have the recovery partition that sits hidden until I need to do an emergency re-install and a C: drive.

    All is well.

    Ira
     
    irablumberg, Aug 14, 2008
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  5. Diablo

    Diablo Metalhead

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    did you try going into control panel, folder options, view, and uncheck the box that says 'hide protected operating system files' ? i bet it aint empty.
     
    Diablo, Aug 14, 2008
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  6. Flowah

    Flowah Notebook Consultant

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    Is this possibly whats keeping me from installing XP64? I tried a couple times and it gives me some sort of harddrive error each time. I did delete the D: drive, but I can't touch the EISA one.
     
    Flowah, Aug 14, 2008
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  7. Quadzilla

    Quadzilla The eye is watching you

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    Your XP64 have the sata drivers it needs for this machine ? if it doesnt thats whats preventing you from installing xp of any flavor. You will have to search on how to get the sata drivers onto an xp disk or use an external floppy for the drivers.
     
    Quadzilla, Aug 14, 2008
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  8. Flowah

    Flowah Notebook Consultant

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    This is the error that i see
    [​IMG]
     
    Flowah, Aug 14, 2008
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  9. Dook

    Dook Notebook Virtuoso

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    A lot of manus do this now and personally I think its a good idea. I have always partitioned large drives(or in my case a large RAID array) into two. It allows you to keep your system file separate from your data(ie. Music, Pictures, Downloads, pr0n, etc) if so desired. Another benefit is if you decide to add another OS later on and dual boot, you already have the separate partition. If it really bothers you having it separated into two, just merge them. Make sure you don't funk with the recovery partition, tho.
     
    Dook, Aug 14, 2008
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  10. Syngensmyth

    Syngensmyth In All Seriousness

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    See if this helps:
    http://neonpulse.net/2008/03/06/windows-xp-on-the-gateway-p-6831fx/

    I've never had to install SATA drivers on my systems to get the HD recognized nor have I had to change to "compatibility mode." Not sure what this does to performance of the SATA if anything.

    But I assume once you install the chipset drivers, you can switch back to "Advanced Mode" in BIOS so non issue.
     
    Syngensmyth, Aug 14, 2008
    #10