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(SOLVED) What Gives after 4 Primary Drives


bookie32

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Hi folks :hello:

Bit of a general question concerning partitioning a drive.

I usually buy to order new laptops for my customers and then if they have just the C: drive and now backup drive I add another partition.

This hasn't been a problem, but now in their wisdom HP have decided that a recovery drive isn't enough and that they have used up all primary options for partitioning.

Example:

On this latest G62 there is the "System" drive "C" "Recovery" and "HP_Tools".......all are Primary

There is no extra partition for people to back up their files on?! We all know that you should do backups on backups, but as long asa drive is healthy I like to shrink them to give them some space to back up files in case/when windows crashes...

Is there a solution to this? Bit stupid having one drive partition C: that is 500GBS...

Can anyone help me out here?

bookie32

Edited by bookie32
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Bit stupid having one drive partition C: that is 500GBS...

That's how I like it personally. In fact, the very first thing I do to machines with a bunch of crappy small partitions is blow them all away (including recovery partitions) and recreate one nice big partition. No matter how big they make the C: partition I'll run out of space. OS + number of large apps + pagefile + temp files + large user profiles + current downloads and working files just takes a LOT of space (nevermind if you want to have some games on there too). And those other small partitions usually end up being mostly unused/wasted (while struggling to make space on C:). Of course, videos, music, vmware images, disc mages, installers and what not end up on other drives.

Most decent backup solutions will let you save the backup directly on the drive you're backuping, on an external hard drive, on a network share or FTP server (and other network-related means), on USB devices, on DVDs, etc so it hasn't been a problem for me.

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Hi CoffeFiend :hello:

I appreciate your input....but....LOL you are not dealing with customers that have a hard time knowing how to start the computer...this was just a way for me to make it easier for them...

The other thing is I can't go removing recovery partitions etc......And most of them wouldn't know how...LOL

Thanks anyway

bookie32

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Hi myselfidem :hello:

I am grateful for the info...but can't in all honesty recommend to a customer to remove the recovery partition from a new computer....and a little knowledge is dangerous for those who don't know :whistle:

Thanks anyway

booke32

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Why don't you just resize the partitions (using something free like systemrescueCD ) and then backup one of the not bootable one and create an extended partition with the free space then restore the backed up on to a logical and then create another one ?

What does each partition contains ?

Another thing, after doing this, you'll have to modify the HP recovery process as it could not work anymore or might delete the extended partition.

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I am grateful for the info...but can't in all honesty recommend to a customer to remove the recovery partition from a new computer

Hi bookie32:

No solution at all without loosing one of the primary partitions. Taking into account the contents of all four (bootmanager, OS, recovery and manufacturer device drivers) you can't offer this to your customers.

Mind that having everything into C drive means an obvious danger for users' files and folders, forcing them to buy external backup devices....

User needs and manufacturer's interests are very different things, and as said "Good for the hound, bad for the hare".

Greetings.

Edited by cannie
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No solution at all without loosing one of the primary partitions. Taking into account the contents of all four (bootmanager, OS, recovery and manufacturer device drivers) you can't offer this to your customers.

Not really, actually a couple solutions are still possible, though obviously workarounds, and NOT "additional primaries".

  • A partition can be made "logical volume inside extended" and keep bootability (if needed).
  • If using grub4dos is allowed, a "rotating set" of primary partitions is possible.

@bookie32

Let me know if any of the above just hinted thingies may suite you and I'll post more info.

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
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Hi jaclaz :hello:

Hope you are well mate!! I was thinking of the extended and logical..... Was you thinking of booting from a Linux cd and using gparted or something similar?

Thanks for coming by!

bookie32

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I was thinking of the extended and logical..... Was you thinking of booting from a Linux cd and using gparted or something similar?

Or maybe just using Windows 7 built-in tools. :unsure:

The more likely to be a good candidate for the "move" are IMHO (strangely enough ;)):

  • the actual C: partition :w00t: (remember this is the one you have to modify anyway to make space for the "backup partition" :angel )
  • the "HP-tools" one :sneaky:

Can you post some details or - ideally - a copy of the actual MBR as attachment inside a .zip or .7z?

And please also:

  • a screenshot in disk management
  • a report about free space available in each partition

I would like to check a couple of things, and think a bit about possible "alignment" problems before attempting to suggest you which one is better suited and a possible procedure.

jaclaz

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Anyway, I think, it is advisable to create the recovery CD first, before to create an new partition!

Maybe the recovery partition (D:\) can't working fine if the size of the partition C:\ is amended!

And if there is some trouble , you can reinstall properly your OS like the first time!

Edited by myselfidem
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I think, it's better to leave the choice to the customer to decide if he wants create an new partition or make others changes on a computer,

because if you do some changes on a computer and you delivery this one, there is no more manufacturer warranty!

Create a new partition (HP Forum)!

Example: same link given above:

http://www.mydigital...in-hp-computer/

It's just my advice!

Edited by myselfidem
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