Hidden partition 15GB?

So I just bought this notebook, the 5520, and so far not too happy with it.

Anyways, it is supposed to have 80GB hard drive. When I look at the partitions, I see C is 32.5GB and D is 32.2GB. Why it is partitioned this way, I have NO idea.

So anyways, my elementary math skills tell me this hidden partition is approximately 15GB or so, is this correct? Why so much? And if I have burnt the disks, do I need to keep this? Although, to be honest, I doubt I have a need for it since I was thinking about wiping this clean and putting Vista Ultimate on it.

 

when you erase recovery partition you can' t use alt+f10 recovery feature anymore.
but don't worry if you have created a recovery disc possible to recovery via disc.
no need to keep that partition.

 

I don't have an Acer, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

So I'll chime in anyway. 15GB sounds like a lot for a restore partition -- 8GB is more the norm. However your 15GB assessment is likely wrong for another reason: an 80GB drive only formats out to maybe 72-75GB anyway. This is due to the nature of drive capacity and how HDD manufacturers quote drive sizes (1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes) versus how operating systems report it (1GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes == 1024 * 1024 * 1024 bytes). It's a discrepancy that results in constant complaints from non-technical end users despite years of volumes being written on the subject. I wish they would settle on a single standard, if for nothing else than to put the constant support issues to rest.

So take the roughly 72GB estimate of formatted space, subtract your C: and D: partitions' space, and you get around 8GB or so left -- about the size of your average restore partition. Now why Acer partitioned your 80GB drive into two 32GB partitions, I don't know, but I've seen it happen with other vendors. You can use a tool like GParted, Partition Magic, etc. to combine those two into one partition if you prefer, but I've always preferred a small C: partition for the OS only, and D: for everything else.

I agree that on an 80GB drive you don't have much space to work with, so I can understand your desire to regain the restore partition space since it equates to more than 10% of your entire drive. However I encourage folks to leave it alone at least until they're in danger of running out of space. And even then, I suggest upgrading to a new HDD and reimaging it with your restore partitions. They make factory restores so much easier and more reliable than depending on some DVD's that you made 6 months ago and can't find, they got scratched, were poorly burned, suffered dye rot, or whatever.

FWIW I use Acronis True Image to image my factory drives (including the restore partition) to an external hard drive. Then I can play around with partition sizes, upgrade hard drives, etc. and then just restore the image from that without losing anything (including the restore partition).

 

Thanks for the advice. I was going to try and use Ghost 2003 to get an image before I did this, but I can't seem to get it to work. Then I'll probably put a fresh, clean, brand new Vista Ultimate on it.

Or, I've been thinking about replacing this hard drive with a bigger, faster one, and getting an enclosure and using this as an external drive. But that would depend upon Best Buy taking this external drive back so I could afford it.

 

FYI, True Image beats Ghost hands down.

 

I've heard that, but True Image can only be used on one computer, and I didn't want to have to buy 3 copies for all 3 of my computers, when I have Ghost 2003.