Dell 1505..is there a hidden partition? Do I need it?

I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop two years old Windows XP 80GB HD

First off, if this is already addressed in other posts, I apologize. If you could post the link, I'd appreciate it.

I notice that my C drive has a capacity of 51.2GB while my D drive has a capacity of16.8 for a total of 68GB. Now I know that I should only expect around 74GB due to the decimal vs. binary issue. But I wonder where is the other 6GB (74-68)? After reading many posts, I am assuming it is on a hidden partition. Thus my questions are...

1. If there is a hidden partition, can I get rid of this partition somehow to get me another 6GB? I am pretty much maxed out on HD so I could use every bit of possible. When I bought the laptop, I made sure to get the reinstall disks. So I have a disk that says "Operating System - Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Version 2005 with Update Rollup 2" and a second disk that says "Drivers and Utilities - For Reinstalling Dell Insiron and Dell XPS Computer Software". So I assume that whatever is on the hidden partition is the same as on the disks, and thus I could get rid of the partition. Agree?

2. If folks suggest keeping the partition, or when I run out of HD again, is it fairly easy to add HD GB to the 1505? Again, I have read tons of posts and it seems pretty simple, even for a newbie like me. Is it pretty easy? I'll probably start a different post if I get to this step.

Thanks!

 

i think that is your recovery partition mate , so i would suggest keeping it .. unless you have full backup of OS

 

But isn't that what the disk is for that I reference? I paid an extra 10 or 20 dollars for these, so I can't imagine they aren't of some use?

 

1. You definitely don't need the partition if you have the discs. The restore partition just makes it easy to restore your laptop to factory settings. View your disk through the Disk Manager in the Control Panel and see if it shows an addition partition.

2. Yes, they are very easy to swap out. The largest hard drive right now is 500 GB so you have a lot of upgrade options.

 

An easy way to see which partitions you have (also hidden) is: download Ubuntu, boot from that disc and go to the partition manager, where all the partitions are displayed. -Correct me if I'm wrong-, but I thought that you can also go in Vista to the integrated partition manager there. (You have XP, but it's to prevent people ,owning Vista, downloading Ubuntu for the partition manager because there's an integrated one.)
And like atbnet said, replacing your HDD in a laptop is quite easy as long you buy one with the correct size etc.

 

A simple way to look at it is to just to right-click on "my computer" and select "manage".

The find and click on "disk management". It will show you all of the partitions on the disk along with their sizes. I am a believer in deleting that crap. I would back up the data there first (make an image). But then its gone. My reasoning is that, if you lose your harddrive (which will happen some day) the recovery is not going to work anyway. The only thing it can reallly do for you is re-install windows complete with dells drivers which are availible to me on a separate disk and online. It takes longer to reinstall everything yourself manually but . . . I actually sort of enjoy it.

My next complete vista reinstall is about 6 months away. I cream my registry quickly because I am a program test driving monkey - frequent install / uninstall.

 

OK, if it's easy to upgrade the HD, I may as well just leave the hidden partition, and get a bigger hard drive.

Are there existing posts or certain sections of this board that goes into helping users pick and install a new laptop hard drive? Should I look around the Dell boards for Dell specific advice?

Thanks!

 

You just undo two screws and pull the hard drive tray out.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6400/en/sm/hddrive.htm#wp1123687

 

The recovery partition as well as MediaDirect is most likely what is taking up the rest of the space.

To upgrade the HDD, I suggest just using a MediaDirect 3 CD (if you want MD), then installing Windows in the C drive.

It's really easy: just unscrew the 4 screws from the bottom, unscrew the caddy from the old drive, attach it to the new drive, etc, etc.

 

OK, install appears simple. Now I just have to figure out what HD to get, and what I need to do systematically (as opposed to physically) installing it. i.e. Do I need to reload Windows or not? How does the new hard drive get partitioned etc.? I guess I should create a new post for all of that.

Thanks all!

 

Yes you need to reload Windows. The DVD will be able to handle all of your partition needs.