Hello forum, I'm a bit of a newbie as far as computers go. I've had this rig currently for about a year and am always messing with it to learn more about computers as I consider it a hobby and learning experience. Today I decided to take a look at the current disk situation of my rig and I'm a little confused. Feels free to cringe and critique by the way, but this is what it currently looks like . Is there anything alarming here? Anything that needs fixing? Are all these partitions necessary? Am I over-reacting? I tried researching this a bit but it still left me confused, I'd love some feedback to learn more about this aspect of computers.
I'm unable to view the link, probably too much security on my system! There are partitions created by Windows that should never be touched by human hands [even with utility-fingers]. Do you have an OS partition? A data partition? If yes to both Qs, please tell me you are, weekly or bi-monthly, making at least one if not two full image backups of OS and data partitions onto at least one if not two external hard-drives. If not yet, get a routine going before experimenting with partitions
I was able to view the link. You have three recovery partitions - I have no idea where from they came. The other partitions above those three appear to be Windows 10 generated; others here can confirm.
This is what it is.
So what should I do about the recovery partitions? Should I just leave them there? Do they serve any purpose? Will they cause any troubles down the line? Sorry if I sound like an idiot.
Thanks for the response by the way!
OK,
what you have here is the OS on Disk 0 - SSD
A 500MB OEM EFI Boot Files Partition on disk 1
A 40MB OEM Diagnostics Partition
A 750MB OEM Recovery Tools Partition
A 918GB Data Partition - Was the OS Partition
A 480MB Upgraded OS Recovery Tools Partition
A 11GB OEM Recovery Image Partition
You have plenty of disk space - so leave the partition alone.....
The problem you will have is - if you remove the HDD your system will not boot, and the SSD would have to be repartitioned and the OS reinstalled
Ah, I see now. So the system needs both drives to work in tandem to operate normally in it's current state. So in a sense the SSD is like the engine of a car, but the HDD is like the wheels, and the car will not move unless it has both an engine and wheels. I tried to make an analogy to better understand it for my own sake. Am I understanding this correctly?
Also would this be why recently I've been having some Windows related issues when attempting a fresh install of the OS?
Basically put, having both drives installed during installation of the OS causes the need for both drives to remain connected to the motherboard. Removing one breaks the booting process for the other. I have 2 drives in my Desktops but only attached the second drive [for storage] after Windows was running, will let me detach or replace the second drive if needed.
So if I were to do a fresh install of the OS and set it up like yours where I can remove the secondary mass storage drive at ease whenever. I'd need to remove the HDD and do a reinstall on the SSD first, then after the install insert the secondary HDD for storage after? Is this correct? If incorrect how would I go about setting up my drives in the manner that you have yours, in my current state?
That's how I do mine, install the OS on C: as the only drive connected then connect the second [or third, etc.] after the system is running properly. An example of wanting to change the second drive would be going from 500GB to 1TB [1000GB] for more capacity. I try for 250GB C: drive and 500GB D: drive depending upon what I have at hand. I always keep the D: drive at the same or greater capacity as the C: drive, one of the 4 computers has a pair of 320GB drives. I always reletter the Optical drive as E: or F: first so I can use D: for the storage drive.So if I were to do a fresh install of the OS and set it up like yours where I can remove the secondary mass storage drive at ease whenever. I'd need to remove the HDD and do a reinstall on the SSD first, then after the install insert the secondary HDD for storage after? Is this correct? If incorrect how would I go about setting up my drives in the manner that you have yours, in my current state?
It's definitely a strange configuration. But, don't go deleting things without understanding what they do.
Right now you are not getting the full benefits of the SSD since parts of your OS are still installed on the hard disk.
