Difference between revisions of "Solid State Drive Issues"

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== Where is my space ==
 
== Where is my space ==
  
At first I did not know why I had so little space.  Disk properties showed only about 50 gigs on a 64 gig drive.  A call to Toshiba support told me the backup copy is on a hidden partition ( making it safer from a virus? ).  And that to recover the space I would need to reformat the drive and reinstall the OS.  This is not something I am really comfortable doing, but planned to at some point in the future.
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At first I did not know why I had so little space.  Disk properties showed only about 50 gigs on a 64 gig drive.  A call to Toshiba support told me the backup copy is on a hidden partition ( making it safer from a virus? ).  And that to recover the space I would need to reformat the drive and reinstall the OS.  This is not something I am really comfortable doing, but planned to at some point in the future.  I never add programs to C:, I always use the standard drive.  I am running Win 7 upgraded to professional.
  
 
== Making a backup ==
 
== Making a backup ==
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== Do Not Reformat ==
 
== Do Not Reformat ==
  
Maybe you should for best results, but there is an easier, quicker way.  I downloaded a free partition utility ( ).  A nice feature of this utility is that it comes in a CD bootable version.  One reason why this is good is that you do not have to worry about disabling any anti virus, utility......  So I got the software, burned the cd, and booted it.  Comes right up in the utility:
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Maybe you should for best results, but there is an easier, quicker way.  I downloaded a free partition utility ( [http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html Partition Wizard] ).  A nice feature of this utility is that it comes in a CD bootable version.  One reason why this is good is that you do not have to worry about disabling any anti virus, utility......  So I got the software, burned the cd, and booted it.  Set you computer to boot from the CD, and reboot, comes right up in the utility:
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*Click on the C drive.
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*Find the hidden partition in the display, click on it.
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*Click on delete, and carry out the delete.
 +
*Click on the primary partition
 +
*Click on Move/Resize
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*Expand to fill all available space, and carry out the expansion.
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*Exit the utility and reboot.
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*Time, about 5 to 10 minutes.
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== Side Effects ==
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 +
As far as I can tell none.  Except I now have about 15 gigs free on C:
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== Going Farther ==
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*I should probably run a disk defrag on C:
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** Intel: High Performance Solid State Drive SSD Frequently asked Questions: "Q: Do I need to defragment my Intel Mainstream Solid-State Drives?" A: No.[http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/sb/CS-029623.htm#5]
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** Alexander Wolfe. "SSD Onslaught Spotlights Defrag Debate".[http://www.networkcomputing.com/storage-networking-management/ssd-onslaught-spotlights-defrag-debate.php]
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** Alex Handy. "Do Solid State Disks Need Defragging?" [http://sysmannews.com/link/32501]
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*There is still other junk software on C: that I should probably delete or move.  Anyone have detailed directions?
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** Perhaps [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCleaner CCleaner] might be useful?
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*There is still the page file and hibernation file on C:  I probably want the page file there, but the hibernation file might go as I do not use it.
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*At some time some utility popped up that let me migrated My Documents to the E: drive.  Kinda lost track of the details.
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== Can you contribute some tips ==
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Please do so here, or add to above.
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*[http://hubpages.com/hub/Windows-7_-_Moving_My_Documents Windows 7 - Moving My Documents]
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*[http://forums.toshiba.com/t5/Windows-7/Windows-7-Professional-Upgrade/m-p/96585#M5277]  may help with moving applications.

Latest revision as of 13:35, 28 December 2011

I recently got a new Toshiba computer, I love it, but Toshiba put a backup of the OS on the rather small ( 64 gig ) solid state drive, and since it is a fairly small drive a lot of it went to the backup ( which I hope never to have to use). The computer also has a big ( 500 gig ) conventional drive, so overall space is not an issue just the precious very fast drive. After about a month I had only about 4 gigs free on the solid state drive.

Where is my space[edit]

At first I did not know why I had so little space. Disk properties showed only about 50 gigs on a 64 gig drive. A call to Toshiba support told me the backup copy is on a hidden partition ( making it safer from a virus? ). And that to recover the space I would need to reformat the drive and reinstall the OS. This is not something I am really comfortable doing, but planned to at some point in the future. I never add programs to C:, I always use the standard drive. I am running Win 7 upgraded to professional.

Making a backup[edit]

I assume I can buy a backup copy of the OS from Toshiba at any time, I declined when I first got the machine. So I used the Toshiba utility to create restore disks. This takes 4 blank DVDs. Then I did it again, I want to be sure I had a good set. This takes as I recall a couple of hours, but you do not have to sit there and watch it.

Do Not Reformat[edit]

Maybe you should for best results, but there is an easier, quicker way. I downloaded a free partition utility ( Partition Wizard ). A nice feature of this utility is that it comes in a CD bootable version. One reason why this is good is that you do not have to worry about disabling any anti virus, utility...... So I got the software, burned the cd, and booted it. Set you computer to boot from the CD, and reboot, comes right up in the utility:

  • Click on the C drive.
  • Find the hidden partition in the display, click on it.
  • Click on delete, and carry out the delete.
  • Click on the primary partition
  • Click on Move/Resize
  • Expand to fill all available space, and carry out the expansion.
  • Exit the utility and reboot.
  • Time, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Side Effects[edit]

As far as I can tell none. Except I now have about 15 gigs free on C:

Going Farther[edit]

  • I should probably run a disk defrag on C:
    • Intel: High Performance Solid State Drive SSD Frequently asked Questions: "Q: Do I need to defragment my Intel Mainstream Solid-State Drives?" A: No.[1]
    • Alexander Wolfe. "SSD Onslaught Spotlights Defrag Debate".[2]
    • Alex Handy. "Do Solid State Disks Need Defragging?" [3]
  • There is still other junk software on C: that I should probably delete or move. Anyone have detailed directions?
  • There is still the page file and hibernation file on C: I probably want the page file there, but the hibernation file might go as I do not use it.
  • At some time some utility popped up that let me migrated My Documents to the E: drive. Kinda lost track of the details.

Can you contribute some tips[edit]

Please do so here, or add to above.