Computer Technical Stuff Question
unknownmystery445
Posts: 414
Hi guys I know this might not be the right place to ask this but I've tried asking somewhere else and I still haven't gotten any answers. I would just like to ask if the files in my first partition drive will get deleted if I delete the second partition. I'm planning to make my hard drive one again and I'm wondering if deleting the second petition will also delta the files in my first partition, also is this the right way of making the hard drive one again? I've read that you have to delete the second partition in the drive manager to make the hard drive whole and one again?
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No, the 1st partition is safe but if you are one windows pay attention because the 1st partion is actual hidden and very small compared to the higher numbered partitions, the second is usually the Windows install and if one has more than that they are usually for documents and such.
May I know what you mean by one windows? My Windows is Windows 7 by the way. Also can you kindly explain it further?
Just to be safe, you should always ensure that you back up any important files before performing any such operations.
Having said that, there are several questions that I would ask before you proceed:
1. Is this an OEM machine? In other words, did you purchase the PC prebuilt with Windows already installed?
2. Were the two partitions already there when you got it, or did you create them?
3. What are the drive letters and names of the two partitions, and how big are they?
4. On which partition is Windows installed? It will normally be the one designated as C: drive.
The answers to these questions will help ensure that the advice you are given is correct.
Did I mention backup?
BTW, since a picture is worth a thousand words, would it be possible to provide a screenshot of your Disk Management window such as the one attached below? That will be extremely usefull in determining precisely what needs to be done.
1. The PC is customized like I bought it parts by parts and it was assembled by the seller. The seller asked me if I want to partition the disk and I said it's okay, he made it 500gb each so 1 tb all in all. When I first used the PC, the second partition was not yet activated so I manually activated it in the disk manager, by naming it and formatting it. The Windows I guess was also installed by the seller since the PC is assembled part by part. I'm not in my computer now but I think the name of the first partition is C drive. By the way, the hard drive was already partitioned when I first used my PC because that's what I requested but it wasn't activated yet so like what I stated I manually activated it, gave it a name, and formatted it.
They shouldn't get deleted. Partitions are separate from each other. Those you can easily see when using the Explorer. There is a caveat, partitions can be created from more than one disk.
However if you go into Computer Manager, as the image above, you see things that can (and will) be dangerous to mess with if you have not done it before; if an item has not got a drive letter make sure it is safe to mess with.
The partition you activated and formatted yourself, you can delete and format again. If in doubt - backup anything you would hate to lose.
... Before performing any actions on your system backup important files.
If you have the pro version of Windows, you can take a disk image using Windows; where it is, depends on the version of Windows: 7, 8.0, 8.1 or 10.
The reason that I asked for the screenshot is that that will be the easiest way of confirming what we are dealing with. In particular, it will tell us what type of volume the partition that you wish to merge with the first is. That is important as it will tell us whether we can safely do the merge with Windows built-in tools, or whether we need a third party tool such as EaseUS.
Windows 7 I am pretty sure is when they started created these hidden system partitions that have Windows OS recovery tools installed on them.
Go look in the Create and Manage Disks on your computer and look at how your disk is partitioned being careful to match the partition sizes with your drive letters and then it is easy to delete the correct partitions and when you do so other partitions and their data are uneffected.
Always have a backup before attempting to change/delete partitions - especially if you are doing this the first time.
You can easily make an image of the whole disk by using Clonezilla or Acronis image.
Usually on Windows 7, there are two partitions: SYSTEM (hidden and small size) and Windows (C:).
You extra partition should appear just after that - just check it in "Computer Management | Storage | Disk Management".
From "Disk Management" you can delete your extra partition, then click on your Windows (C:) partition
and extend it there. If you have used your computer quite a long time and the hard disk is mechanical (not SSD),
it is also a good idea to check disk for errors with option "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" selected.
I'd second the use of EaseUS Partition manager, they have a free version.
It should warn you if you try to do something too silly!
http://www.partition-tool.com/
If you accidently delete a partition you can easily recover it with this one:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
Another option (great general disk and partition tool) but not free:
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootit-bare-metal.htm