Solved FYI About Your Hard Drive...

jaydeesox

New Member
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8
I recently installed Windows 8 on my custom built PC where I had partitions on my 1TB HDD. I don't know why but on Windows XP my Windows drive was lettered "D". During the install of Windows 8, I used the same partition, but Windows RENAMED it "C". Since C was previously a different partition, it just removed the partition completely. I had to go manually assign that partition a letter. Not a big deal but someone might freak out that they lost a ton of information if they don't know this...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Quad Core 3.2
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    4GB DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD
Drive letters are specific to the os.

If you are multibooting - they will appear different depending which os you are booted into.

It is possible to set it up so they are consistent - but that is really for the geeks.


If you install Windows 8 the "normal" way by booting the dvd, the boot critical files will be installed to the partition marked Active ( if you already have one). That may or may not be the same partition the rest of Windows 8 is installed to. It depends how your drive was at the time of the installation.

If the boot critical files are on a separate partition, Win8 will not assign it a drive letter. That is to hide it from being seen in explorer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Well I learned that. I have never seen an unassigned partition in any of my OS dealings
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Quad Core 3.2
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    4GB DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD
If you get to know the Disk Management management console (diskmgmt.msc) in Windows 7 or 8, you'll find that unassigned partitions always appear when new unformatted drives are added to your system. And of course, when messing about with partitions, or working with drives of unknown provenance or from other OSes, you'll sometimes find all kinds of oddities as you get to know those disk structures. Check out this nice TechNet coverage for the Disk Management utility called "Disk Management;" it's a bit dated, but still useful.

Best wishes,
--Ed--
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    White box
    CPU
    i7 2600K
    Motherboard
    GA Z77X-UD3H
    Memory
    32 GB F3-10666
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX-750 Ti
    Sound Card
    Real-Tek HD Audio (mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 2707 WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1980 x 1020
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Vertex 4 256 GB
    2x Jmicron RaidO 2xEVO256 GB
    2xToshiba 3GB drives
    Other drives as needed
    PSU
    SeaSonic 650W 80-Plus Gold
    Case
    Antec Nine Hundred Two
    Cooling
    1 x 200 mm top fan, 6 x Nexus 120 mm fans
    Keyboard
    MS Comfort Curve 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech M325
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps and up (Road Runner Turbo Internet)
    Browser
    IE 11, Chrome, Firefox, Safari
    Antivirus
    NIS 2015
    Other Info
    Asus Blu-ray Optical Player
    Axiom Audio amp/sub/speakers (2.1)
    APC 1500W UPS
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