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Mags52
Nov 10, 2006, 02:45 AM
I have a Sony Vaio laptop. It came with a XP loaded and a partition with C 15gig and D60gig (approx). All operating system and programme files automatically save to C and I have just realised that it is very nearly full. I have done a thorough clean up putting all other files into D and trimmed the programme files down to those I use but it is still full. I am a freelance writer to the web but not a techie so I need advice on how to resize the C partition. I also would have preferred the programme and OS files to be in a different drive to C where Windows automatically wants to save everything to. For instance, as Windows automatically saves to C it would be easier to choose to put programme files into D and then allow it to do it's stuff with ordinary docs and media files as I save these more often. Any advice?
Thanks
Mags

ScottGem
Nov 10, 2006, 08:12 AM
Program files don't "automatically" save to any partition, but they do automatically DEFAULT to wherever the Program Files folder is, which is usually C. However during the Install, you are given the option to install on a different folder or drive.

I usually have three partitions on my machines. A C partition for just the OS, a D partition for data and E for programs.

With XP, all data files are saved, by default, into your Documents and Settings folder. That could be taking up a chunk of real estate. Moving the D&S to another drive requires some registry hacks.

I would look more closely to unsintalling your programs and reinstalling them on D and making sure your data is on D. A 15G partition is a good size for an XP OS partition.

However, if you do need to resize, I recommend getting Partition Magic. It's the best tool for resizing partitions without losing data.