dual hard drives

[jenbot]

okay--I saved the screen print in paint. Now What??

[GX1_Man]

That looks normal for what you describe. A full original C drive and a nearly empty E Drive. (It is E because it was added after the system recognized the optical (D) drive.) You first need to move some data files to the E drive so that Windows can function normally. (You need 1-0-15% free space on the C drive.)

Now what is the question? There seems to be no problem

[soybean]

Ummm ...., you seem to have a weird computer.  You should see Hard Disk Drives as a category and Devices with Removable Storage as another category, as shown here:



Looks to me like another case of format and reinstall Windows.  Do you have a genuine Microsoft Windows CD or a Restore CD that came with your computer?

[soybean]

That looks normal for what you describe. A full original C drive and a nearly empty D Drive. You first need to move some data files to the D drive so that Windows can function normally. (You need 1-0-15% free space on the C drive.)

Now what is the question? There seems to be no problem

Am I having a mental lapse?  Is she using a certain Explorer View that displays her info that way instead of the way my screen print looks?

[Dilbert]

soybean: Yes and Yes.

[Fed]

Soybean is a HDD hoarder! LOL
Where is your C: Drive Soybean?

[soybean]

soybean: Yes and Yes.

Dilbert, help!  What view is it?

[soybean]

Soybean is a HDD hoarder! LOL
Where is your C: Drive Soybean?

It's all one partitioned hard drive.  C is hidden.

[Fed]

I prefer the KISS approach.

[soybean]

OK, Fed, now I have the same View as you; it's the Details View, with "Show in Groups" disabled.  I still have the left panel, with System Tasks, Other Places, and Details; I don't know how to disable that.

Edit: jenbot's My Computer window still looks abnormal, though.  Notice the 0% above drive C and 80% above drive E.  Well, I finally figured out how to make My Computer window look like hers.  She's using a Details View, with Icons arranged by Free Space.

[jenbot]

One of my original questions was how to access the new E drive. The installer told me to do something like F2 at Start, arrow to Boot and down to Hard Disk Drive--and choose the new drive. Do I have to restart my computer every time I want to access this??

My game plan is to move all my pictures and media to new hard drive--which should free up over half of the old C drive. What do you think is the easiest way to do this. I've also found a File transfer wizard--can I use that??

Happy New Year!!
Jenbot

[GX1_Man]

The easiest way is to open two exporer Windows, one with the C drive and one with the E drive and just drag the folders or files from the C drive to the E drive. NOTE: This should only be done with data files (pictures, MP3's, etc.), not the actual program files.

[jenbot]

Will I have to create appropriate folders on the new E hd?? Or will dragging them just keep them as they are??

I did fiddle around with the views of My Computer and I got mine to look like the other examples. I think my friend had changed the view to include the available memory so we could keep an eye on it.  

Thanks much!
Jen

[Neil]

The E: drive is not empty which suggests you or someone has already placed some data on it.

Let's keep it simple. Find the folder you want to put on your E: drive, in your C: drive. Left click it (or drag a box around multiple folders) to select them. Right click one of the folders and press copy. Then go to your E: drive and right click in an empty area in the window. Press paste. After making sure they have copied, go to your original files and delete them if you wish. Don't forget to remove them from the recycle bin. I'm not sure how computer savy you are, but if you're in any doubt practice with a few files first and do not delete the originals until you are sure they have copied correctly. You can use cut instead of copy but this will remove the original files in the process, ie delete them.

You can put the data anywhere you want on the E: drive. What folders to put them in is up to you. You can move files such as pictures, photos etc but you cannot move programs and applications or their data. Most of the time they will not run. You will need to reinstall them to the E: drive.

I hope this helps.

[soybean]

In addition to what Neil and GX1_MAN said, here's a way to move your entire My Documents folder to E, which I recommend doing.  Right click on My Documents, select Properties, click on the Move button, click on the plus sign next to My Computer to display your drives under it, select drive E, and click OK.  Windows will now move My Documents and all its contents to E.