Re: Somebody help! - start up issues and hard drive partitions!




"Brent Jones" <BrentJones@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:61F065F9-E048-4A79-8935-BCC9D62D31C8@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1. Occasionally when I power on my notebook (usually when it is
plugged
into
a power supply or when attempting to bring it out of Standby Mode)
it
gives
me an error message indicating that due to an improper shutdown, I
need
to
set my system date and time accordingly before starting up my
system.
These
messages occur with no pattern, and I have never shut down my system
improperly since I purchased it. This is very annoying because I
have
owned
this system for less than a month, and that type of error message
should
not
be happening, yet it occurs every couple of days. I bought an Acer
Aspire
5100 Notebook on November 15th, 2006.

2. I do not like how my alleged 120 GB hard drive has been
partitioned
into
a C: and D: drive, splitting the available hard drive space in two.
From
what
I can tell, the D: drive is seemingly useless, with only a few files
on
it
consuming 9 MB. I would like someone to walk me through how to
safely
remove
the D: drive and have one consistent drive (C:) to contain all
system
and
user files... I do not want to lose any data in the process though!

3. I have heard that my notebook came with a FAT32 system structure.
I
am
not sure what that means, but there is another type that begins with
an
"N"
that is apparently better and when I upgrade to Vista, will run
Vista
much
smoother. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Is it worth
changing
the
structure? What will the benefits be? Will I lose any data in the
process?

Thank you very much for your assistance!


"Anna" wrote:
Brent:
In addition to the comments/suggestions you've already received...

1. What you're experiencing re those error messages could possibly
signify a
serious problem with your new Acer notebook. Maybe not, but were I
you, I
would definitely get in contact with Acer to thrash this out
especially
since the unit is still under warranty.

2. That small D: partition may be some sort of
recovery/restore/housekeeping
partition created by Acer, although the fact that it's only 9 MB would
be
unusual. There's no explanation in your documentation re that
partition?
Anyway, for all practical purposes your HDD is utilizing all the disk
space
of its 120 GB or so capacity is it not? In any event, do not tamper
with
that D: partition unless you get a clear explanation of its function
from
Acer or your documentation.

3. It's nearly inconceivable that your system would be FAT32 formatted
and
not NTFS assuming this is a new unit which you purchased from Acer.
Are
you
absolutely sure about this?

In any event I really think it would be wise for you to get in touch
with
Acer a/s/a/p.
Anna


Brent Jones" <BrentJones@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6DFB9F80-C41C-45DE-916C-A0625E876961@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Hi Anna,

I will be getting touch with Acer shortly. Thanks!

Anna, all 120 GB is accounted for between the C:, D:, and a third
partition
used for system restoration. I probably should have mentioned that the
first
time. D: drive seems totally useless.

I am certain it is FAT 32... I thought it was bizarre myself, but I
looked
it up in other online forums and it was a common complaint for this
unit
among new buyers.


Brent


"Anna" wrote:
Brent:
I think your getting in touch with Acer is the wisest course at this
point.

But just out of curiosity...

When you say you're sure your HDD has been formatted FAT32. Are you
simply
relying on the information from the "online forums" or does the system
actually show this in Disk Management under the "File System" heading for
your C: drive?
Anna


"Brent Jones" <BrentJones@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:60B7EE89-D46D-40F3-B3B2-AAF47C383825@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It actually says that in Disk Management - I just wasn't aware that it was
a
negative thing until reading the forums online.


Brent:
It is true that as much as a FAT32 file system is ordinarily undesirable (as
compared with the NTFS file system) when using the XP operating system, what
I would be more concerned with were I you at this point is why a supposedly
brand-new laptop that you presumably purchased from Acer came so equipped.
Except under very unusual circumstances where the user, for one reason or
another, required the vendor to install a FAT32 file system on a new PC,
that just isn't done. When you contact Acer I would look into this very
carefully.
Anna


.

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