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

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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!
 
I'll respond to what I can.

1 - Don't have a notebook so I won't try this one.

2 - Up to you if you want to combine the partitions. Some of us find it
convenient to have My Documents in a partition separate from our
software. The convenience comes into play when backing up and restoring.
You can't combine two partitions using only Windows. You'll need a third
party partitioning program. Examples are Symantec's Norton Partition
Magic and Acronis' Disk Director. Partitioning software is not easy to
understand, but you can do it if you're willing to do some reading.

3 - The file system determines how your data is organized on the hard
disk. FAT32 is an older file system. You really want the NTFS file
system. It has a lot of technical advantages that make it a more robust
and secure file system. Converting from FAT32 to NTFS is real easy, and
you won't lose any data. You'll have all the same 1's and 0's as you
always did, they'll just be lined up in a different way. All the same,
it's a standard precaution to backup first. And don't think of
converting unless you know your computer is working properly.
 
Brent said:
2. So when I run out of space on C:, will data automatically begin to
save itself to D:? Or should I just begin to move data there manually?

3. Ok, if I won't lose any data and it's easy to do, would it be
possible for you to explain how I do this? Will it cause my system to
operate any faster?
Click to expand...

No, data will not automatically begin to save itself to another
location. You will need to save your data (and install any future
programs) to where you want.

Here is a link about converting to NTFS from FAT32. Please read all the
caveats and make sure your data is backed up first. While the
conversion process usually goes smoothly, Stuff Happens.

http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm - Converting FAT32 to NTFS by Alex
Nichol

Malke
 
Brent Jones said:
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!
Click to expand...


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 said:
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
Click to expand...


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 said:
It actually says that in Disk Management - I just wasn't aware that it was
a
negative thing until reading the forums online.
Click to expand...


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
 
Anna,

A dude named Gerry helped me in another forum category. He found out why my
notebook came with FAT32 formatting... I will put his two posts below. If you
follow the link in the second one, it explains on page 14 that the Acer
System Recovery requires the FAT32 file system. Thanks for all your helpful
advice!

Read on:


Brent

I have discovered that the partition structure is a feature of Acer
Aspire laptops.
This is a report using HD Tune from another laptop.

Partition : 1
Drive letter :
Label :
Capacity : 4996 MB
Usage : 0.00%
Type : unknown (12h)
Bootable : No

Partition : 2
Drive letter : C:\
Label : ACER
Capacity : 54486 MB
Usage : 32.68%
Type : FAT32
Bootable : Yes

Partition : 3
Drive letter : D:\
Label : ACERDATA
Capacity : 54988 MB
Usage : 0.09%
Type : FAT32
Bootable : No

This illustrates and confirms what you already know. .Partition 1 must
contain an original copy of Windows XP ( equivalent to the CD mainly
users have ) which can used to do a Repair Install or to do a Clean
Install
of the operating system should that be necessary. It is not System
Restore,
a feature of Windows which enables the user to restore the registry and
other system files to what they were at the time the Restore Point was
created.

Whilst you may not be able to see the Volume Information Folder
containing
the Restore Points you can gain information on its size in two ways. The
default setting is to reserve 12% of the drive or partition for System
Restore.
In reality this is far too much for today's drives and 700 mb is
enough. Right
click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System Restore.
Place the cursor on your C drive select Settings but this time find the
slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and exit. When you
get
to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and exit.

You can also see how large restore points are because they invariably
fragment and appear in the Report in Disk Defragmenter after you select
analyse and before you start defragmenting.

I have not so far discovered why Acer decided to do what they have done
but they obviously have a reason. Until you do discover what that is I
recommend that you do not remove the partitions or convert to NTFS.

The cluster size with FAT32 on these partitions will be.32 kb. This
makes
good use of disk space where the average file size is large. NTFS scores
well where it is small as the cluster size is only 4 kb.

Description of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310525/en-us

Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314463/en-us

It is quite easy to work with two partitions. This Article on Partition
Planning will help with ideas. It is a little dated as things have moved
on
since it was originally written but a lot of it is still relevant. The
point being
you have to keep the operating system in C but many other folders /
files
can just as easily go in the other partition.
http://aumha.org/a/parts.htm

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Brent

Reason for FAT32 now discovered.

See page 14
https://www.synapsenow.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Acer eRecovery Management.pdf


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Brent:
I'm aware, of course, that many, if not most, OEMs usually set aside a
relatively small partition or partitions (in comparison to total disk space)
for recovery/restoration purposes and possibly other uses. And that these
partitions are generally formatted FAT32. But I was under the impression
from your description of your laptop's system that the *entire* HDD was
formatted FAT32. And that would be unusual to say the least. I am not aware
that Acer formats their HDDs FAT32 with the exception of the so-called
recovery partition(s) as previously noted. It would be surprising to me if
that was the case.

In any event my advice still holds re contacting Acer about your problem.
Anna
 
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