[Drama]

I think I have a simple HDD space problem and yes, I've searched the forum for a resolution. It seems that similar problems listed are not exactly mine and I'm a little to gun-shy to pull the trigger.

I recently purchase a new PC that included a 320GB HDD (w/out an OS). I loaded WinXP SP2 w/updates and everything was fine. One month later, after loading tons of other software, I noticed that my hard drive only showed 127GB. I checked Disk Management and I have close to 190GB of unallocated space.
1) Can someone post exact instructions to get the 320GB total? Will I lose any data?
2) My hard drive shows as Local (H): - not the rock band. How can I change it to local (C): if (C): is already shown as a USB drive? Will I lose any data?

Thank you in advance for helpful advice!

Drama
(yes, I'm new to Techguy.org)

 

[Triple6]

You can fix both with one shot, or do work around it.

You can't change the system drive letter without disconnecting the USB devices/drives, formatting and reinstalling Windows. So yes you'd loose you data unless you back it up. Most software will not care what drive letter Windows is, but some older ones do and they expect it to be C.

The reason the partition is only 127GB is because you must have used an original Windows XP CD to partition the drive. You need a disc with Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 to create partitions beyond 127GB. You can however install SP1 or SP2 now and create a second partition from the unallocated space in Disk Management without loosing anything on the other partition - you'll end up with two partitions. You can even use something like Partition Magic to resize the partition to the full size and have one large partition.

Or you can make a new Windows XP CD with SP2 and start over. You can use a program called AutoStreamer to do it easily and then delete the partitions and create a new one the full 320GB and install Windows, and disconnect the USB drives/devices to fix the drive lettering.

Autostreamer: http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=223562

 

[bigbear]

You can not change the boot drive letter unless you reinstall windows.
It sounds like you have a partition on that drive that needs formatting before you can use it.
Go to diskmanagement, left click on the drive and create an extended partion it the unallocated space.
Now create a logical drive in the new partition and format with ntfs.
Once completed you should be able to use the space on the drive

 

[bigbear]

Sorry ignore my post , I should have read the thread more carefully

 

[Drama]

Thank you for your suggestions. I was able to just use the unallocated space as a separate drive. It will work for now, but I'll need to back up my data before I mess with anything else.

Thanks again,
Drama