Laptop SSD questions

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sharpCode

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I recently purchased a laptop with a 256gb SSD and was wondering why it only shows up as C drive (99gb) and D drive (118gb).

Also is there a way to merge them together? And also I am not sure about this but I have 8gb of ram and an i7 quad core so was wondering if having virtual memory set to 0 or alot lower might increase some space so I can delete the pagefile.sys? If I do does it automatically come back once I change the virtual memory setting?
 
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Samat

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Size of a harddrive is always a bit smaller than what the packaging says due to how they calculate it and how computer calculates it (http://www.glyphtech.com/support/diskcapacity.php). Also computers bought from retailers usually have a recovery partition from which you can restore your system to the state it was when it left the factory. It's normally 20gb on Windows 8 and the partition is hidden so that is substracted from the available size aswell.

Coming to the page file it is recommended not to completely set virtual memory to 0 due to how Windows manages memory or it might cause some problems with some software. Merging partitions that have data in them is possible, but not recommended. If the operation fails it leaves both partitions unusable and you would need to reinstall operating system from scratch.

PS. I would recommend checking on how to create a recovery media for your laptop for emergency situations (hd failure etc). You will most likely need a usb memory stick for this, but check from the manuals that came with the laptop or from manufacturers support site for your model.
 
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sharpCode

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Yeh I might leave the virtual memory for now. Though with the drive size here is the current seetup (this is a brand new laptop)
cEf9wNx.jpg


Why is the 20gb 100% free? Is there a way to have 2 partitions only? Is the boot partition necessary?

At the moment it has Windows 7 Pro installed which I plan on staying with for the foreseeable future but it came with a Windows 8.1 Pro disc so not sure if that will need it when I decide to upgrade.
 
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Samat

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Recovery partition is hidden and Disk Management can't see what's in there so it shows it as 100% free although the recovery data is there. And yes the boot partition is necessary, Windows automatically creates it when installing.

Hang on to that W8.1 pro disc if you decide to upgrade later. I recommend creating the recoverymedia aswell though if there ever comes a problem with your Windows 7 install for which you would need media to repair.
 
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Samat

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Since there is nothing on drive D atm it should be pretty safe. I would go through creating the recovery media first though just in case something goes wrong. And backup any important files if any.
 
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sharpCode

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Oh I have a manual/guide that says "Backup Windows 7 professional (Smart USB Backup)" is that what you are talking about when mentioning recovery media? It requires a 20gb USB so might need to do it tomorrow (laptop doesn't have CD/DVD drive need to get an external one later for when I upgrade).
 
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Samat

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Yes, most laptops, like yours, don't have cd/dvd drives anymore so you need to use usb sticks. But always better safe than sorry =)
 
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sharpCode

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Hmm not sure why but my friend's new laptop (Lenovo X1) has a recovery paritition of only 12gb in size. Should I make it smaller? I am going to install 8.1 tonight from a flash USB.
 
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Samat

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Not sure if it can be resized.
 
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