??? Hard Drive Anomaly @ Disk Management ???

[mzadotcom]

Having a strange HD problem. I'm running a Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit power PC & @ Disk Management there are 2 "free space gaps" between the 4 partitions on my main HD [Western Digital® Raptor X® 10,000 RPM 150GB HD [M/N: WD1500AHFDRTL | WDC WD1500AHFD-00RAR5 | Firmware Version 21.07QR5 | Manufacture Date: 06 Oct 2007]. If you Right Click on either of the 2 "free space gaps", no other option but "Help" is available. So you can't change/delete/etc. the free space bits of unknown size.

I've highlighted the areas in the image here. This HD is a 10K RPM enterprise class workhorse & seems to have lost its' pep lately. Thought moving from Windows XP 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit would give my overall system a nice boost [native AHCI, etc.], but nope. Could this issue be it? Mind you, I've formatted & reformatted many a HD & have never, ever run into this situation. Anybody else having or have had this issue? This can't be normal.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Emerald]

your M: and P: drives are Logical Partitions not Primary Partitions

 

[mzadotcom]

your M: and P: drives are Logical Partitions not Primary Partitions

Thanks for the quick reply, Emerald.

Somebody *just* pointed that out earlier in the day for me. Why I didn't notice that before, you might ask. Answer is I did NOT create those 2 areas to be Logical Partitions. No joke. All 4 sections are suppose to be Primary Partitions. So what happened? Beats me.

I'm sure you're thinking "operator error", but there's just no way it could have happened. I'm usually a very thorough person when it comes to my technologies. "Yet there it is, Sherlock".

So...what options do I have going from here? Can I convert, in place, the 2 said partitions from Logical to Primary WITHOUT having to redo/reformat/reinstall Windows? If so, do I need a specific software for it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fzabkar]

There are 5 "sections", not 4. The first 100MB NTFS partition is System Reserved.

 

[mzadotcom]

There are 5 "sections", not 4. The first 100MB NTFS partition is System Reserved.

Ok, I feel like a complete dunce now. Good eye, "fzabkar". I've been so busy formatting/reformatting HD's, including this one, missed that very crucial point.

I do have to add, though, that I've been setting up the same 4 partitions on this particular HD ever since I put the machine together 3 years ago. The only factor that has changed is the recent upgrade to Window 7 Ultimate 64-bit. So the 100MB NTFS System Reserved partition has never been a factor with a Windows XP Home 32-bit install, it seems. Maybe a strictly Windows 7 or a 64-bit OS issue. Hm.

Hopefully this experience can help someone else.