Problem partitioning a Hard Drive

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  1. Posts : 242
    Windows 7 64bit
       #1

    Problem partitioning a Hard Drive


    OK, so I got me wife a new Dell with Win 7 Home Premium x64 and I wanted to upgrade the HD to a larger one where I'd have mo room to make two partitions so I can easily use Acronis. I used Partition Wizard to make the new partition.

    This is the second time this has happened on the same laptop... things are runing smoothly, I use my external USB drive to load verious programs (Defraggler, CCleaner, etc) that are on my USB drive already.

    So, I'm rolling along and it's time to make the new partition with Partition Wizard so I can install Acronis and store the backup file over on that new partition and all that goes well... except for on thing... after I create the new Partition, the computer cannot see my USB drive all of a sudden.

    If I go in to admin tools > computer mgmt > disk mgmt... I can see it there, but if I go to start > computer where I can see the C drive and the new partition labeled E (the CD Rom is already labeled D)... but I cannot see the external USB drive.

    Before I made the new partition, no problem. As soon as I plug in the USB drive it appears quickly.
    It's just after making the new partition, twice now, it can no longer see the usb drive.

    Someone told asked me to check in In disk management, to try assigning the USB drive a new driver letter, maybe the new partition stole it and windows failed to reassign one.

    Apparently this is a failure on Windows part (or there is some setting for this I just don't know about) because, I went and did that... and it worked... but after you wait a while and plug that same USB drive in again... it does not recognize it automatically, like all my other computers do, and I have to go back to disk management and assign it a letter.

    So, needless to say this is not functioning properly and as such this is not acceptable.

    If I cannot find a way to fix it so the computer automatically recognizes it, then I'm going to have to go with plan B and re-install Windows fresh since I now have this drive partitioned and it should automatically recognize the USB drive right when I plug it in like it's supposed to.

    Anybody have any ideas???
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 5,092
    Windows 7 32 bit
       #2

    What's on the new partition? Is it blank? If so, go into Disk Management and assign that partition a drive letter that doesn't conflict with the one that used to be assigned to the USB drive.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 242
    Windows 7 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I've tried experimenting with all that and the bottom line is for some reason Windows is not functioning as it usually does.

    None of my other computers do this, and since this is gonna be my wife's laptop I really need for it to work normally.

    Normally, all ya do is plug in an external USB drive and it comes on and Windows assigned it a drive letter and you start using it.

    It sounds like now that I have the drive partitioned, I need to re-load Windows fresh as this should take care of it... so I'm not spending hours trying to find a solution and not knowing that one will ever be found.

    I'm thinking it may make better sense to re-load Windows since at least that doesn't take long and I know where I'm going to end up.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4,466
    Windows 10 Education 64 bit
       #4

    I had a similar problem with my external USB hard drive. It didn't show up and didn't have a drive letter assigned to it. I'd give it the next available one and it would be fine until the next reboot, then it would be gone again. I fixed it by giving it a higher drive letter. Once I went up a couple to H it stuck and it works fine now. I can't explain why that fixed it or why it didn't work in the first place though.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 242
    Windows 7 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    alphanumeric said:
    I had a similar problem with my external USB hard drive. It didn't show up and didn't have a drive letter assigned to it. I'd give it the next available one and it would be fine until the next reboot, then it would be gone again. I fixed it by giving it a higher drive letter. Once I went up a couple to H it stuck and it works fine now. I can't explain why that fixed it or why it didn't work in the first place though.
    Thanks, I'm trying that... and so far it's working with the external drive I gave her that will stay with her laptop... but when I take another external drive, it doesn't work automatically so I have to go in to disk management and assign it a letter so it can be recognized.

    I guess using the Partition Wizard program did something to Windows... cause it was working perfectly before I used that prog to split this drive.

    So, since this is gonna be a Christmas present and I'd like for it to work perfectly (everything else is rockin), I guess I'll re-load Windows if nobody else has any ideas.
      My Computer


  6. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #6

    I assume you used Partition Wizard because you wanted to shrink more than Disk Management would do. Next time I would only shrink with Partition Wizard but define the new partition with Disk Management.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 242
    Windows 7 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Well, now that the drive is partitioned... I won't need Partition Wizard anymore.

    I'll just format the C Drive partition, and unallocate the other partition... that way, when I go to re-install Windows it would go on to the partition I want it to go on... hopefully.... otherwise, maybe it will ask me which partition I want to load Windows on to.

    Yeah, I didn't know Windows could be used to split a drive in to two partitions.
    I've only used Partition Wizard a few times and it has worked great, till now...
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 414
    win7 ultimate 32bit
       #8

    just some unsolicited info--IF you back up your computer to a disk partition on your primary drive and that primary drive ever fails--you will lose your backup!
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 242
    Windows 7 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Yes, that is why I have the external USB drive so I can transfer my backup image over to it.

    Plus I typically keep a backup image over on my computer as well.
    I be backup happy... I have my data on 5 different drives for my system.

    This is going to be my wife's new laptop, so she'll have an external drive to back up the back up.

    On her laptop, this is the first time I've used the free Western Digital version of Acronis and it's the same program as the paid version I use on my main system. I've never had Acronis fail me, great prog.
      My Computer


  10. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #10

    On my wife's laptop I also always keep a recent image on the one and only HDD. She travels with the laptop and if she has a system problem, she can restore from there.

    That will not help when the HDD fails, but it avoids her lugging and external disk. And when the HDD fails, that is a bigger operation anyhow for which we have external images at home.
      My Computer


 
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