Why do i have 2 drives?

[GTraymond2820]

Hello its me again, my last post was about registry cleaning which most of you have recommend not to do so i take your word. This time im doing a bit spring cleaning on my pc which i always reinstall the operating system once every 5 months. So i went ahead to do the installation but i noticed that there are 3 drives that are present, the first one is called ''SYSTEM'' the second is ''Local C'' which i have all of my things on and the last is the recovery partition ''HP'' which comes with my system. So is it safe to format everything and start back since i have no use for the hp factory restore i am planning to keep a image of my clean installation on there, also what about the system drive what does that do?

 

[essenbe]

The 'System Drive' is what boots your computer. If you remove the recovery partition, you will have no way to get back to the HP factory installation. You most likely don't have 3 drives, you have 1 drive with 3 partitions. For what you are doing, you may find this tutorial helpful. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html

 

[GTraymond2820]

Well yes that was the tutorial i was following, but i was wondering is it safe to format all 3 of them and install windows 7 to my c drive?

 

[bigmck]

Well yes that was the tutorial i was following, but i was wondering is it safe to format all 3 of them and install windows 7 to my c drive?

If you have a Windows 7 disk you can format your whole drive, but most PC's that you buy in a store do not give you a disk. They only have the System Drive on what you are calling your "third drive". If you format that you will have no way of starting your PC.

 

[GTraymond2820]

Thx for the tip i dont have a windows 7 disk but it is saved on a flash drive which i found to be much better. So that only leaves the hp recovery part since i dont have any use for it is it recommend to format it and use it for something else or just leave it be

 

[bigmck]

Thx for the tip i dont have a windows 7 disk but it is saved on a flash drive which i found to be much better. So that only leaves the hp recovery part since i dont have any use for it is it recommend to format it and use it for something else or just leave it be

I would be safe and not format the system drive. It isn't that big. Just format the other two drives.

 

[GTraymond2820]

Great cause I wanna keep a system image of my windows on there. Just curious how much space does a system image take?

 

[kegobeer]

Image size varies on the size of the installation.

BTW - it's completely unnecessary to install the operating system every five months. It shouldn't be necessary to do that at all, unless something becomes completely hosed. Windows 7 is a completely different operating system than XP - reinstalling just isn't necessary and is a waste of time, IMHO. I have computers that have been running 7 since it was released, and they run great.

 

[GTraymond2820]

Lol yea I know I isn't a time waster just takes me 2 hours for everything plus I don't have any files worth keeping so if something mess up then its cool

 

[GTraymond2820]

I'm just hesitant to formatting my HP partition aside from the junk install what are the differences?

 

[bigmck]

I'm just hesitant to formatting my HP partition aside from the junk install what are the differences?

Not sure what the above means, but Kegobeer has told you some good info. We have told you about the partitions and that it is not necessary to reinstall every five months. If you are not sure what to format, you shouldn't be doing it. If it runs, leave it alone.

 

[GTraymond2820]

I'm just hesitant to formatting my HP partition aside from the junk install what are the differences?

Not sure what the above means, but Kegobeer has told you some good info. We have told you about the partitions and that it is not necessary to reinstall every five months. If you are not sure what to format, you shouldn't be doing it. If it runs, leave it alone.

Sorry I didn't make my self clear what I mentioned was what are the differences between a clean windows 7 and a HP one, aside from the bloatware what else is different, are there any special drivers, software etc?

 

[bigmck]

I'm just hesitant to formatting my HP partition aside from the junk install what are the differences?

Not sure what the above means, but Kegobeer has told you some good info. We have told you about the partitions and that it is not necessary to reinstall every five months. If you are not sure what to format, you shouldn't be doing it. If it runs, leave it alone.

Sorry I didn't make my self clear what I mentioned was what are the differences between a clean windows 7 and a HP one, aside from the bloatware what else is different, are there any special drivers, software etc?

They would both have the complete Win 7 files. As you say the HP would have bloatware. The HP might have some extra drivers, hard to say. I don't think there is that much difference though.

 

[smarteyeball]

As you say the HP would have bloatware. The HP might have some extra drivers, hard to say. I don't think there is that much difference though.

The OS is the same, but as Bigmck mentioned it would have the drivers/software needed for your components like your card reader, LAN etc.

Most of those files can be downloaded from HP anyway.