Vista - Ghosts in my e drive?

saracen · 08-12-2008

Help please. My e drive shows half full (27GB) yet only thing in their are backup files which properties tells me are only taking up 5GB!?! I want to move itunes into this drive as my c drive almost full. Can't do it with only 23 GB available. Can I Delete the backup folders? Should I format this drive. What am I getting into here and what the risks?

**johngalt** · 08-13-2008

Hi, saracen, and welcome to the forums.

First of all, we need a lot more information. Is this a home built machine, or is it a store bought? Is it a desktop or a laptop? Is this a physically separate drive or just a partition on your HD?

Now, I realize that you may not be able to answer some of this, an that is why you're here - to ask questions - however, before we can say "Yes, Format it!" or "No, don't format it it contains vital data that you need to have in case your computer crashes" We need to know more about the machine.

saracen · 08-14-2008

Hi John and thanks for replying. I have a store bought toshiba laptop. From what i can gather the Vista (C) drive contains all the programs etc and the partitioned Data (E) drive is designed to keep the junk out of the C drive? Don't understand the backup folders. There appears to be one dated every week as if they are produced automatically.

**johngalt** · 08-15-2008

No. Read your manual carefully.

You "E: Drive" (really just another partition) is actually a *restore* partition there - if Windows gets messed up, did you notice that you don't have a Vista DVD to reinstall? This is how the reinstall occurs.

WARNING

You should not be using that partition for *anything*.

If you format it then you'll have no way to reinstall Vista to the way it was when you bought it, other than doing it manually by finding all your hardware drivers and a copy of Vista and knowing what your Vista Key is.

08-12-2008	#1 (permalink)
saracen vista Home Premium 32bit 2 posts	Ghosts in my e drive? Help please. My e drive shows half full (27GB) yet only thing in their are backup files which properties tells me are only taking up 5GB!?! I want to move itunes into this drive as my c drive almost full. Can't do it with only 23 GB available. Can I Delete the backup folders? Should I format this drive. What am I getting into here and what the risks?
My System Specs

08-13-2008	#2 (permalink)
johngalt Vista Ultimate x64 MAK, OpenSolaris 5, Gentoo 2008.1.... 3,848 posts	Re: Ghosts in my e drive? Hi, saracen, and welcome to the forums. First of all, we need a lot more information. Is this a home built machine, or is it a store bought? Is it a desktop or a laptop? Is this a physically separate drive or just a partition on your HD? Now, I realize that you may not be able to answer some of this, an that is why you're here - to ask questions - however, before we can say "Yes, Format it!" or "No, don't format it it contains vital data that you need to have in case your computer crashes" We need to know more about the machine.
My System Specs

08-14-2008	#3 (permalink)
saracen vista Home Premium 32bit 2 posts	Re: Ghosts in my e drive? Hi John and thanks for replying. I have a store bought toshiba laptop. From what i can gather the Vista (C) drive contains all the programs etc and the partitioned Data (E) drive is designed to keep the junk out of the C drive? Don't understand the backup folders. There appears to be one dated every week as if they are produced automatically.
My System Specs

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