Problem partitioning a Hard Drive

[Rockrz]

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.

Anybody have any ideas???

[Rockrz]

I guess since I have this new drive split into two partitions, I could always pull it out of the laptop... format the part orf the partition that is the C drive, and then put it back in the laptop and re-load Windows.

That ought to fix it since there is no further need to use Partition Wizard and I'd be getting a fresh install on the partition that is to be C Drive

Don't know what else I can do since I don't have hours / days to chase down what is causing this.

I need to give this to her by Christmas...

[Detection]

In disk management, try assigning the USB drive a new driver letter, maybe the new partition stole it and windows failed to reassign one

[sc302 Veteran]

doesn't acronis make a secure zone partition all by itself?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronis_Secure_Zone

http://www.acronis.com/resource/solutions/backup/2005/secure-zone.html

http://www.windowstalk.org/2010/09/setting-up-the-acronis-secure-zone-for-pc-recovery/ - as it says the wizard creates the partition for you.

[Rockrz]

In disk management, try assigning the USB drive a new driver letter, maybe the new partition stole it and windows failed to reassign one

OK, I didn't try that... good idea.

doesn't acronis make a secure zone partition all by itself?

http://en.wikipedia....nis_Secure_Zone

http://www.acronis.c...ecure-zone.html

http://www.windowsta...or-pc-recovery/ - as it says the wizard creates the partition for you.

I never used the secure zone because I want to save the back up image to other drives.

If I used the secure zone and there was hard drive failure... I'd be left with no way to restore my system using the backup image.

[sc302 Veteran]

Who said you can't do both?

[Rockrz]

Who said you can't do both?

Why? That's just more work.

When I setup a back up image with Acronis, I store it on numerous drives so to have to go back and do yet another backup image using the secure zone is redundant and un-necessary since I already have a back up image and don't need to do that.

Just trying to keep my life as simple and as efficient as possible.

In disk management, try assigning the USB drive a new driver letter, maybe the new partition stole it and windows failed to reassign one

Well, 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.

[+BudMan MVC]

Your going to reinstall windows because it doesn't assign a drive letter to your usb disk the way you want??

Here use this tool

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html

USBDLM is a Windows service that gives control over Windows' drive letter assignment for USB drives. Running as service makes it independent of the logged on user's privileges, so there is no need to give the users the privilege to change drive letters.

It automatically solves conflicts between USB drives and network or subst drives of the currently logged on user.

Furthermore you can define new default letters for USB drives and much more.

[Hum]

Wouldn't it be easier to just plug in an external drive to do back-ups ?

[Rockrz]

Wouldn't it be easier to just plug in an external drive to do back-ups ?

That's what I've been talking about if you'll go back and re-read the original post.

Your going to reinstall windows because it doesn't assign a drive letter to your usb disk the way you want??

Here use this tool

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html

Thanks, but it doesn't take long at all to load Windows and then tweak a few things to get the computer ready to use.

I'm kinda leary of running un-known software that may or may not cause issues. I'd rather just have Windows work right on this issue.

Now that the drive has been partitioned, there's no need to run Partition Wizard which is what caused this.

Before running Partition Wizard, it was working perfectly.

This is a brand new laptop and I'd like to have it working perfectly, so re-loading won't take that long and I'll have it all working just like 'ol Bill intended :D

[+BudMan MVC]

Unknown software?

http://www.petri.co....-in-windows.htm

They recommend the same software -- its been well known software for YEARS AND YEARS! Back from the XP days. Been around for 2005 I do believe.

That being said I have never had an issue with setting a drive letter for a portal media storage devices, be it usb flash/thumb or full external drive, SD card, Camera, Phone - there are lots of usb devices that you plug in and allow you access to their storage.

Once you set a device to say the F: drive -- that machine should always assign it the F drive. Now if you change perm drive/partition or even a network share to use F - then yeah its quite possible to have a problem with that drive the next time you plug it in. So make it G this time, and now it should be always be G. Now if you plug it into a different machine it might be D or E or Z, etc. If you want it to be G on all your computers - then set that once and you should be done.

Or you could use software like above to make sure you disks always show up with a drive letter vs windows getting confused be cause there is an overlap in the assigned letters, etc.

If you having issues with drive letters - just mount your devices to a folder, you don't have to assign a drive letter to access it it could be c:\usb or d:\thumb that the device is mounted too.

You can also just remove the old registry entry that points to your drive letter that conflicts for that device, or change it in the registry so that device gets assigned a different letter - this article goes over how to do that

http://www.mydigital...e-drive-letter/

I pointed to the software because thought it would be a easier solution that having you dig in the registry. But you can that route as well without having to run any 3rd party software you don't trust.

Reinstalling windows to change what drive letter it should map to some external devices is nuts! Its only a simple registry key, delete the one for your device that assigned it a drive letter you have now used for a different partition - and it should then pick a free one.

Oh **** that icon on my desktop is in the wrong place - better reinstall the OS ;)

[Detection]

Oh **** that icon on my desktop is in the wrong place - better reinstall the OS ;)

I've seen people reinstall for less :laugh:

[Hum]

That's what I've been talking about if you'll go back and re-read the original post.

You don't need to partition any drive to do back-ups to an external drive.

I never have had to mess with a partition, except to eliminate them.

[Rockrz]

You don't need to partition any drive to do back-ups to an external drive.

I never have had to mess with a partition, except to eliminate them.

I want to have the backup image available right on the laptop without having to use the external drive since she does not always take the external drive with her when she goes out of town and is traveling light.

Point is, you should be able to partition with no adverse effects.

Oh **** that icon on my desktop is in the wrong place - better reinstall the OS

It's currently not functioning properly, and re-installing will fix that.

Or... I could spend hours and hours and hours and hours trying to figure out what's going on.

The point of re-installing it that it is going to be quicker and less hassle to re-install verses

sitting around for who knows how long trying to figure it out.

It's a brand new laptop, and it WILL function properly!

[Rockrz]

Your going to reinstall windows because it doesn't assign a drive letter to your usb disk the way you want??

Here use this tool

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html

This tool doesn't automatically make Windows assign a drive letter so a USB drive can be used immediately.... which is how this is supposed to work.

I can assign the drive letter manually, so this tool is not needed since it's doesn't fix the issue.

The issue is... I should be able to plug in a USB drive and it automatically be recognized so I can access it immediately.

It's not doing that without me having to manually assign it a letter, so it's not functioning properly... so, re-installing fresh is what needs to be done since I do not know exactly what to do in order to fix this and by the time I test and research, etc, etc, I could have re-installed the OS and have the issue fixed.

Sometimes you have to look at things from a cost factor and from a time spent on the project factor.

[+BudMan MVC]

"Sometimes you have to look at things from a cost factor and from a time spent on the project factor. "

Really --- duhhh!!

So your cost factor is to REINSTALL YOUR OS!! Vs making sure the drive letter assigned to a specific device is not already used by some other drive.. Which is what this tool can do, if the driver a usb wants because it got it before it will assign it a different drive so that yes it will be usable!! Or how about you just assign your usb to c:\usb -- so that guess what its Always available no matter what else you assign to your drive letters.

The tool does fix your issue, your issue is the driver letter the system is set to assign your device is in use. This is not freaking rocket science

"I could spend hours and hours and hours and hours trying to figure out what's going on."

Installing a piece of software to autoassign unused drive letters is not hours and hours. Nor is fixing the registry so that your usb device does not get a letter that is been assigned to something else.

Here see my camera is assigned F

Now if I disconnect it and assign something my other disk (stuff) F -- guess what happens

Here it is in the registry before where it likes F!

Now it likes G -- every time I install it it will be G, unless something else is assigned G. Then it should auto assign it something else.

So either you got a permissions issue on your reg key where your account can not delete or change the old keys, or something else is going on - but it sure is not going to take hours and hours to fix it. The software I linked to takes the account permissions on the registry issues away. And can be used to make sure there are not conflicts, etc.

Or how about just delete the old key that assigned your usb device to D??

See I changed D and used up E and F, etc. So it gave my camera (usb) G now.

And that is what is in the registry, and that is what it will always get unless I assign G to something else.

Taking a few minutes to understand how something works, can save you HOURS and HOURS and HOURS of having to reinstall you OS ever time something is a bit out of place.

[Rockrz]

Only took slightly less than an hour to re-install Windows... and now it's acting exactly like it's supposed to.

It was a new computer that hadn't had a bunch of programs put on it yet, so the re-install was no big deal.

Thanks for all the suggestions and sorry I didn't do things like some people wanted me to... I'll ignore the smart ass remarks :rofl:

Sometimes I think it's better to have Windows act right, versus trying to patch it up with other programs.