Setting up New laptop

[disillusioned]

k, so i just purchased a hp 530 (it wasn't even the laptop i wanteed, but it was cheap, and i'm only going to university, so i guess it doesn't really matter..)
so after all the setup, and creating recovery disks, i was wondering if i can start cleaning up my computer. ( oh by the way, i'm running vista)

so when i booted up the computer, i found out i had 2 partitions, and i was wondering if i can remove them.
the first one is one labeled " OS_tools" i have no idea what this one does... so what is the purpose of this partition? and if i can remove it, and how would i go about doing that??

the second "extra" partition i have is the HP recovery partition. I have already created my recovery cd's, so it would be okay if i get rid of this partition correct??

thanks for your time =)

 

[Markbnj]

You mean you have a total of three partitions, or do you have just two? If you have two, then don't remove the one labelled OS_tools, as this will likely have a negative impact on your ability to boot and use the system .

The recovery partition is pretty standard on OEM systems these days, and usually contains a copy of the OS setup files and drivers and whatnot so that the system can be restored using a utility provided by the OEM. I (and I bet many other regulars here) always trash this stuff and all OEM-installed tools and support the machine using my own tools and processes. But if you aren't prepared to do that then just leave it alone.

 

[disillusioned]

i have 3 partitions:
the normal hard drive
the "os-tools"
the "hp recovery"

since i already made the hp_recovery cd, i can delete that partition right??
and is it possible to move the os_tools files in to the normal hard drive ? so i don't have to have seperate drives?? i'm sorry, i'm picky like that.. but i don't see the point of having a partition which is only like.. 10% used, and i can't use the rest of the available space... i mean.. i have a "80" gb hard drive, and 5 of that is alreadty taken up by the hp_recovery, and 2 of that is taken up by the os_tools ....

so.. shall i proceed with removing the hp_recovery partition?? and how do i deal with the os_tools partiton? leave it?

thanks

 

[Markbnj]

I'm not sure what's in the os_tools partition, so I will have to defer to someone else who perhaps has that same setup.

As long as you're not messing with the primary partition that contains the operating system you can theoretically get rid of either of those additional partitions. However, whether you want to do that is something I think you should discuss with someone who has the same setup.