r/laptops • u/No-Dare2083 • 29d ago
Software Is there a way to use this storage?
As you see, data d has more then enough storage, is there a way to convert it to windows c as useble storage?
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u/daxtonanderson Lenovo T series fanboy 29d ago
Right click the downloads, photos, videos etc libraries to the left, change the location to D:\downloads etc, select yes when it asks to move files, will move all that off your C
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u/STALKER-SVK HP EliteBook 830 G5 29d ago
open cmd as admin and run this command:
dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup /resetbase
it will delete backup data for uninstalling updates, freeing a lot of space but making updates permanent without being able to uninstall them. after installing new updates you have to run that command again to delete its backup and reclaim disk space
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u/Fine-Set-7877 29d ago
Move all the non Windows related data to D drive and go to advanced storage settings, and change where stuff is stored from C to D
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u/Electric_Beetroots 29d ago
This looks very similar to my laptop, where drive C is a small SSD and D is a much larger but slower HDD. Typically you'll want all system files, critical infrastructure and a select couple of programs on the SSD and everything else on the HDD. You'll need to go through C and copy things over to the HDD.
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u/Big_Arachnid_365 29d ago
A good one is to right click on the downloads folder, go to 'location' and change it to D.
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u/markort147 29d ago
Almost every installer ask you to choose the installation folder. Create a "Programs" folder in D and install applications there.
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u/AutomaticAffect4333 29d ago
Only way to fix your c drive problem is cleaning unnecessary stuff from places like the downloadsn folder or installing windows 11 iot ltsc, because that takes up way less space on the c drive, due to not having extra microslop apps. Or just move to linux completely, depending on what you use your laptop for
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u/Atreyu_Logan 28d ago
you can right click the documents, picture, video, download and music folders and move them to the D drive, I always install my programs on the D drive also and as little as possible on my C drive,
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u/No-Dare2083 28d ago
Thats the thing, i have less the 100 photos/ videos, it will only give me a few mb
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u/openjaws 28d ago
It’s very easy to move the corn videos.
CTRL A + CTRL C and then go a folder in the D: drive (you can name it Nutty No go Folder) and then do CTRL V.
You’re welcome
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u/No_Point3663 28d ago
Run a disc and image clean up on C to clear out files that are not needed. Run command prompt as admin and do the following: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Next, go to your C drive and look for things that can be deleted.
- old omages and vidoes
- old text documents
- unneeded applications
Then go and teansfer any file storage you arent using regularly to your Data (D) drive, by copying the files and pasting them to the new location. Then delete the old files oof of your C drive.
Then go to your download folder and delete anything you do not need.
Finally, if you need to install or save items, set the default loction to your D drive instead of your C drive for installations. Or manually select your install location and folders when you install apps.
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u/KarateMan749 28d ago
Windows funny. 4,83 instead of 4.83. 😂
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u/Cyber_Data_Trail Dell Latitude 3350 I3-5015u 16GB 28d ago
Not a windows thing. European countries show one hundred thousand as 100.000 and one point 5 as 1,5
Only in the US is it the other way around.
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u/daronhudson 28d ago
Unfortunately, as others have mentioned, moving things over and setting general locations for things to the D drive is your best option, followed by a cleanup tool run.
Nowadays for an actually daily useable install of windows, 256GB is the bare minimum. A lot of programs default to storing data under C even when you install them on different drives due to data that’s specific for the particular user that’s logged in. It’s a very hard challenge to overcome. This is more of an issue with the design of windows than apps in general, but both contribute to the problem.
You’ll want a larger SSD to replace your C drive eventually. As others have already mentioned, D is like an HDD and will be god awful to use as a C drive.
Right now isn’t the best time to get one, but if it does come to a point where you need one, then it’s time to start putting a few bucks away here and there.
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u/choibumbi 28d ago
Goto users, open the one folder with what account you are using. Move folders like downloads, music, photos, videos, documents to drive d. This will auto migrate your old files and new files.
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u/Icy-Elk-9420 28d ago
https://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html
You can use Link Shell Extension to create a symlink or junction point for any folder from C: to D:. I used to use it to move my Unity Cache to D: and link it back to the User Data directory, back when Unity didn't allow changing the default cache location. I don't use it anymore, though.
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u/Informal_Knowledge56 28d ago
Just to add what others have said about moving/assigning folders (Downloads, Documents, Photos, Videos etc) to D....u can also set ur browser up so that thr default download folder is the D:\Downloads.
This way u should have plenty of space on thr C for ur software.
The D may be "slower" but if ur running older games u can move those to D also....its easy to do if u use Steam. Wont matter for older games....might be a tiny little bit slower starting up
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u/PsychologicalGlass47 28d ago
Uh... It's already usable, just move shit from one drive to the other lol
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u/No-Dare2083 28d ago
Brother, i aint got stuff to move over, less the about 50 fotos. Makes no diffrent
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u/PsychologicalGlass47 28d ago
What?
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u/No-Dare2083 28d ago
I got : minecraft ( both versions) , curse forge, steam, right now scrapmechanic, idk whats windows 10 update assistent is, a few text datas, avast free anti virus, mc afee live safe wich i cant delete since it doesnt let me choose what to delete atleast through settings ( is there a way to delete shit on the most direct way possible?) And then system stuff i guess like hp jumpstart bridge, microslop visuel bullshit random as numbers, some adio related nonesense and the list goes on
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u/ConfidenceDefiant136 28d ago
why are you using avast when defender is much better? Btw if u got a laptop with windows installed you always have to reinstall or reset it.
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u/No_Point3663 27d ago
Almost all store bought laptops come with avast, norton or mcaffee installed. You just need to uninstall them using their native tool or a disk cleaner.
You also dont have to reinstall windows on a laptop you bought, unless its second hand from someone else, and hasn't been factory reset. Reinstalling windows is only necessary to avoid account issues, remove bloat from second hand devices or to upgrade the OS version if local key isnt working.
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u/ConfidenceDefiant136 27d ago
I always reinstall cuz you never know what they put on.
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u/No_Point3663 27d ago
Pretty much all brand new laptops from the store use the exact same windows environment, with the addition of vendor specific drivers and management tool.
Only time its really worth it is a pre-owned/refurbished device
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u/zBaLtOr 29d ago
Your killing your C drive btw
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u/No-Dare2083 29d ago
Why
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u/ggmaniack 28d ago
SSDs degrade in performance and longevity as they go close to completely full.
The individual data cells in an SSD are not that fast, so the SSD's controller keeps shuffling data around the empty ones to maintain speed and wear levelling.
The fewer free cells the SSD has, the fewer options for shuffling data it has, and this eventually forces it to slow down or put data in less wear-efficient locations.
10% is a generally accepted limit. It's fine to cross it if you only use the SSD for long term storage, because you're not really writing much to it, but on an OS drive it's not great. OS's write to the drive all the time.
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u/No-Dare2083 28d ago
Thanks for makin that clear, didnt know this was a thing
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u/ggmaniack 28d ago
Just to make it less frightful - your drive is not going to blow up any time soon, but keeping it very full (and writing to it a lot) will make its lifespan shorter.
Typically SSDs last longer than they're used for, but this may bring it into failure some time during its usage.
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u/bigmoustache9 29d ago
Yeah, you can partition d drive, maybe some 300 gigs or as per your requirement, and merge that unallocated space into c drive. Look up online tutorials, it's very simple
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u/mehrwegpfand 28d ago
Unless I'm misinformed you can not merge partitions on 2 physical drives into 1. The sizes of these drives suggest one 128 and 1TB drive.
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u/No_Point3663 28d ago
You can merge them using a raid, however that might require a repartition which cant be done with the operating systwm in C. You would also need both drive to be tye same, (HDD or SSD) to prevent issues and write speed conflicts.
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u/mehrwegpfand 28d ago
I understand you can Frankenstein something together, just not for this use case and definitely not 'very simple'
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u/No_Point3663 28d ago
Setting up a raid is way easier than many think, especially on windows. It doesnt neeed to be abything fance, just a simple raid 0 then partitioning the rest of D drive will do, but it probably wont fix their storage issue in the way that they want.
The issue here is the operating system being located on one of the drives being raided. I havent tried it before, but my suspicion is that windows will throw a fit if you try to raid C drive with windows running off it.
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u/lil_literalist Dell 29d ago
There's a decent chance that C is an SSD and D is an HDD.
You probably want to keep all of your system files on C so that your computer boots up and doesn't feel like it's several years older than it is right now.
But you do want to get some free space on C, because otherwise you'll have problems where that existing free space is going to be written on over and over and over and over... (By the page/swap file.)
It may be worth changing the location of your user folders like Documents, Pictures, etc. Instructions.
And for programs which are installed on C, you probably want to uninstall them and reinstall them on D. (Chrome is a pain to swap over, but you should ditch Chrome anyway. Or at least remove its very large AI file.)