Member Avatar for brockomundo

Hey folks,

I'm running XP right now on a laptop HP. My C: drive is 80gb, which should be represented as "Total Size: 74.5gb" in My Computer. But right now for "Total Size" it says it only has 61.5gb. I feel like I'm being robbed out of 15 gigs.

I tried seeing if my system restore size allotment got changed but it is still the same at 1% (1 gb.) Any suggestions as to how to expand the total size back up to 74.5?

Thanks.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by hughv

Dani AI

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Short answer: the 12--15 GB gap is almost always a second, non-lettered volume — typically an OEM recovery or tools partition that the laptop maker created. The 80,000,000,000 bytes the vendor calls "80 GB" appear as about 74.5 GB in Windows (decimal vs binary), so the extra loss is not the unit conversion.

As hinted, look for a factory/recovery area; and as suggested, inspect the disk layout so the missing bytes can be accounted for. The important things to check in the disk map are: any partition labeled RECOVERY, HP_RECOVERY, HP_TOOLS, or System Reserved; any partition without a drive letter; and any unallocated space. Those items explain why My Computer only reports ~61.5 GB for C:.

If reclaiming the space is desired, follow a safe workflow: create vendor recovery media or a full disk image first (do not skip this), verify the media boots, then remove the recovery partition and expand C:. Note that Windows will only extend into contiguous unallocated space, so if the recovery partition sits between C: and free space a third-party partition tool (GParted, MiniTool, etc.) may be needed to move/resize. Always back up personal files before any partition changes; deleting the wrong partition can make the system unbootable or remove factory restore capability.

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Member Avatar for DimaYasny

probably a hidden HP partition there. I wouldn't get rid of it unless you absolutely know what you're doing

Member Avatar for hughv

You could try reading the documentation that came with your computer (Radical, I know).
Or: Right click My Computer/Manage/Disk Management.
Look at the C drive and see how it's partitioned.

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