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How do i know which hard drive to use?

Rogkam
Level 7
Hi guys, just purchased a G750jh with 250SSD and 1.5TB HDD. I go into my computer and I see 4 files. they are

OS C: 95GB,
Data 1 😧 465GB,
Data 2 E: 465GB
Data F: 121GB

Questions:
1) What happened to all of my space and which ones are my SSD (so I know this is where I install my games)
2) How make 2 files, for my HDD and my SSD (I don't want 4)
3) Which ones are my SSD (I assume C: and F: are?)
1,031 Views
5 REPLIES 5

Rogkam
Level 7
please help. I cannot install titan fall because my C (95gb): is full and I cannot install it on the other drives

hmscott
Level 12
Rogkam wrote:
Hi guys, just purchased a G750jh with 250SSD and 1.5TB HDD. I go into my computer and I see 4 files. they are

OS C: 95GB,
Data 1 😧 465GB,
Data 2 E: 465GB
Data F: 121GB

Questions:
1) What happened to all of my space and which ones are my SSD (so I know this is where I install my games)
2) How make 2 files, for my HDD and my SSD (I don't want 4)
3) Which ones are my SSD (I assume C: and F: are?)


Rogkam, yeah, it is weird that Asus always does that - they split each disk / RAID volume into 2 mountable Windows partitions.

Windows lets you combine free space onto an existing volume to extend it. The space needs to be at the end of the extended partition, and there can't be any other partitions in between.

The 2nd bay disk is easiest, just copy every thing you put on Data 2 E: onto Data 1 😧 and then use the Right click on My computer => Manage => Storage Manager to delete the E partition and then right click on the D partition to extend the volume, take the defaults - all free space made by deleting the E partition, and now you will have all the space on the 2nd bay drive on the D partition.

The 1st bay boot drive is a little tougher, because you likely can't delete the F partition (don't forget to copy off the data first) without using diskpart on the command line, but it is the same idea - delete the F volume and absorb the free space into the C volume.

Here is an article that discusses the problem / process / steps. Intelligently substitute your own volume name needs into the examples and you will be ok.

Also, the boot disk, besides the C/F partitions, has recovery partitions which you either need to back up with Asus Backtracker first before deleting, or leave them in place in case you need to do a recovery restore.

Here are what my partitions look like, I have the 2x128GB RAID0 for boot drive, 512GB D drive in the 2nd bay, and my 1TB drive in an external USB 3.0 enclosure:

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Rogkam
Level 7
thank you hmscott. once i deleted the F: partition i used a program called Partition Wizard to extend my C drive!

another question :
- would you recommend I do a clean install of my computer rather than using all of ASUS's bloatware?
- would it run significantly faster?

Rogkam wrote:
thank you hmscott. once i deleted the F: partition i used a program called Partition Wizard to extend my C drive!

another question :
- would you recommend I do a clean install of my computer rather than using all of ASUS's bloatware?
- would it run significantly faster?


Rogkam, when people say Clean Install, it can have a couple of meanings.

A restore recovery clean install of the Asus OEM recovery via F9 HD or Asus Backtracker gives you a "Clean" install of the original Asus OEM configuration that came out of the box.

The other "Clean Install" is to do a Microsoft Windows install from vanilla Windows. Common on desktops, but much more difficult on laptops - it is better to use the manufacturers OEM install and remove what you don't want.

In short, it is a waste of time to do a Microsoft Windows Clean install from vanilla Windows; there is no performance benefit, and it is hours of time wasted recreating the work Asus put in building the G750 OS build.

You need to spend time finding and downloading all the latest drivers - Asus doesn't keep them all online in the same place - you have to go to a number of places other than the specific laptop download area to find them. The first time you do it you will miss something, and even if you follow instructions from someone else - it is a long and futile exercise with no benefit, again, all benchmark results are the same.

If you do decide to do a Microsoft vanilla Windows clean install, be sure and do an Asus Backtracker backup of the recovery partition to a fast USB 3.0 flash drive (16GB or larger), so you can recover back to Asus OEM config if desired.
And, copy the C:\eSupport folder with apps/drivers/docs to that or another flash drive.

You can also clone the original drive to a new drive and work on the copy, saving the original drive on the shelf as a backup - drives are cheap today - this is my preferred route.

What I suggest is to use the Asus OEM OS build, and uninstall the Asus stuff you don't want because it doesn't improve anything, or makes it worse, or doesn't do something you need. There really is pnly one actual piece of Asus bloatware, and it is easy to uninstall.

Here is what I uninstall:

1) Asus Splendid - ruins color correction, doesn't allow fine user control of color correction, options aren't pleasing.

2) Asus Power4Gear - same power plans as Windows Power Plans, but auto-changes the plan based on AC/Battery, and doesn't allow you to force a non-Asus power plan - it keeps changing it back.

3) Asus DVD - I have my own Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 14 license, so I don't need the Asus version installed - I would keep it if I didn't have my own license

4) Asus ROG Gaming Mouse - causes some to get crashes - most don't have an ROG mouse, I don't, so I uninstall.

5) Cyberlink Power2Go - I don't use this, so I uninstall it.

6) AsusVibe 2.0 - the only true "bloatware" it is the Asus media store app, you might want to check this out before uninstalling 🙂

You can use the Asus Install program to reinstall what you uninstall, and update when updates come through over the tool - I usually don't wait for the tool updates - I go directly to the download areas for the newest versions of my laptop family, in this case the G750JM/JS/JZ.

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Let us know what you decide to do, and how it works out for you 🙂

onewolf
Level 7
Something to consider about Windows 8 in general is your level of technical expertise and how you intend to use your laptop. The RoG laptops are largely marketed as gaming laptops (obviously) and Windows 8 is the antithesis of that. I agree making a clean install of Windows 8 is pointless, but a full, clean install of Win7x64 - preferably on an SSD - will eliminate many problems that a wide variety of gamers have experienced with Win8. In my experience this is especially true with legacy games.

All told I have probably 80 games installed, and when troubleshooting them vast majority of users asking for help are running Win8.

Keep in mind that no new Win7 keys are being issued by M$, which is why no new laptops are running the superior Win7. That means that drivers will have to be individually located for each part, often using drivers listed for other models but are compatible with Win7. Even installing Win7 requires knowledge of BIOS and some command line entries.

In short: if you plan on using your laptop for "normal" use, or run mostly common, AAA game titles then stick with Win8 - it's way easier/simpler. If you are tech savvy, want to squeeze ever ounce of performance from your system and are willing to majorly mess/mess up your laptop, considering picking up a copy of Win7.