can't delete partitions in disk management

[hammy434]

hey guys, i recently decided to get an ssd so my computer would be faster, and it definitely is. since ssds are really expensive, i decided to do what a lot of people do and get an ssd and then use an hdd for all their games. i just finished installing windows, drivers & windows updates and im planning to download steam and put all my games on the hdd. but i noticed the hdd has some other partitions on it from where i had my os installed i think.

i couldn't delete any of the other partitions so i decided to click "extend volume" thinking that would delete it. it extended it, warned me that it would turn into a "dynamic disk" and i said ok. then it turned that hdd + another hdd into a dynamic disk. not sure what that means but whatever. anyway i formatted it again and did some stuff but i still havent managed to delete those other partitions from my os i had on my hdd. i want all the space available on it... so all ive managed to do is turn 2 hdds into dynamic disks. hope that doesnt mean anything bad :/

heres a picture:

the only option available on all the other partitions is "help" too. also it seems the other partitions dont have drive letters.

-disk 0 is my ssd
-disk 1 is my hdd i plan to use for steam games, which has now turned into a "dynamic disk"
-disk 2 is a random hdd i had lying around i decided to put in my computer, which has now turned into a "dynamic disk"
-disk 3 is my external hard drive
-cd-rom 0 is my dvd drive

so basically i want to get rid of all partitions on disk 1 (D so i can have all the space available on it. and i also want to know what the difference between a "dynamic disk" and "basic disk" are, and what my storage drive for games should be set to, and how to set the random hdd (F to a basic disk (like it was originally but it got changed for no reason (i never selected disk (F, i selected disk (D and wanted to extend that volume)).

hope someone can help me on what i should do. thanks .

 

[spooky2th]

I would download the free version of Partition Wizard. That should work for you.

 

[popatim]

If you installed windows while the HDD was connected, it wrote files to the HDD even if you were installing to the SSD.

You can disconnect the HDD, power on and reinstall windows again or run startup repair a few times, which usually figures out what needs to be done by the third time.

 

[hammy434]

i downloaded partition wizard. on the program the "delete" options are greyed out on those partitions too. also even if they weren't when i tried to click "delete" on the one partition which i can delete it says its not supported in the home (free) version.

also i disconnected the hdd (disk 1, D, which was my old hdd, while i installed windows.

all i want to do is get all the space on that hdd. and it won't let me delete those partitions. why. this is so stupid...

 

[spooky2th]

Those partitions are probably part of windows boot, like popatim said. Disconnect all drives and boot and choose the repair option which will load the boot files onto the single C drive, then install the other drives and you should be able to delete the partitions and format the whole drive as one partition. If not, a good boot disk will work. I use Acronis True Image and Disk Director.

Here's a few and you can probably find a decent free app here.
http://alturl.com/q8ygw

 

[hammy434]

i disconnected all other hdds and the computer booted fine, the boot files are on the ssd.

the 1tb disk 1 hdd was my old hdd, the reason those partitions for recovery etc are on it is cause i used to have my os on there. then i installed my ssd and reinstalled windows on that. then i formatted the 1tb hdd (disk 1) but those partitions are still left over and i want to get rid of them.

heres a picture of disk management with the other hdds unplugged (sata data cable unplugged from hdds).

 

[spooky2th]

I have never seen that problem. I have always been able to delete partitions like those in your pic either with disk management or a simple partition app. And boot disks work even better allowing you to delete the system C drive partitions.

 

[hammy434]

is a boot disk like a virtual os for managing hard drives? if i got one of them im guessing i'd have like access to delete any partition on any hdd right?

so i'd find a boot cd, burn it to disc, then boot to it and delete the other partitions on disk 1 (storage) D: 1tb hard drive im going to be using for games.

ok im going to download acronis true image and burn it to disc

 

[hammy434]

umm what do i do

 

[spooky2th]

Acronis True Image should be able to to the trick for you. There is an option to create an Acronis Boot Disk in the paid version. If you have Acronis disk Director too, True Image will create a boot disk with both programs on it to choose from.

 

[hammy434]

what do i click on?

 

[spooky2th]

Disk management. Add new disk.

 

[hammy434]

mbr or gpt?

 

[spooky2th]

MBR

GPT is for disks larger than 2GB.

EDIT:
OOPS. GPT is for disks larger than 2TB.

 

[hammy434]

i assume u meant 2tb lol.

anyway, i chose mbr (i did a quick google search for mbr or gpt so sorry for wasting your time with that question)

anyway that program solved it!!!! it's now a 1tb drive with 1 partition, im really happy. thanks so much for your help, im really happy now. ill mark this as solved now.

thanks!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

 

[spooky2th]

nice going.....