Thread: Do I need an external hard disk?

I have a Dell computer that is running Windows Vista Home Premium. I keep getting a message that pops up saying "D: Recovery" is almost full and that I should delete some files. I click on the box and follow the instructions to delete what tiles are there, which is none now and it still says it's full. I deleted some video files I have and defragmented the disk but still the same message appears. I think it started to appear since I did a system backup.

All Dell computers and those from several other manufacturers include what's called a 'recovery partition' on their hard disks. This allows the computer to be reset to its factory settings in case something goes wrong (or if the user just wants to wipe it clean and start again from scratch). On your computer, that's located in the D: disk, which is called Recovery. What the computer is saying is that this disk is full. That's odd, because it shouldn't be storing anything else on there. The recovery partition is supposed to hold only the recovery files and nothing else. That's because you'll need it if you want to restore the computer, so it's best to keep it clean. So the first thing to do is make sure you're not storing anything on that disk. If your recent backup tried to put its backup files there, that's what's causing the problem. If you only have the one hard disk in the computer, you should invest in an external hard disk to store the backups or instruct your backup program to create CDs or DVDs instead.

Also, make sure you're not storing any of your own files on D:. The computer should have a large C: disk on which you can store all sorts of files. When saving or copying a file, copy it to the Desktop or to your Documents folder, or to the appropriate music, videos or pictures folder (links to these can be found in the Start menu or under the My Computer icon). Alternatively, if you choose to go for an external hard disk you can store the files there instead. Either way, as long as you're not storing anything on D: you should find there is plenty of room on C: for your files.

If you have already wiped the D: disk clean completely you will have lost the recovery files needed to restore your computer. But that needn't be a problem if the computer is working fine and doesn't fail you won't need them. Even if it does fail you should be able to restore the computer by contacting Dell and requesting a restore DVD or CD for your computer, although you may have to pay for this service.