Not familar with XP - HD Question

[xIcewind]

Mmm. Well, stupid Dell computers. =\

There's only one partition showing - the NTFS one at 140gigs [out of 160 gb], and there's like a 20 gig partition of FAT32. Is that the formatted part? 'cuz I've no idea what else it's for then, and I feel like unpartitioning it =\

Also, as a somewhat relevant question, I haven't been up to date in HD architecture for a long time now - I have an old HD [80GB] that I want to connect up to my new machine. Can I take out one of the optical drives and plug the IDE there (Are those even IDE cables?), or do I need to forget about attaching the second drive to the new comp? The data cables are like...blue. or something.

[goofball]

Most likely, your new Dell only has one IDE channel. The blue cables are for SATA, and won't work with your older 80GB. You will need a 5.25" converter to mount your hard disk with your optical drive. Also, change the jumper, Dell usually ships with Cable Select as the default.

I believe the 20GB is the restore partition that they create, in case they need to walk you through reinstallation over the phone, to factory fresh OS and programs.

[xIcewind]

I'm going to format the whole darn thing anyways - fed up with their crap programs =P

Thanks a ton. I'll just use up my DVD RW's to burn data onto the new OS after I format it. =S

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays. =)