why does my laptop have 2 hard drives 1 that is never in use asus x53u?

Hi Cathy

There are a small number of laptops with the capacity to take 2 physical hard drives.

http://thessd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Lapto...

I have checked the standard specification of your laptop.

It seems your computer comes with only a single hard drive in a range of sizes (750Gb, 640Gb, 500Gb and 320Gb).

What I think you're seeing is a single hard drive that has been split into 2 separate partitions, each with its own drive letter.

The Drive labelled C: usually contains the Windows operating system, and programs and this drive is also the default drive to which any documents, picture, music, video clips or other created or downloaded data will be saved to, unless you choose otherwise.

If the 2nd partition is empty and is of significant size (float your mouse over it without clicking to reveal its size), then it is a Data Partition which you should use to save your data to, because the more data there is on Partition C, the slower your computer will perform as partition C becomes fuller.

If the 2nd partition is labelled Drive D:, then to save data to it, click "Save As" and then type "D:" before the file name (a picture entitled "Sunset" might look like this: "D: Sunset.jpg"), then click "Save". When you double click on the D partition, you will then see the picture saved there instead of on partition C:.

If the 2nd Partition is of a small size then it might be a partition you should ignore called a Restore partition, containing emergency restoration files if your windows becomes totally corrupted, enabling you to restore your computer to factory settings (wiping out all the data you have added to it since you’ve had it). Floating your mouse over the partition without clicking will tell you what the drive is called and if it is a Restore Partition you will see it clearly labelled and know to leave it alone.

I hope this helps.

Rgds

Stoic

I doubt your laptop has two physical hard drives. It likely has a single hard drive that has two partitions on it. Nearly all computers these days will have a "D" Recovery partition of about 10GB or less, that contains a copy of the Windows Operating System that can be used for a complete "System Recovery." The manufacturers used to include a set of "Recovery Disks" if the operating system ever had problems and you needed to format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. To save money, the manufacturers now just have this "D" Recovery partition to help you out. This has been going on since Windows XP was introduced. ( By some manufacturers. ) You are still advised to make a copy of the Windows operating system for yourself, ( you're allowed one copy ), for when your hard drive fails, ( and they all do at some point! ). If your hard drive has failed, that "D" Recovery partition does you no good. Make a copy and keep it in a safe place!

never seen a laptop with 2 hard drives, itll be 2 partitions on one drive

You can use the 2nd hard drive to store data or setup as Raid.