How can I delete Secure Zone?

I stupidly uninstalled Acronis True Image 11 without first deleting the 13.01 GB Secure Zone. When I later looked in 'properties' on my 'C' drive, I noticed that the 13 GB had not been merged with the other 21 GB on my 'C', but had apparently just disappeared.
So, I reinstalled True Image but it no longer recognised the 13 GB partition as the Secure Zone. Instead it just sees it as an unallocated partition. I tried deleting it using Acronis DriveCleanser but although the process seemed to finish successfully, nothing changed: the 13 GB were still sitting there, 'unallocated' and unusable.
How do I re-integrate this 13 GB with the remaining 21 GB on my harddrive? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Keith

 

You'll have to re-create the SZ and right away go back in and delete it. You'll then be asked what to do with the space - choose to append it to the C partition.

 

I am not clear what has actually been done.
If you still have TI installed open the manage secure zone wizard. If it only gives the option to create a secure zone you have in fact deleted it and did not allocate the space to where you wished.
If it gives you options to resize it or remove it you know what to do.

OTOH if TI is no longer on your computer boot from the rescue CD which you made earlier and manage the zone from there.

Have a look in Windows disk management if you have any doubt as to the SZ status. Looking at C drive properties will not show whether there is a SZ or not.

Management of a SZ should always be done using the manage SZ wizard. The deletion operation gives options as to what to do with any resulting unallocated space.

Xpilot

 

Thanks a lot for your answers. They solved my problem. Just to be clear what the problem was: I created a backup of 13 GB in the Secure Zone ages ago. I uninstalled TI two days ago (without first deleting the SZ) in a vain attempt to access the Master Boot Record of my Dell System Restore which had gone AWOL since installing TI. When this didn't work, I re-installed TI hoping everything would be as it was before the uninstallation. However, TI no longer seemed to be able to see the SZ, though the DriveCleanser could see it as an 'Unallocated Partition'. I could swear I went to 'Manage Secure Zone' and a message came up, loosely paraphrased as, "Secure Zone? What Secure Zone".
However, after reading your post, DwnNrdty, I realised that I had to press on with creating the SZ from somewhere and after following a few screens in 'Manage Secure Zone', as if by magic TI wanted to create/change the SZ from a mysterious 13 GB partition. "Yes, that's the one!" I nearly shouted at the screen.
So to sum up, either I imagined the whole scenario of TI not being able to see the SZ or it really didn't recognise it as the SZ until I created a new SZ in precisely the same place.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to both of you for taking the trouble to answer. I now have my 13 GB partition back to use either as a SZ again (this is my intention) or delete it to merge with the rest of the HD. Basically, I'm a happier computer person than I was this morning. Thanks.

 

Just let me ask a final question. I have now backed up everything on my hard drive, which totals about 9.75 GB of used space. However, saving it to the SZ, it only seems to be taking up about 7.85 GB. Does TI compress the data before saving it or should I start worrying again?

Keith

 

Yes, if you didn't changed the default then there is compression and most times you will get a backup file from 60% to 70% of the used space. If most of the used space consists of mp3, pics, or video files, those are already in a compressed format and the backup will not be compressed as much.

 

DwnNdrty,

That's good news. I didn't change the default settings and none of the files in the backup were media files so that all ties in with what you said about the percentage of compression.

Cheers,

Keith