Need advice on setting up new laptop

I am about to receive a new laptop in the mail. It comes with Windows XP pro preinstalled. It will most likely have only 1 drive (C drive). I want 2 separate drives (C and D drive). Normally, I use partition magic to partition a drive, but I do it when I reformat and install XP all over again. In this case, the computer has probably been used for a while and it has been tested (it is a refurbished model).

It is a bad idea to partition a drive when the drive has been in use for a long time? What problems can occur?

Also, when a company sells you a refurbished laptop, what kind of stuff is the operating system going to come with? Will it have preinstalled programs on it? Any spyware? Would it be a good idea to just install XP all over again? What would be the benefits of this?

Thanks.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The harddrive is 120 gb. So I can partition the C drive to 20 gb and make D drive 100 gb and then I can just format C? How would I do this? I thought that when you reinstall XP, it erases everything?

What problems could occur if I just partitioned it now (without a fresh install)?

How ya doing, buddy?

I emailed them asking about the extent to which their laptops have been used and whether they are reformatted and they responded with:
1. Run DFT hard disk drive test. This program test hard drive for bad blocks and test the HDD controller.
2. We install windows xp service pack 2 on it. Of course we do format during this process.
3. Install latest drivers from dell.com.

I’d really prefer to partition right away instead of doing a fresh install of XP because it takes a ridiculously long amount of time to set everything up starting from the installation of XP. But I also want to make sure there aren’t any problems with partitioning it.

Let’s say the first thing I do when I start up the laptop is use partition magic to create 2 partitions- a 20 gb and a 100 gb partition. How can I tell that anything went wrong? Is it possible that a serious problem occurred but I won’t notice it until later? How long would it take for me to notice anything? What kinds of problems could occur?

Also, if it does cause problems, is the damage permanent, or will everything be resolved once I reformat it?

Thanks.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

So basically, if I partition the drive and I don't notice any problems, then everything is okay and I won't experience any problems in the future? If so, then I might as well go ahead and partition the drive. Or is there a chance that I might experience a problem in the future?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?