I have the same problem. Below is the answer I got from Sony on this issue.
I plan to move "my documents" and all office products and image files to my D
drive to try to solve this problem.
All VAIO systems pre-installed with Windows XP Home or Professional, ship
with the hard drive configured into two logical drive partitions. In My
Computer, these will be listed as the C: and D: drives. The physical hard
drive consists of BOTH the C: & D: partitions. SONY does not provide warranty
assistance to edit the partition configuration, we only provide support for
your VAIO as shipped from our factory.
The reason SONY engineering formats the drive using a second partition (the
D: drive), is to store the large video (.AVI) files created when importing
and editing video. SONY's DVgate Motion saves these files to the D: partition
to prevent them from consuming the available space on the C: partition and
adversely affecting overall system performance. Digital video consumes 2.1 GB
of storage space for every 9.5 minutes. As most consumers are not aware of
this, it is quite possible that a customer could easily fill the drive to
capacity. Due to the way Windows XP dynamically manages and resizes virtual
memory, if a single C: drive partition was unexpectedly filled to capacity,
the Windows XP operating system would lock up and may not be able to be
restarted. To maintain optimum system performance, SONY recommends both your
C: and D: drive partitions be defragmented regularly.
WARNING: Altering the size of hard drive partitions, or combining
them into a single partition, will erase the data on BOTH
partitions. Although some third-party software manufacturers
sell partition editing software which claims to edit partition
tables without data loss, SONY does not offer or endorse this
software. SONY can neither recommend nor endorse any third-
party software products for use with your PC. SONY does not
and cannot make any warranty or representation with respect to
the performance, suitability or compatibility of any product
manufactured by third-parties.
[The free space of C: drive is inadequate]
The free space of C: drive can be increased with the following methods:
A. Delete unused data:
Delete any unnecessary data in the C: drive.
B. Transferring some data from C: drive to D: drive:
Transfer some of the data in C: drive to D: drive.
C. Transferring My Document folder to D: drive:
Transfer the My Document folder from C: drive to D: drive with the steps
below:
1. Right-click on My Document folder and click Properties.
For Windows® XP user, click Start, right-click My Document and then click
Properties.
2. Click the Target tab and then click Move.
3. Select D: drive and click OK.
D. Transferring data to external media if possible:
If an external media (CD-R/RW or Memory Stick) is available, transfer the
data in C: drive to the external media.
E. Uninstalling unused softwares:
Uninstall any software that is seldom used.
Note: Do not uninstall pre-installed softwares as it may cause the computer
to be unstable.
F. Cleaning up the disk:
1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System
Tools, and click Disk Cleanup.
2. In the "Select Drive" box, click to select the (C
drive and click OK.
3. In the "Disk Cleanup for (C
" box, click to add a check for next to the
"Temporary Files" and "Temporary Internet Files" options and click OK.
NOTE: Additional cleanup location options, such as "Downloaded Program
Files" and "Recycle Bin" may also be chosen at this time, but to avoid the
unintended loss of data, it is recommended that the contents of these folders
be checked before selecting them for cleanup.
4. At the "Are you sure you want to perform these actions?" prompt, click
Yes.
NOTE: Since the Windows Operating System resides on the C: drive by default,
this solution details the instructions to perform a Disk Cleanup for the C:
drive only. To perform a Disk Cleanup on another drive, repeat steps 1-4 and
select a different drive.
More DiskCleanup:
Please click the URL link below to review the information:
http://www.iq.sony.com/srvs/autoresponse.asp?id=270135
G. Set System Restore:
System restore points are regularly created, which may reduce the capacity
of the hard disk. Reduce the disk area to be used for System Restore. Please
refer to the steps below:
Note: If the settings of System Restore Point are changed, the information
of Restore Point stored to date may be deleted.
For Windows® XP:
1. Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System
Restore.
2. Click System Restore Settings.
3. Select C: and then click Settings.
4. Click and drag the slider of Disk space usage to a smaller volume.
Note: If the volume is too small, System Restore may not work or the restore
point may not be created.
5. Click OK.
H. Perform disk defragmentation. Please click the URL link to review the
information:
http://www.iq.sony.com/srvs/autoresponse.asp?id=127605
[Partition size change]
Alternatively, you may change the partition size by performing a custome
recovery. Please click the URL link below to review the information:
http://www.iq.sony.com/srvs/autoresponse.asp?id=153193