Can "Program Files" be installed on D drive? Raid 0 query.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Whoosh
  • Start date Start date
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Whoosh

I've noticed that during the installation of some programs (especially
Microsoft ones) it gets plunked down into C:\Program Files and there is
nothing you can do about it except to possibly move it after the install
and test it for reliability. Most of the time it won't work elsewhere.
Yet people often recommend installing the operating system on C and
Program Files on another hard drive. I'm not sure if it would be the same
if it was on another partition of the same hard drive as C. Or they are
saying to install as many programs off of C as possible? Here's an
example.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/241538-32-worth-36gb-raptor-vista-64bit-drive
I'm trying to decide how much space I need considering that hard drives
don't perform if they are almost full. And Raid 0 is a hassle. I want to
use small 7200 rpm Sata drives in a multi-hard drive setup to see how the
speed improves. I haven't decided if I'll use software raid or opt for a
hardware card.
 
Whoosh said:
I've noticed that during the installation of some programs (especially
Microsoft ones) it gets plunked down into C:\Program Files and there is
nothing you can do about it except to possibly move it after the install
and test it for reliability. Most of the time it won't work elsewhere.
Yet people often recommend installing the operating system on C and
Program Files on another hard drive.
Click to expand...

No they don't. They recommend moving DATA to another drive...
 
"Not sure to use RAID software",RAID 0 requires 2 SATA hds that make
up a RAID set,if you run 1 SATA hd only,RAID software isnt going to help..
RAID 0 is a simple install.As for programs to D: OS files would'nt be a good
area to try,but any add-on software is a plus for any system..
 
I've noticed that during the installation of some programs (especially  
Microsoft ones) it gets plunked down into C:\Program Files and there is  
nothing you can do about it except to possibly move it after the install  
and test it for reliability.  Most of the time it won't work elsewhere. 
Click to expand...

Any Windows certified programs can install to somewhere
other than c:\Program Files\.

Being said that, I have faced a disk space issue and I got a solution.

In setting up an VMWare env, the tech set up 4GB C: and
120 GB D: and delivered the env to me.

Of course 4GB won't be enough when I install my required applications
one by one. One of the app is harded coded to install on C: and need
serveral GB for installation; what the heck!

I called the tech and he said he could not move the disk space from
D: to C: for me.

So I googled and found something called "Junction Point".
There are serveral utilities out there that can do this
(like soft-link on Unix/Linux).
- linkd.exe -- from WindowsResource Kit Tool
- junction.exe -- from SysInternals
- MakeLink.exe -- from whereelse I couldn't remember.

These utils do similar things.
1. you created a new dir on d:\
2. you run the util to link the new dir on d:
to c:\Program Files\
3. and C:\Program Files\ now "looked" incresed
with free space.

Google these utils for more details.
 
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