Disc Partitions

[ntuser]

After doing a little research i've come to the conlusion that I want 3
partitions on my hard disc instead of my current singe large one. The
structure I wanted to implement would be as follows:
Partition 01 = Basic - system (bootable XP installation) - C: drive
Partition 02 = Basic - program files - D: drive
Partition 03 = Basic - documents/user created files - E: drive

My questions are:

1. What minimum amount of megabytes should my system (C partition be for
the optimum performance of XP? And what should the maximum amount be?
2. Can the registry handle the XP installtion in onc partition, the programs
in another and the documents in yet another? E.g. If I installed Office on
the programs partition (D will I see it in the Start menu afterwards
indicating that Windows knows its there. This is probably a stupid question
but an important one nonetheless! I did read somewhere that having the
programs and the Windows installation on seperate partitions makes Windows
'unhappy' whatever that means o_O.

 

[ntuser]

I guess what i'm asking is - will the 3 partitions operate in an identical
manner to having everything all on 1 partition? With the only difference
being the increased performance due to disc organisation (page file issues
etc) and data recovery should a reinstallation of XP be required.

Yes, I tend to complicate matters unecessarily...I know

 

[Eric]

Maybe this Q&A will provide you with some answers:

http://www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/HDDProblems3.htm#fulldrive

Eric,
PC Buyer Beware!
http://www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/

 

[badgolferman]

After doing a little research i've come to the conlusion that I want 3
partitions on my hard disc instead of my current singe large one. The
structure I wanted to implement would be as follows:
Partition 01 = Basic - system (bootable XP installation) - C: drive
Partition 02 = Basic - program files - D: drive
Partition 03 = Basic - documents/user created files - E: drive

My questions are:

1. What minimum amount of megabytes should my system (C partition
be for the optimum performance of XP? And what should the maximum
amount be? 2. Can the registry handle the XP installtion in onc
partition, the programs in another and the documents in yet another?
E.g. If I installed Office on the programs partition (D will I see
it in the Start menu afterwards indicating that Windows knows its
there. This is probably a stupid question but an important one
nonetheless! I did read somewhere that having the programs and the
Windows installation on seperate partitions makes Windows 'unhappy'
whatever that means o_O.

I think this use to be an option in the past with FAT but not
necessarily such a big deal anymore. NTFS has made separating the
partitions for organization's sake and/or defragging reasons not so
important anymore.

If you want to optimize your XP's disk seeking, one of the best things
you could do is to move the page file to a different spindle. That
means having another hard disk, not a different partition.

 

[ntuser]

Hmmm, perhaps then I'll just create 2 partitions. 1 for
windows/programs/documents and 1 for backup purposes. This raises another
question; If I chose to (as my backup process) just take an image of my C:
drive and store it in the backup partition. Would that backup partition have
to be >/= the size of the drive being imaged (backed up)?

 

[JS]

There is no problem with Windows applications being installed on a separate
partition. Just be aware that if you were to install MS Office to the D
partition not all the Office files will be located on D:, some will still be
installed on the C partition, this is true of a number of applications.

If you format as FAT and not NTFS each fat partition is limited to 32GB.
On my main computer I have MS Office, Ms Access, Photoshop, AV Software,
Firewall, documents and a large number of smaller application split across
the C, D & E partitions with the pagefile and backup files located on a
second hard drive. 20GB for the C: partition for this kind of arrangement
should be more than enough.

There should not be any problem with the registry even if you have things
split across multiple partitions and multiple hard drives.

Jim

 

[Kerry Brown]

After doing a little research i've come to the conlusion that I want 3
partitions on my hard disc instead of my current singe large one. The
structure I wanted to implement would be as follows:
Partition 01 = Basic - system (bootable XP installation) - C: drive
Partition 02 = Basic - program files - D: drive
Partition 03 = Basic - documents/user created files - E: drive

My questions are:

1. What minimum amount of megabytes should my system (C partition
be for the optimum performance of XP? And what should the maximum
amount be?
2. Can the registry handle the XP installtion in onc partition, the
programs in another and the documents in yet another? E.g. If I
installed Office on the programs partition (D will I see it in the
Start menu afterwards indicating that Windows knows its there. This
is probably a stupid question but an important one nonetheless! I
did read somewhere that having the programs and the Windows
installation on seperate partitions makes Windows 'unhappy' whatever
that means o_O.

There isn't a good argument for separating Windows and programs. They go
hand in hand and if you restore one you will need to restore the other.
There are no performance reasons for creating partitions. The main reason is
to make backups easier. With this in mind it is the normal practice to
create two partitions. One for Windows and programs and another for data.
You can then use a disk imaging program or backup program to backup both
partitions. You should have at least two backups of both partitions. At
least one of each backup should be on external media that can be stored
somewhere other than with the computer. The windows/program backups only
need to be updated if you update windows or add new programs. The data
partition can be backed up as often as you feel comfortable with. The reason
for separating the data is so most backups will be faster and smaller. It is
not a good idea to create a partition for backups. The most likely reason
for needing your backups is a hard drive failure. If the drive fails your
backups will not be available. Another thing that is often overlooked is
restoring the backups. You want to test this procedure before you actually
need it. You don't want to be figuring it out in the heat of the moment. You
aso want to make sure it works.

 

[JS]

Yes and No:
While it's true if you re-install Windows then no matter where your apps are
located they will need to be re-installed also. Except in the case where (as
I do) a Ghost backup of the C partition (the most likely to be corrupted,
infected, Patch Tuesday issues, Etc.). Once you restore the C partition
using Ghost your applications on the D partition should work just fine. On a
less frequent basis I also backup the D partition.

Jim

 

[badgolferman]

Hmmm, perhaps then I'll just create 2 partitions. 1 for
windows/programs/documents and 1 for backup purposes. This raises
another question; If I chose to (as my backup process) just take an
image of my C: drive and store it in the backup partition. Would
that backup partition have to be >/= the size of the drive being
imaged (backed up)?

No, it doesn't have to be the same size. Personally I would have
another hard drive for backup. If your hard drive goes bad you have
lost your OS/data and your backup. Or you can backup to optical drive
if you want.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Yes and No:
While it's true if you re-install Windows then no matter where your
apps are located they will need to be re-installed also. Except in
the case where (as I do) a Ghost backup of the C partition (the most
likely to be corrupted, infected, Patch Tuesday issues, Etc.). Once
you restore the C partition using Ghost your applications on the D
partition should work just fine. On a less frequent basis I also
backup the D partition.
Jim

Many programs update themself and the registry on a regular basis. You
cannot restore the system or programs without doing both.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Many programs update themself and the registry on a regular basis. You
cannot restore the system or programs without doing both.

Cannot may be the wrong word. You could restore one without the other but in
most cases it will cause unforseen problems.

 

[JS]

That's true and even with everything installed on a single partition and a
backup (Full, delta, incremental) made at the end of each day you still
would be missing some small change, but that life and Windows or any OS for
that matter.

Jim

 

[Kerry Brown]

That's true and even with everything installed on a single partition
and a backup (Full, delta, incremental) made at the end of each day
you still would be missing some small change, but that life and
Windows or any OS for that matter.

Jim

Separating the data onto a separate partition or better yet a separate drive
makes sense for backups. Separating the windows system files and programs
doesn't. I wasn't recommending one large partition with everything on it
although personally I do this and use folders to organise my data and
backups. For most people separating data and windows/programs is easier.

 

[ntuser]

Ok, I may just settle for 2 partitions then. 1. being for windows/programs
and the other for data. But willl this create unforseen problems in relation
to windows/other programs expecting to store data in the c:\documents and
settings\<user account> folder? (if i moved that user account to the other
partition). Or can I only move the "my documents" folder over"?

 

[JS]

I would only move the 'My Documents' folder.
See: http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/2503/2503article7.htm for a how to.

Jim

 

[Bruce Chambers]

After doing a little research i've come to the conlusion that I want 3
partitions on my hard disc instead of my current singe large one. The
structure I wanted to implement would be as follows:
Partition 01 = Basic - system (bootable XP installation) - C: drive
Partition 02 = Basic - program files - D: drive

There's really very little point in having a separate drive or
partition for just applications. Should you have to reinstall the OS,
you'll still have to reinstall each and every application and game
anyway, in order to recreate the hundreds (possibly thousands) of
registry entries and to replace the dozens (possibly hundreds) of
essential system files back into the appropriate Windows folders and
sub-folders. Installing applications to a separate partition is a
useful solution only if your system partition lacks sufficient space for
all of your applications, and cannot be resized.

Partition 03 = Basic - documents/user created files - E: drive

However, placing data files on a partition or physical hard drive
separate from the operating system and applications can greatly simplify
system repairs/recoveries and data back-up.

My questions are:

1. What minimum amount of megabytes should my system (C partition be for
the optimum performance of XP? And what should the maximum amount be?

That depends entirely upon what you use the computer for, how much RAM
you have (affects swap file size), and how many (and how large)
applications you wish to install. Even if you needlessly place the
applications on another partition, they'll still need to place numerous
files with Windows' system folders. It also depends upon how much of
the hard drive's "real estate" you need to set aside for data. Without
such base-line numbers (not to mention without knowing the size of the
hard drive), it's impossible to offer any useless advice.

2. Can the registry handle the XP installtion in onc partition, the programs
in another and the documents in yet another? E.g. If I installed Office on
the programs partition (D will I see it in the Start menu afterwards
indicating that Windows knows its there.

Yes, the various applications' installation routines, if properly
written, will make the correct entries into the registry.




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I guess what i'm asking is - will the 3 partitions operate in an identical
manner to having everything all on 1 partition? With the only difference
being the increased performance due to disc organisation (page file issues
etc) and data recovery should a reinstallation of XP be required.

Actually, with the applications on a separate partition, I'd expect to
see a decrease in performance.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin