Which folder contains the windows OS

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Guest

Im about to partition my c: drive.. need to know which folder the xp
operating system is in..
 
%systemroot% is an environment variable that is the location of the Windows
root folder.

Typing or pasting %systemroot% into the Start | Run box opens to the Windows
folder on whatever drive it is located. I.e. C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINNT.

systemroot definition from C:\WINDOWS\Help\glossary.chm
[[The path and folder name where the Windows system files are located.
Typically, this is C:\Windows, although you can designate a different drive
or folder when you install Windows. You can use the value %SYSTEMDRIVE% to
replace the actual location of the folder that contains the Window system
files. To identify your systemroot folder, click Start, click Run, type
%systemroot% and then click OK.]]

%windir% is an environment variable that is the location of the system
folder.

Typing or pasting %windir% into the Start | Run box opens to the Windows
folder on whatever drive it is located. I.e. C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINNT.

Windows XP can be installed in either WINDOWS or WINNT.

If %systemroot% and %windir% are the same, then obviously %windir% is easier
to type.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
incredable said:
Im about to partition my c: drive.. need to know which folder the xp
operating system is in..
Click to expand...

They will be in C:\windows or C:\winnt. Note however, that each of those
folders contain several other folders and files. And there are a lot of
inter-related folders also e.g. Program Files, etc..

I'm not sure I understand why you'd need to know that to partition your C
drive.
Why do you ask?

Pop`
 
I have a drive of 300 gb with no other partitions. I would like to keep the
OS only in it's own partion, and create other partitions for programs, data,
etc.
 
incredable said:
I have a drive of 300 gb with no other partitions. I would like to
keep the OS only in it's own partion, and create other partitions for
programs, data, etc.
Click to expand...

Well, you don't need to know where anything is located for that. All you
need to do is reinstall XP and use its ability to create partitions or use a
3rd party app like Partition Magic which can do it in theory without losing
any data. I say in theory because "stuff happens": You really still should
do a backup and defrag first. I use PM and it works well here.

HTH
Pop`
 
I have a drive of 300 gb with no other partitions. I would like to keep the
OS only in it's own partion, and create other partitions for programs, data,
etc.
Click to expand...



Many people recommend separating the operating system and installed
applications on different partitions because think that if they ever
have to reinstall Windows, their applications will remain. They are
wrong. Even if your applications are installed on a partition separate
from that the operating system is on, you can *not* reinstall the
operating system without losing the applications. The reason is that
all applications (except for a very occasional near-trivial one) have
entries and pointers to them within Windows, in the registry and
elsewhere. With Windows gone, all those entries get lost, and
the applications get broken. So that benefit goes away.


My view is that most people's partitioning scheme should be based on
their backup scheme. If, for example, you backup by creating a clone
or image of the entire drive, then a single partition might be best.
If, on the other hand, you backup only your data, then the backup
process is facilitated by having all data in a separate partition.


Except for those running multiple operating systems, there is seldom
any benefit to having more than two partitions.
 
Many people recommend separating the operating system and installed
applications on different partitions because think that if they ever
have to reinstall Windows, their applications will remain. They are
wrong. Even if your applications are installed on a partition separate
from that the operating system is on, you can *not* reinstall the
operating system without losing the applications. The reason is that
all applications (except for a very occasional near-trivial one) have
entries and pointers to them within Windows, in the registry and
elsewhere. With Windows gone, all those entries get lost, and
the applications get broken. So that benefit goes away.


My view is that most people's partitioning scheme should be based on
their backup scheme. If, for example, you backup by creating a clone
or image of the entire drive, then a single partition might be best.
If, on the other hand, you backup only your data, then the backup
process is facilitated by having all data in a separate partition.


Except for those running multiple operating systems, there is seldom
any benefit to having more than two partitions.
Click to expand...

Well put.
 
Thank you Ken... That is exactly what I wish to do... Back up my system.
Programs and data, and any misc that I may have. I do not need to back up the
OS. So can you recommend the procedure to partition? I will use Paragon
Software Partition Manager v8. I never partitioned a live drive, so I am some
what concerned.
 
Thank you Ken...
Click to expand...


You're welcome. Glad to help.

That is exactly what I wish to do... Back up my system.
Programs and data, and any misc that I may have. I do not need to back up the
OS.
Click to expand...


As I pointed out in my previous message, those aims are contradictory.
There is no point in backing up your programs unless you back up the
operating system along with it. Your installed programs are useless
unless you also have the instance of the operating system they were
installed under.

So can you recommend the procedure to partition? I will use Paragon
Software Partition Manager v8. I never partitioned a live drive, so I am some
what concerned.
Click to expand...



First of all, a word on the terminology. Your drive is already
partitioned. To partition a drive is to create *one or more*
partitions on it. You can not use a drive unless it has been
partitioned. So your drive has already been partitioned, and has a
single partition on it, presumably called C:.

So what you want to do is *change* the partition structure to more
than one partition, to *repartition* it.

I've never used Paragon Partition Manager, and can't give you any
advice on how to use it. But I'll make two points:

1. From your description of what you want to do, I recommend that you
create a two-partition drive--one partition for Windows and your
installed applications, and the second for data.

2. Whatever you do, make sure you have a backup of anything you can't
afford to lose before beginning. Although there's no particular reason
to expect a problem, things *can* go wrong.
 
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