Should I partition hard drive?

amd

Finally ready to upgrade to WindowsXP pro. However, due to various hiccups in the past when I've had to reformat my hard drive and load everything from scratch again, I'm wondering about partitioning my hard drive.

I'm working on the basis that if I have problems with windoze I can reinstall it without losing all my other stuff if necessary. If I'm wrong, please correct me! I am also assuming I'll be able to work out how to do it!

I've only got a 40gig hard drive, so how big should I make the partition, and what exactly should I put in it??

Thanks,
Amd.

wolfman

Unless I have multiple drives I always partition. In fact I still partition my primary drive anyway.

I'd partition about 10gb for windows, I can't see you needing much more unless you install a lot of applications etc... That'll leave you 30gb for putting your work, music etc... in. If ever there's a problem with Windows, you can simply reinstall without effecting your other partition.

One application you should invest in is Acronis True Image. If you setup your Windows partition perfectly, installing everything and setting it how you like it, True Image can then take a "ghost" copy of the Windows partition and you can store it in the other 30gb partition you created. If ever there is a problem with Windows, you can restore from this image and be up and running again within 10 minutes.

hollie.weimeraner

Split it in half then you can install windows and your applications on your primary drive and save all your files to your "d" drivewhich should ensure their safety if ever you re-install windows again. XP takes up a lot of space especially when you start updating it.

drlight_2

Partition magic would be good to use ,cause it's simple to use and you can redistribute free space later on if you want to.

catch22

I only have 40gb, which i have split into two and then use Norton Ghost to copy all from drive C to drive D.

amd

Thanks everyone. :beer:

My problem is that I only have about a spare 5-10gig on the disc at times so I need every little bit of space .... I can't afford to have space on one partition if I need it on the other - so Partition Magic sounds good to me. The image/ghost thing too, if it doesn't take up too much space.

Am I right in thinking you must put ALL your programs, not just windows, into the 1 partition? (Thinking about shared files and registry if I had to reinstall....)

Joe_Bloggs

Hard disks have never been cheaper or faster. They also have an estimated life of around 5 years. Why not buy yourself a new disk and start afresh? You can still use it with your old disk.
You do not need to have programs and windows on the same partition or even on the same hard disk. My guess is it would simplify ghosting of the system if you did. Having a new, larger and partitioned hard disk simplifies the situation and avoids any risks involving the loss of valued data. You could even make your system dual boot between your original OS and XP.
J_B.

mrak

Someone once said that "no matter how big your house, you'll always find enough junk to fill it". The same is true with hard disks. Even if you go out and buy a 120GB drive, you'll eventually fill the thing with MP3s, applications and media. If you were looking to save money, you could archive a lot of the stuff taking up space on your 40GB disk onto a series of CDs.

Ultimately it depends on what you want to use the system for, but a few spare GB on the windows partition is always helpful, because windows likes to use a little of the space for its 'virtual memory' allocation. Every time the second partition gets close to being full, see if you can't archive a few photos/other media onto CD.

mrak

Chuckles1066_2

wolfman wrote:

Unless I have multiple drives I always partition. In fact I still partition my primary drive anyway.

I'd partition about 10gb for windows, I can't see you needing much more unless you install a lot of applications etc... That'll leave you 30gb for putting your work, music etc... in. If ever there's a problem with Windows, you can simply reinstall without effecting your other partition.

One application you should invest in is Acronis True Image. If you setup your Windows partition perfectly, installing everything and setting it how you like it, True Image can then take a "ghost" copy of the Windows partition and you can store it in the other 30gb partition you created. If ever there is a problem with Windows, you can restore from this image and be up and running again within 10 minutes.

Yes, the c: drive should only ever be used for the installation of the OS and 10gb is more than enough. Never keep your OS and data files on the same partition.

Ideally, you should always have two hard drives, they're dirt cheap and, imo, essential.

Once I've got my OS installed, I use BootItNG to create an image which I store in a dedicated partition on the second hard drive. You never need to use the OS CD again because, as with Acronis True Image, if you hit problems you simply flash the image back over.