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Resolved Putting OS on Drive C, and Other Programs on E

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by Chris, 2015/01/29.

  1. 2015/01/29
    Chris

    Chris Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I'm going to do a clean reinstall on my computer. I have a 60GB, SSD "C:" drive, with a 320 spinning drive "E:" drive.

    I've always had my O.S. and any program I install on drive C:, but am thinking of putting just the OS, on C:, and whenever I install a program, install it on E:. I have some questions.

    There are some things that people used to do, with computers, but are not necessary anymore.

    One reason given was, if you need to reinstall the OS, you still have the programs installed.

    One reason I got an SSD, was to make programs start quicker, but with them on the spinning E: drive, I lose that.

    1. Are there any real advantages or disadvantages to setting up a computer like this?

    2. If I set it up like this, would I put a folder on the drive and install everything to that folder? (like "program files ")

    3. I have programs that, if I install them on E:, they will put a folder on C: (audacity, VideoStudio) Is it a problem to have the OS on one drive, the program on another, and the working folder on the first one? Seems like a lot of back and forth.

    4. If I ever got a virus/malware, and reinstalled the OS, how likely would the virus be in my E: drive?

    5. Can I have my, "Start," "Pictures" go to my "Pictures" on E:, without making a shambles of my registry?

    6. Seems like as I type this, seeing it in writing, it gets more and more looking like more trouble then it's worth. Is it?

    7. Is there anything I else I need to know or consider doing this or not?

    Thank you,
    Chris.
     
    Chris,
    #1
  2. 2015/01/29
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Hi Chris. I will attempt to answer your questions as best as I can.

    The only advantage is you will have more free space on your SSD but since the drive is only 60 GB's you will be launching programs from your E drive which will slow down the loading of those programs anyway.

    Yes you would.

    Yeah that is a problem and you will run into issues with programs that don't give you an option to choose a different installation location.

    You could still get malware to infect any hard drive connected to your machine. It doesn't matter if its your secondary hard drive or not.

    Yes you can. You just need to change the location of the Library to include your E drive.

    Yeah I agree. In my opinion you are better off buying a bigger SSD, installing your Operating System and your programs on the SSD and then using your regular hard drive as a storage drive for storing data that you don't access very often such as pictures, videos, and documents.

    No I think that covers everything. Let me know if you have any more questions.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #2


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  4. 2015/01/29
    Chris

    Chris Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thank you for your reply. Starting out decades a go with DOS and Win 3.1, I could not ever imagine a 60GB drive not being enough. Pretty easy to fill that thing up now!

    Guess I'll just reinstall everything on the C: Drive.

    Thank you again for going through each question, with answers. I'll leave it unsolved for the time being in case anyone else has something to add.

    Chris.
     
    Chris,
    #3
  5. 2015/01/29
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Would you be interested in getting a bigger SSD that you can upgrade to down the road? I'm not saying you need to buy it now but maybe if you want to get more space, upgrading to a bigger SSD would be the way to go.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #4
  6. 2015/01/30
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Although those parts of the program which would be installed in Program Files would remain following a reinstall of the OS, ALL installed programs install files within Windows - libraries, etc. Hence if the OS is reinstalled the programs must be too.
     
    PeteC,
    #5
  7. 2015/01/30
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    As was stated above, if you do this then you will still have to reinstall ALL your programs when you reinstall Windows. This is because programs get registered during their installations. I don't mean "fill in the form and register ", I mean the program's file locations, settings, configuration are stored in the Windows registry on the c drive.

    Also, many programs are multi-user programs, each user has his own preferences for the programs and these are stored in the user directories on the c drive. examples: Outlook profile, firefox profile, etc. Most all programs have a profile or preferences folder/file. And modern software also puts files in the C/Program Data folder and that action is not controllable during the installation.

    In my opinion, bad idea to put software other than c drive. Especially with an ssd drive, they will run faster.

    Put YOUR data on other drives, i.e. Libraries, backups, multimedia, etc.
     
    TonyT,
    #6
  8. 2015/01/30
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

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    Arie,
    #7
  9. 2015/02/03
    Chris

    Chris Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thank you guys very much for all the advice. Everything is just what I was asking. Nice article Arie.

    Moved my Doc, music, Pictures folders with ease.

    My superfetch was enabled.

    Thank you very much for all the advice, it was all right on point.

    Chris.
     
    Chris,
    #8
  10. 2015/02/03
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Thanks for the follow up. :)
     
    Evan Omo,
    #9

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