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Partitioning hard drive question

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by artful, 2004/05/21.

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  1. 2004/05/21
    artful

    artful Inactive Thread Starter

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    Going to reformat my drive....want to set up 3 partitions - operating system, programs, data. Do I have to name each one? Does Xp ask me which oneto install the operating system on or does it automatically default to c? thanks for any info......Michelle
     
    artful,
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  2. 2004/05/21
    Newt

    Newt Inactive

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    Been a while since I've done a setup from the beginning but I think it gives you a choice.

    Unless you have some pressing reason for using a drive other than C: you probably should put the OS there though. There are some system files needed to boot XP that will want to be on C: regardless of where the OS is located so probably easier to just keep it all there.
     
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  4. 2004/05/21
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Easiest and fastest way would be to boot from the install cd and partition the disk. Then format the C drive as ntfs and install xp on it. The D & E drive can be formatted from after booting xp by rt clicking the drive letter and selecting "format ".

    No need to assign any names to the drives as this can also be done at any later time.
     
    TonyT,
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  5. 2004/05/21
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    If my memory serves me correctly:

    If the harddrive is new and unpartitioned, during the initial stages of the setup, You will be prompted to create the system partition only. The unallocated space can only be dealt with from within XP, after installation, in Device Manager.

    If the harddrive is used and has one single partition, You will have to remove that partition first and then continue as above.

    After setup is complete, install SP1(a) before partitioning the unallocated space. This is especially important if the harddrive is larger than 137 GB. XP without SP1(a) can't see sizes above 137 GB and in concequence will not allocate space above 137 GB.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  6. 2004/05/23
    El Camino

    El Camino Inactive

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    How big is your drive and what is generally good proportion for these 3 partitions? I have notebook with 40 Gigs HDD. I am planning to do the same (reinstall my WinXP Pro) in the near future.
     
    El Camino,
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  7. 2004/05/23
    JSS3rd Lifetime Subscription

    JSS3rd Geek Member

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    My laptop has a 40 GB HD with four partitions ... C: (OS) is 5 GB, D: (installed programs) is 3.5 GB, E: (data and Page File) is 24 GB, and F: (archived software) is 2.5 GB. You'll note that that adds up to only 35 GB, but HDs are always smaller than advertised. :)

    There's really no need to put your installed programs on a partition separate from the OS, because of their interaction with the registry. I keep mine separate purely for "housekeeping" purposes. Data should be kept on a separate partition.

    Partition size for the OS is a matter of some debate. I've allocated 5 GB on my laptop, and am using only 2.6 GB. On my desktop computer, though, I've allocated 7.5 GB and am using 4.8 GB. Based on that, you could set your C: partition at 6 GB for starters, and see how it works for you. If you use a program like PartitionMagic, you can change partition sizes any time you like.
     
    JSS3rd,
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  8. 2004/05/23
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    If you trash your OS partition, you're going to have to reinstall your additional software anyway, so it doesn't make much sense to keep those programs on a separate partition unless, like JSS pointed out, it's housekeeping. XP likes to have at least 25% of the OS partition free, so keep that in mind when you set your sizes. Then add one gig for good measure! LOL

    Johanna
     
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  9. 2004/05/23
    sparrow

    sparrow Inactive

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    Sumary?

    artful,

    No to the first, yes and no to the second, as the previous posts try to indicate. You can do pretty much as you please, and should.
     
    sparrow,
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