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To partition or not to partition

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by El Camino, 2004/04/28.

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  1. 2004/04/28
    El Camino

    El Camino Inactive Thread Starter

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    That is the question. :rolleyes:

    I have Toshiba satellite notebook with 40 gigs HD and on it I am running WindowsPro.
    My current config is C = 2 gig and D = the rest with NTFS partition.
    I am thinking to reinstall windows. Should I again make partition? What say you? Thanks
     
    El Camino,
    #1
  2. 2004/04/28
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi El Camino!

    Yes, I would definitely partition the HDD.

    I set up a Compaq LapTop for a friend like this:

    40 GB split in - C: 8 GB NTFS for system and applications - D: 24 GB NTFS for data - E: 8 GB FAT32 for Norton Ghost Images of C:.
    I don´t do any work on any computer if the owner doesn´t want to invest in NG. That application protects all the work of setting up the computer and restoring from disaster is a matter of 5-10 minutes and a cup of coffee.
    A prerequisite for it to work smoothly is that all data is moved to D: - not only My documents but also Favorites, E-mail folders and Address Book.

    See RADIFIED guide to Norton Ghost on how to use NG and how to move certain folders.

    If You don´t like coffee, skip E: and make D: 32 GB NTFS and use System Destroy (sorry - System Restore) instead.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  4. 2004/04/28
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I forgot to ask, WindowsPro, is that 2K or XP?
     
    Christer,
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  5. 2004/04/28
    r.leale Lifetime Subscription

    r.leale Well-Known Member

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    Hi El Camino,
    I also believe in having a small partition (1- 2 GB) for the XP page file. That really cuts down on the fragmentation.
     
    r.leale,
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  6. 2004/04/28
    El Camino

    El Camino Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thanks a lot for your input. Thanks r.leale. Sorry it is WindowsXP Pro. :)
     
    El Camino,
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  7. 2004/04/28
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    PeteC,
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  8. 2004/04/29
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    FWIW, I have never lost the data from my second partition accidentally, only deliberately, and I've crashed this baby a few times! LOL I've been running XP Pro for more than 2 years, and I wouldn't NOT partition it. If your OS needs reinstalled, your second partition is not affected (some programs may need reinstalled) and your data is safe.

    Do a search on the board for more info, but the consensus is to partition, especially on the large hard drives.

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
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  9. 2004/04/29
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Johanna,

    I was wondering what You have been sipping this morning until I reread Your post and noticed that You actually wrote:
    You almost tricked me with that one ...... :D ...... !

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #8
  10. 2004/04/29
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    LOL
    Do you have double negatives in Swedish? Sorry, I know better than to write that way! Like Daizy says, output depends on coffee input! :D

    ElCamino
    More info

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
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  11. 2004/04/30
    El Camino

    El Camino Inactive Thread Starter

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    Christer if there is a problem with HDD, if it crushes? I thought we were supposed to make immage on another physical drive.

    Johanna

    Thanks.
     
    Last edited: 2004/04/30
    El Camino,
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  12. 2004/04/30
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Johanna,
    Yes we do but they are very rare and are almost never used in written language. Young people use them and they annoy the living **** out of us who are a bit older.

    El Camino,
    Yes, You´re right that an Image on a different harddrive is better protection, not only for system crashes but also for harddrive crashes.

    However, an Image on a different partition on the same drive is better than nothing and the Image(s) can be burnt to CDs.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  13. 2004/04/30
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    Christer
    We're not supposed to have double negatives, spoken or written, but we do it. My eighth grade English teacher would have cracked my hand with a ruler! Our young people mangle the language, here, too, now. (No more rulers!) Sorry about that, it was my first cup of coffee!

    If I used imaging software, I would burn it to a cd right away, just for the convenience. It is rare for a hard drive to just spontaneously fail, so unless there is critical earth shattering data, I would assume storing the image on another partition would be sufficient. Is that your experience, too?

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
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  14. 2004/04/30
    El Camino

    El Camino Inactive Thread Starter

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    I never learned to use Ghost. I even bought one! :eek:

    I saw last night this: Drive Image 7 by PowerQuest. Does anybody know anything about this program? Do you recommend it?

    Where can I learn how to use Ghost?
     
    Last edited: 2004/04/30
    El Camino,
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  15. 2004/04/30
    sparrow

    sparrow Inactive

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    Johanna et al,

    That's a great reason for buying a dvd-rw, to save some ghost images that otherwise require multiple cd's.
     
    sparrow,
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  16. 2004/04/30
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    PeteC,
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  17. 2004/05/01
    El Camino

    El Camino Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thanks PetreC.

    So, do you all think Christer's formula for splitting HDD is the way to go? (2nd post from top, 28th April)
     
    El Camino,
    #16
  18. 2004/05/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    I wouldn't disagree with Christer's split - a lot depends on the size of hard drive and how many programs you intend to install.

    I have a 20 Gb partition for XP and just under half is used up already (Primary HD is 120 gig) and I am in favour of a small partition for the Page File and another for the Print Spooler, but these 'requirements' are appropriate to my digital imaging.

    Basically it's your decision and better to get it right now in terms of partition size rather than later. I've not had a problem with Partition Magic, but a few have.
     
    PeteC,
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  19. 2004/05/01
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    El Camino,
    You should take notes of the sizes of what You´d like to install on that particular computer. In addition to that, the pagefile requires some space. That space depends on the amount of RAM installed and how the pagefile is set up.

    I have my friends LapTop next to me and it has 512 MB RAM, the pagefile is set to 768 MB - 1536 MB (1.5xRAM - 3xRAM). He has now used appr. 4.15 GB of which the pagefile is at its minimum 0.75 GB. System Restore is disabled since he uses Ghost, SR would require a minimum of 200 MB.

    Space used for XP home and apps = 3.40 GB and that includes Office XP, Adobe Acrobat 5.0 and Norton System Works + Internet Security.

    Free space is 3.30 GB which is 44%, which should not be allowed below 15%, preferrably 25%. If free space is less, defragmentation will get increasingly more difficult and inefficient. I would recommend to aim for the 25% minimum free space.

    As Pete C points out, it´s a decision that may vary depending on harddisk size. My friends DeskTop, on which I´m working, has a system partition of 16 GB but that´s on a 160 GB harddisk.
    I would guess that Your calculation will end somewhere in between ...... :confused: ......

    On a DeskTop, I might agree with Pete C that dedicated partitions for the pagefile and print spooler could be a wise decision but for me, that would be an overkill.

    How much "heavy work" are You planning for this LapTop? I personally, wouldn´make it too complicated unless I had a very good reason.

    Now, where do You keep that crystal ball of Yours?

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #18
  20. 2004/05/02
    El Camino

    El Camino Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thanks to both of you.

    I am using Toshiba laptop. HDD=40 gigs 512megs ROM. Using WinXP Pro, Office 2003, Adobe Acrobat Professional and Photoshop and other their programs, eTrust AV and Firewall and bunch of other programs. These are my specs.

    How do you set up size of pagefile? Again I wish to thank you for your time and input. Thanks. :)
     
    El Camino,
    #19
  21. 2004/05/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Right click My Computer icon > Properties > Advanced - Performance > Settings > Advanced > Virtual Memory - Change
     
    PeteC,
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