Ideal Partition size?

[Kakumba]

Ok, new build, and this time Im actually going to partition my drives. So, how big do you guys reckon I should make the partition for XP? Installing most stuff, and obviously allowing some breathing room...

Any ideas?

 

[Trey22]

How many and what size hard drives do you have?

 

[InlineFour]

10gb for the OS partition should be more than enough.

 

[Kakumba]

I am using a 74 gig Raptor for boot/ gaming drive, and 300 gig barracuda for data/ older games etc.

 

[themisfit610]

10 GB is enough if you don't install programs on the OS drive. If you do, 40 is the smallest I would be comfortable with.

 

[13Gigatons]

This question asks questions of it's own:

1. What will you be installing
2. How long between reinstalls would you like it to last
3. Will you be using True Image or Ghost


For short install times of 6 to 12 months with standard apps then 10 gigs is enough. Longer install times need more room. Windows XP seems to grow over time. If you use Acronis True Image and create an image that you can jump back to then that helps stop the growth.

 

[Kakumba]

hmmmm, what are the main differences between True Image and Norton Ghost?

anyways, sounds like 10 gigs ought to be enough, I will try to keep this pretty compact.

 

[MichaelD]

Cloning programs are all pretty much the same, save for different user interfaces. They all do the same thing.

While 10GB "is enough" for an OS partition, it's only enough if you don't load ANYTHING else. Such as Office, 3DMark, Games, etc. If you put every single other program and application on another partition, then 10GB is fine.

With patches, security updates, etc, Windows DOES grow over time. Plus, you need to have empty space in order to defrag.

Personally, I put all my programs on the OS drive. My Documents, Games go on another partition.

What I do after a fresh install: Apply all the latest patches and security updates as well as device drivers. Defrag. Reboot. Make an image of the OS.

Now I have a perfect copy of my OS install, current as of the date it was made. Re-imaging the OS drive takes all of 10 minutes. Doing a fresh install and patching takes an entire day.

IMO 15GB is OK, 20GB is perfect for the OS drive.

 

[FreedomGUNDAM]

I have a 74GB Raptor for my OS and a 160GB Seagate SATA for my data

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: InlineFour
10gb for the OS partition should be more than enough.

Yep... I run 8GB w/a 2GB pagefile, and I still have 1.5ish free.

 

[13Gigatons]

Originally posted by: Kakumba
hmmmm, what are the main differences between True Image and Norton Ghost?

anyways, sounds like 10 gigs ought to be enough, I will try to keep this pretty compact.

True Image is the better app today. Ghost has seen better days.

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

IMO 15GB is OK, 20GB is perfect for the OS drive.

 

[Kakumba]

All games etc are going on a seperate partition, OS is going to be isolated from everything else. As I said before, games and other apps that warrant higher performance HDD space will go on the other partition on the Raptor, the 300 gig Barracuda will do nicely for all other data.

 

[themisfit610]

I always say 20% free space at all times is preferable. This makes defragging quick, and minimizes fragmentation to begin with. Of course, NTFS is pretty good about not fragmenting too badly...

 

[mshan]

10 GB works fine for me, as long as I move the My Documents file to another partition and don't install any gaming stuff on this partition.

 

[Kakumba]

ok, well, to keep things small, but still allow room, Ill probably go for ~12 gigs.