Making partitions

[KLC]

I'm building a new media center pc this weekend. It will be used as a dvr with an xbox 360 as a media extender. It will also be a general purpose pc for kids homework, internet, email, light photoshop, etc.

I have a WD green 1tb drive. I've read suggestions about making a separate partition for the dvr function but no firm guidelines. I've also searched this topic and see a big divergence over partitioning vs no partitions.

The dvr will be used for time shift tv viewing. We occasionally save programs but rarely, we aren't looking at archiving large amounts of video on this system.

What are your thoughts about partitions, especially for a media center dvr?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: KLC
I have a WD green 1tb drive... I've read suggestions... I've also searched this topic and see a big divergence...

What are your thoughts about partitions?

I'm NOT being a wiseguy, but this Wiki article might help you in making a decision:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_learning_theory

People learn through observing others' behavior. If people observe positive, desired outcomes in the observed behavior, they are more likely to model, imitate, and adopt the behavior themselves...

The theory can be applied to most criminals and crimes that produce a "gain", but is best applied to behavior within groups which offer reinforcement, such as gangs, peer groups, or social groups.

I doubt that you're going to get any social reinforcement on this issue. Ppl don't have any social/emotional investment in partitioning (or not) like they do in Vista vs XP or Windows vs Linux.

Do what YOU want, and don't worry about what other ppl *think* about partitions. That's my opinion!

 

[KLC]

Vin, the wise guy disclaimer is a little feeble, don't you think?

When you set out to equip and set up a pc do you just do what you want because your choices are really just manifestations of social learning theory? Do you choose mb X just because it's blue and you really like blue? Do you buy your memory based on how much other people like the neat cooling fins?

I'm not looking for social reinforcement and I generally try to avoid just doing what I want when making decisions about computer setup and performance.

I found several opinions about making separate partitions for dvr recording. I searched and found opposite opinions. But they were all opinions, unsupported by evidence or data. Is the partition important for dvr performance? Are there specific problems I can avoid by making/not making appropriate partitions? Danged if I know. But I thought someone here more informed about the issue than I am could help me.

Maybe I could have chosen a better word than thoughts when asking for information about partitions but generally speaking I've found that most Anandtech forum participants are pretty intelligent and aren't thrown off by ambiguous word choices.

 

[Nothinman]

Ppl don't have any social/emotional investment in partitioning (or not) like they do in Vista vs XP or Windows vs Linux.

Actually a lot of them do, everytime someone posts a thread like this a number of people come in and post why they hate partitions or why they love to over-partition.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
Actually a lot of them do, everytime someone posts a thread like this a number of people come in and post why they hate partitions or why they love to over-partition.

Yes, alright then...

I found this thread languishing on the bottom of Page-1 with 4 reads, and I took pity on its lack of comity (not a typo). And, I 'voiced' my thoughts on the subject.

What are your thoughts on the subject - other than to pound out post #23472?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: KLC
Maybe I could have chosen a better word than thoughts...

Simmer down. You didn't do anything wrong!

Look, here's what I would do...

I would try it using a partition. Then, I would try it without a partition.

I would do benchmarks one way. Then, I would do benchmarks the other way.

Then, I would know which way is best - and screw everyone else's opinion.

LoL!

Hell, I've installed 5 different Linux distros in the last month. Why?

Look at that lifer's sig...

Think you're gonna get an objective opinion from ppl like that?!?!?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: KLC
When you set out to equip and set up a pc do you just do what you want because your choices are really just manifestations of social learning theory?

Do you choose mb X just because it's blue and you really like blue?

Do you buy your memory based on how much other people like the neat cooling fins?

Heh! I was just re-reading your post...

Here's a shocker - my favorite color is black!

I won't run anything but black PCB mobos - and that's no lie! So, yes, to question #1 & 2.

And, yes, I plead guilty to #3 as well.

I paid through-the-nose for the Crucial Ballistix Tracers in this machine - strictly for their looks.

You didn't ask, but dittos on my Mountain Mods U2-UFO case...

Wanna see some pictures of my partitions???

EDIT: This one is kinda cute (from last week)...

http://VinDSL.com/images/More_proof.png

Each partition has been optimized for a specific purpose.

Here's another cutie. Check this out (just snapped it).

http://VinDSL.com/images/Another_Cutie.png

There's a gaggle of LVM-based partitions for you!

I guess it would have been easy for me to say, "Yeah, use lots of partitions, just like me, 'cause I rawk!"

Really, KLC, do what you want and let us know how it turned out! :thumbsup:

 

[KLC]

Vin, your original "I'm NOT being a wiseguy" retreats farther from reality everytime you pound out another post.

 

[brxndxn]

This is way deeper than I expected a partitioning thread to be..

Is this a windows media center or a linux media center?

My recommendations:

If windows..

one partition, dynamic, ntfs

If linux..

99.8% of drive ext3 (I would say Reiserfs... but he's a murderer now.. and it's hard to keep supporting a file system when you're busy being a murderer), .2% linux swap


I'm not a huge fan of multiple partitions.. because they're like throwing up random walls in your living room. Sometimes, you might just want the extra space to be on one side rather than the other.

Although.. if there is a piece of partitioning software that lets you create a small partition on the 'fastest parts' or the hard drive, I would murder for it. Does this even exist? I mean.. if it doesn't, why the hell not? Like.. shortstroking.. but allowing me to create another partition to use the rest of the drivespace. Whatever.. You stopped reading a long time ago or rolled your eyes. Just go eat an orange.

 

[Nothinman]

I have a WD green 1tb drive. I've read suggestions about making a separate partition for the dvr function but no firm guidelines. I've also searched this topic and see a big divergence over partitioning vs no partitions.

I would say it probably won't make a big difference either way. It might make sense to have a seperate physical drive for it though.

What are your thoughts on the subject - other than to pound out post #23472?

The fewer the partitions the better. Directories are for organization, not partitions.

99.8% of drive ext3 (I would say Reiserfs... but he's a murderer now.. and it's hard to keep supporting a file system when you're busy being a murderer), .2% linux swap

What happened in his personal life is irrelevant because it's supported by the community, but reiserfs just isn't a great filesystem. It's fast and effecient for lots of small files, but it's not great for large files (i.e. video) and every time I've used it I've ended up losing something. I'd recommend ext3 or XFS, both have worked great for me over the years.

 

[SilentRunning]

Skip the partitions. Add a second smaller hard drive for the OS install.

Drive A (smaller drive): OS
Drive B (WD 1tb Green): Recording storage & backup image of OS

If drive A fails install new drive and restore image from B drive
If drive B fails install new drive and create a new backup image of A

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
This is way deeper than I expected a partitioning thread to be..

I would say Reiserfs... but he's a murderer now...

LoL! I read that 3 times before I realized what you're saying!

Reiser is a murderer (for sure) - but he hasn't been murdered (yet)...

On 10 January 2009 it was reported that Hans Reiser is recovering after having been beaten up by several prisoners.

By 4 March 2009 he has been transferred to Mule Creek State Prison.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Reiser

I've been playing with LVM. That seems to be the way to go!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...Volume_Manager_(Linux)

I judge that I could install 3 versions of Windows and 7 Linux distros on my lappy by using LVM - who's to say? Maybe more...

This partitioning is pretty heady (not a typo) stuff, no?

His wife probably told him ReiserFS sucks and she's doing LVM!

LoL! Anyway, I'm going way OT here, so I'll stop.

 

[Nothinman]

His wife probably told him ReiserFS sucks and she's doing LVM!

That makese no sense, you still need a filesystem on top of each logical volume...

 

[nerp]

Don't bother partitioning. It wont' improve performance whatsoever, especially for basic large file writing/reading like with a DVR setup. I do think that having a seperate system drive is a good idea, however, since you can deal with fixing OS issues and possibly formatting/reinstalling without worrying about your media being accidentially erased or something, which happens to people all the time.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

His wife probably told him ReiserFS sucks and she's doing LVM!

That makese no sense, you still need a filesystem on top of each logical volume...

Sorry! That was supposed to be a logical absurdity, i.e. dark humor, e.g. a joke.

Reiser hasn't displayed a predilection toward forbearance!

Put another way, I can see him killing someone for saying something like that.

Make more sense now?!?!?

 

[Nothinman]

Sorry! That was supposed to be a logical absurdity, i.e. dark humor, e.g. a joke.

I understand it was supposed to be a joke, I just didn't find it funny because the two aren't comparable. You might as well had said that you don't like Seagate hard drives so you're going to buy an Intel NIC.