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recommend Vista boot parition size on 320GB HD?

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Originally posted by: BD2003


I see no point to an "apps" partition - the apps are more than likely not going to work without the same OS install. There is a point to a data/storage/media partition or drive, and a games partition in some circumstances, but no point to an apps partition.

Very simple.... nuke windows, reinstall windows, rename Program Files to Old Program files.

Install apps that require installing, not all apps require it! After you install X app, delete it from the Old Program Files. Move any apps that don't need reinstalling over. If theres anything left, then you forgot to install it or don't need it anymore.
 
Originally posted by: Brazen
On my servers, I ALWAYS make a seperate data partition. I was recently thankful for this (among other times) when our MS SQL 2000 server decided to fill up it's OS partition with leftovers from Windows Updates and logs. If it kept growing, and all the sql data was in the default place on the same partition, then we would have had some downtime and been scrambling to free up space.
That is certainly the one reason that most servers have a separate OS partition. I've told lots of folks that's why I partitioned their Server's drives. The flaw that I've found is that, in my experience, it's MUCH more common to run out of OS space on a server with a separate (and typically small) OS partition than it is on a server with a large combined OS/Data partition.

I've had to scramble to free up space many times on servers, but most of the low-disk-space situations that I've seen are typically due to things other than a run-away process. Most common are: Various log files (mostly Exchange and SQL transaction logs), firewall logs, and folks just plain making a mistake and copying tons of data to the wrong partition. Automatic monitoring of free disk space (and emailed Alerts) is easily done and will catch most of the mistakes before a disaster strikes.

With a large OS partition, there's lots more room for mistakes than with a "just big enough" OS partition. Also, there's always the option of setting disk space quotas for User accounts. And most applications have options to set maximum disk usage or minimum free space limits.

Finally, Server 2003 seems awfully tolerant of low disk space. I've had one guy call me about not being able to print a 12MB PDF file, because that was about all the space they had left on their OS partition! The Server was still running, but it wouldn't print big files because the print spooler file got too big.
 
Fullmetal Chocobo:

My
DEEPEST apologies.

I hit "Edit" on YOUR original post, instead of hitting "Quote". So I edited out some of your original post. It's part of the tools that I have as a Moderator.

I am REALLY sorry! I made a mistake.

RebateMonger - AnandTech Moderator



What's left of your original post:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I've never messed with a server with VMs, etc., so I'm not sure how much space it would require. Also, what is the footprint of Server 2003?
 
I would not install Vista in a partition smaller than 20GB.

If the OS partition is going to contain programs also, there is no point in making a size recommendation as the required size depends on the programs installed and used and varies from case to case.
 
i'll give a good reason to make a seperate partition only for your OS and perhaps some apps.

if you use acronis trueimage, and want to backup your OS ONLY, doing a full c:\ partition backup is much faster in trueimage compared to having it do a backup of specific directories you selected. don't ask me why, but thats my experience.
 
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
I've never messed with a server with VMs, etc., so I'm not sure how much space it would require. Also, what is the footprint of Server 2003?
I see that my "Virtual Hard Drive" with Server 2003 R2 is about 2.5GB. But there are no applications installed, and no data and no log files. I'd say that an absolute minimum size for a Server 2003 partition would probably be around 10GB. For SBS 2003, with lots of built-in applications, I used 20GB WHEN I partitioned. But I'm beginning to wonder if even that was enough...which is why I'm starting to scrap the partitioning idea for my Servers.

And I can't say that I'm totally opposed to partitioning. I like it because I make money helping new clients make space on their too-small boot partitions on Servers when their Servers are a year or two old. 😛
 
Well the reason I do an Apps and Games partition is for organization, ease of defrag, and ease of update/backup. This way I have a clean way of keeping track of everything. For example under Apps partition I'll have:
Comm/Utilities/Business/AudioVisual, etc... folders

Since I am going to dual boot I will have 2 versions of each Comm and CommV, Utilities and UtilitiesV ... etc... maybe it's old school ... hehe 🙂 but it keep everything nice and clean.

HD1 OS/Apps: Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150
part1: winxp 15G (OS plus misc)
part2: Vista64 25G (OS plus misc)
part3: Games 90G (figure 10 gig a game max, that's 9 games at a time... hehe)
part4: Apps 20G (10gig per OS, I usually burn 4-5gig for apps max, so that's double for both, should be fine)
 
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
Fullmetal Chocobo:

My
DEEPEST apologies.

I hit "Edit" on YOUR original post, instead of hitting "Quote". So I edited out some of your original post. It's part of the tools that I have as a Moderator.

I am REALLY sorry! I made a mistake.

RebateMonger - AnandTech Moderator



What's left of your original post:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I've never messed with a server with VMs, etc., so I'm not sure how much space it would require. Also, what is the footprint of Server 2003?

That is some funny, funny shit.

 
Originally posted by: Smilin
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
Fullmetal Chocobo:

My
DEEPEST apologies.

I hit "Edit" on YOUR original post, instead of hitting "Quote". So I edited out some of your original post. It's part of the tools that I have as a Moderator.

I am REALLY sorry! I made a mistake.

RebateMonger - AnandTech Moderator



What's left of your original post:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I've never messed with a server with VMs, etc., so I'm not sure how much space it would require. Also, what is the footprint of Server 2003?

That is some funny, funny shit.

ROFL! Too bad that it's too long for a sig--I'd have two now! LOL. Oh damn, my cheeks hurt from laughing. Anyway, it seems that having two 160s in RAID 1 will be plenty of room for Win 2k3 Server even with VMs, so that covers one little thing I was concerned about with the build.

EDIT: No worries RebateMonger. Thanks for the laugh. 🙂
 
Partition it.

I only keep the OS and applications on that partition. The other one is used for everything from pictures to music and information in general.

In case of OS corruption, a virus or an OS upgrade / switch, you can just delete the OS partition without having to save any data.

I created a 30GB partition for my Vista Ultimate installation. It's maxed out @ 18GB after 4 or 5 months!
 
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