Suggested Good Way to Set Up Drives / Partitions/ Etc

[PrinceXizor]

So, I have a 256GB SSD, 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD. The small SSD and the HDD are my current setup. Everything is on the small SSD with some backups and old HDD copies on the spinner (barely even dented).

With these 3 HDD's are there any suggested ways to partition, use them? I got the 1TB because I was practically full on my small SSD and then I found 100GB in the windows temp file despite a pretty thorough search and destroy to make space a month ago (who knows, maybe I just missed it). Anyway. I'm at a good spot to take a second and set these up in a logical and useful way, any suggestions? Here are some useful info to think on...

1. This is my main desktop with Win 7 Pro.
2. I use this for CAD work on the side.
3. My wife is growing an ebay business and we will be getting a SFF for use in her ebay room for pictures, listings, etc.
4. I have one wireless network and a nighthawk AC2100. The desktop does NOT have a wireless card in it but is directly connected to the Nighthawk.
5. Currently, Windows takes up 72GB; Users: 26GB; Various Programs: 13GB
6. I'm not an avid gamer, but I did have a few games loaded at one point that I uninstalled to make space.

Thanks!

 

[Seba]

A single partition for each drive.

 

[mikeymikec]

IMO partitioning was handy in the days when computers had a single drive in and I wanted to separate the OS from my data in case I had to do a quick reinstall (and easy-to-handle and decent removable storage wasn't mainstream), but it must have been ten years since I did my own partition layout.

Also bear in mind that partitioning will only get in the way if it turns out you've restricted yourself too much; while there are partition editors out there, I'd back it all up first (which would potentially take ages).

Btw, your problem of 100GB in Windows\TEMP - you mentioned Win7, I think I know the reason why and it'll keep happening unless you do something about it. That is what I do when I encounter it:

Clear out that temp folder
Go into C:\Windows\Logs\CBS, clear out as much as you can in there
Get an admin command prompt up and run SFC /SCANNOW
Hopefully that command will finish gracefully.

As I understand it, Win7 sometimes gets its knickers in a twist when doing routine maintenance, and tonnes of unmaintained logging data eventually results. I've seen it 2-3 times before I think.

One other thing - 72GB for Windows sounds like a lot. There may be a legitimate reason for it (such as a lot of installed and chunky apps each with a piece in C:\Windows\Installers), but there are other reasons too. Running the Disk Cleanup app with the 'system files' scan and clearing out Windows Update data might help.

 

[deustroop]

Think about separate drives to each user with the hdd designated for storage. You now use the small ssd, so the 1TB ssd is hers. Both should be bootable drives and each of you would boot to your individual drive as necessary .The hdd becomes a joint storage unit with enough space that allows you to also save backup images of each drive, using something like Macrium Reflect to create the images, and store them, in case one of the two op drives goes down.More complicated than both using the same drive but also more secure since all of the work from both users is not at risk from errors/ problems arising from only one user.

 

[PrinceXizor]

Interesting ideas. Love to hear some more. Thanks!

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would install Macrium Reflect Free on Win7 64-bit, then make a bootable USB, then make an image backup of the small SSD to the HDD, then remove the small SSD, install the 1TB SSD, and then boot off of the Macrium boot USB, and restore the partition/disk image from the files on the HDD to the 1TB SSD. Once that is done, shut down, remove the USB stick, and try booting off of the 1TB SSD. Hopefully, if successful, you'll have a 1TB SSD, for your primary OS drive, and a HDD for storage.

Then use the small SSD, wipe it if you have to, and install that as your Wife's primary OS drive for her new PC. (I assume a refurb SFF? That would make the most economical sense. Although, with Spectre / Meltdown exploits and mitigation, I would try to source a Skylake or newer SFF, if you at all can. At the very least, Haswell. Anything older, may not get BIOS fixes.)