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To partition... Or not to partition...

R

rikadik

Senior member
Sorry to clog up this forum with another uninteresting thread from someone who is a bit clueless.

Basically my new system, which will arrive soon 😀, is coming with a 250Gb SATA drive. I like to keep things organised, so partitioning seems a good idea. However I'm not sure how best to allocate space.

I want to get into digital video editing with my new MiniDV camcorder, install a few fairly unintensive games, build up a music collection and want to have the system organised and going swiftly.

Firstly, are there any "real-world" benefits to partitioning that I would appreciate?

Secondly, how many partitions and what sizes would you reccommend?

All input will be very helpful, thanks in advance.
 
It's up to your personal preferences really...

Personally, I would divide the drive into at least 2 partitions because I am in the habit of reinstalling Windows every year to clean out the junk that inevitably accumulates and slow down your system. With 2 partitions, you can copy all your important files (documents, MP3s, downloaded drivers and patches, etc.) that you don't want to erase into the second partition, then nuke your boot partition for a clean reinstall. Of course, if you have more than one HD, then this is unnecessary.

The other small benefit is that a smaller partition does take faster to defrag...

 
Personaly, I have 3 drives (non raid) ONE IS for my OS, One is for my programs, and the other is for downloads and Swap-File.
But not everyone has that luxury, so give your boot Partition 60Gb and the rest for your DV and Protected files like MP3 and Driver updates. Install your most frequently (games, DV Editing Software) used progams on the Smaller Partition that is closer to the Spindle. and all others, Like the ones that get used every once and a while in the larger partition (Stuff like adaware, spybot, utilties, Irfanview AOL)
 
I hate partitions. If you want a separate drive letter, buy another HD. It doesn't matter how big or small your HD is, if you got a ton of crap in it, it's gonna take longer to defrag.

BTW, if the HD dies, all the partitions will go down with the HD.
 
The entire drive is strictly for data, correct? If so, leave it as one partition and organize with folders. I find it easier to work with video files like this, because a) copying data is faster and b) i don't have to deal with the aggrevation of moving files around because one partition fills quicker than the other 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Baked
I hate partitions. If you want a separate drive letter, buy another HD. It doesn't matter how big or small your HD is, if you got a ton of crap in it, it's gonna take longer to defrag.

BTW, if the HD dies, all the partitions will go down with the HD.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
 
I use separate Partitions for my Multiple booting OS's and other than that I keep all my precious Data on separate HD's backing up both regularly
 
good thread, I just got another 200gb HDD, that will make 2 in my system and I was deciding to make a partition or not. I've decided not too.
 
I don't think I will bother either, there doesn't seem to be much benefit. I may get an extra drive for video anyway, depending how much I end up doing.

Thanks everybody.
 
I have a 60gb, I ended up buying my 200gb for video editing and backing up important files. I have 50gb left of that drive and I just bought this new 200gb because my 60gb has about 3gb left on it.
 
I have 6 partitions on my HD.

Two of those partitions I consider critical (OS and DATA). The other partitions are for non-critical apps, games, downloads and backup space.

I consider dedicated OS partition critical because:
- I routinely maintain an image backup, and can restore my OS in about 20 minutes with all settings intact.
- If I did have to do a fresh format & install of Windows, data would not be affected.
- I can image/restore my OS partition to/from a single DVD.

DATA partition is critical simply because all vital personal data resides there. All spreadsheets, docs, backup drivers, etc., are stored here. This partition is also regularly imaged to a single DVD and can be restored in 20 minutes with folder structure intact.

Games, non-critical apps, non-critical data and anything that can easily be installed are distributed in the other partitions.

In the event of an HD failure, I can simply format and partition with the Windows CD and restore my OS and DATA backups to their respective partitions, using a DOS-based image/restore program. Games and non-critical apps are easily re-installed. as required.

I've never seen any credible evidence that a partitioned HD runs slower than a non-partitioned HD.
 
How do you install programs in a different partion? And BTW, dont they edit the registry (and otherwise alter the OS) and won't that make a new OS install incompatible with your programs on the separate partiton?

If I already have the programs on the same partion as the OS can they be moved?
 
Installing programs - and games - in dedicated partitions is very straightforward. Just change the destination to the dedicated partition (D:, E:, F:, whatever).

The registry information stays in your C: partition.

When I restore my C: partition, I also restore all registry pointers to programs and/or games installed in other partitions.

If I do a 'clean install' - I will have installed a 'clean registry'. Any programs or games in other partitions will have to be re-installed to use them. That's the whole point of imaging - to avoid the necessity of 'clean' installs as much as possible.

In the event of an OS crash:
- The OS partition is kept lean so that it can be imaged to a single DVD.
- Complete restoration takes only 20 minutes - less time than a clean install.
- All drivers and custom settings are intact.
- All registry pointers to programs and games in other partitions are intact.

Or, did I miss the point of your question?
 
Very few applications need large contiguous storage space. Other than for those few apps, only the LAZY don't partition large drives 😉 . And the smaller access tables for smaller drives can yield a quicker response.
. I have C -> L on two HDs totaling about 45GB... I use the partition Label as sort of a top level folder naming scheme.

.bh.

:moon:
 
Originally posted by: Zepper
Very few applications need large contiguous storage space. Other than for those few apps, only the LAZY don't partition large drives. And generally 135G or so is the limit for one partition anyway, so you'll be forced to partition if you want to use the whole drive.

.bh.
Click to expand...

? My 200 GB Seagate isn't partitioned, and its approx 186 GB. Are you getting this confused with the 137 GB limitation in older versions of Windows?

 
Sorry CP,
. I was editing whilst you were replying... Consider it another opportunity to find fault 😉 .

.bh.
 
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