How should I partition my 160 GB drive?

I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard drive.
I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file system
will probably be NTFS.

From a technical and practical point of view, should I have just
one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into two or
three smaller partitions?

Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.

The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50 MB to 400
MB).

Hi, Mark.

You realize, of course, that this is kind of like a religious question, or
which car should I buy? I've been using personal computers since before we
had hard drives, so my opinion is colored by my experience with legacy
systems, continually upgraded over the years.

Sometimes we have to upgrade, repair or otherwise change the operating
system. For this reason, I like to keep WinXP in its own partition,
separate from the data. Depending on what applications you run to handle
that data, you might also want to keep the app(s) separate from the data. I
would suggest you use 10 GB or so for WinXP. If it is a large app, put it
in a partition of its own, with some elbow room in case it needs to grow or
if you want to include some other apps with it. If it is only a small app,
you could just include it in the WinXP partition.

You probably will hear several recommendations. The choice is really up to
you.
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Mark M" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:94E6C4297B8E53A75@130.133.1.4...
> How should I partition my 160 GB drive?
>
> I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard drive.
> I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file system
> will probably be NTFS.
>
> From a technical and practical point of view, should I have just
> one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into two or
> three smaller partitions?
>
> Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.
>
> The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50 MB to 400
> MB).

On Tue, 11 May 2004 19:17:00 +0100, Mark M
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>How should I partition my 160 GB drive?
>
>I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard drive.
>I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file system
>will probably be NTFS.
>
>From a technical and practical point of view, should I have just
>one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into two or
>three smaller partitions?
>
>Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.
>
>The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50 MB to 400
>MB).

Formatting to NTFS is a must for a drive that large. I would use
either one or two partitions since it appears the drive is going to be
used primarily for storage. Your choice.

BTW, in order to completely utilize a drive that large, you must have
SP-1 installed and the ability to turn on 48bit LBA in your BIOS.
Otherwise XP will only "see" around 137gb. If your BIOS does not
support 48bit LBA, you can purchase an add in controller card with
built in BIOS such as the one made by Promise Technologies.

I would set the boot partition (C to be about 20 GB and
install the OS (XP) and applications to this partition.
Keep in mind you need to retain 15-20% free space on each
partition in order for defrag to run.
I would also have a 40 GB partition and a 100 GB partition.
I would use the 40 GB partition for data and downloaded
application files and the 100 GB partition for multimedia
files.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


"Mark M" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
in message news:94E6C4297B8E53A75@130.133.1.4...
| How should I partition my 160 GB drive?
|
| I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard
drive.
| I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file
system
| will probably be NTFS.
|
| From a technical and practical point of view, should I
have just
| one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into
two or
| three smaller partitions?
|
| Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.
|
| The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50
MB to 400
| MB).

Mark M wrote:
> How should I partition my 160 GB drive?
>
> I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard drive.
> I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file system
> will probably be NTFS.
>
> From a technical and practical point of view, should I have just
> one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into two or
> three smaller partitions?
>
> Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.
>
> The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50 MB to 400
> MB).

As a 160GB drive is only 149GB when formatted, that could be a problem...

Sorry if my posting is a bit ambiguous: I will run XP on a
different drive. The 160 GB drive will be used purely for data.


Mark

-------

Mark M wrote:

How should I partition my 160 GB drive?

I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard drive.
I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file system
will probably be NTFS.

From a technical and practical point of view, should I have just
one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into two or
three smaller partitions?

Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.

The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50 MB to 400
MB).

Then just one partition will be fine.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


"Mark M" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
in message news:94E6D8A396223A75@130.133.1.4...
| Sorry if my posting is a bit ambiguous: I will run XP on
a
| different drive. The 160 GB drive will be used purely for
data.
|
|
| Mark
|
| -------
|
| Mark M wrote:
|
| How should I partition my 160 GB drive?
|
| I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard
drive.
| I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file
system
| will probably be NTFS.
|
| From a technical and practical point of view, should I
have just
| one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into
two or
| three smaller partitions?
|
| Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.
|
| The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50
MB to 400
| MB).

> Sorry if my posting is a bit ambiguous: I will run XP on a
> different drive. The 160 GB drive will be used purely for data.

I would create a single partition and, since you are holding large
multi-media files, format with the largest possible cluster size on NTFS
(32kB?)

Go for one partition, less to deal with.

"Mark M" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:94E6C4297B8E53A75@130.133.1.4...
> How should I partition my 160 GB drive?
>
> I want to store about 150 GB of data on my 160 GB hard drive.
> I will use XP to access and to manage this data. The file system
> will probably be NTFS.
>
> From a technical and practical point of view, should I have just
> one large 160 GB partition or should I break it up into two or
> three smaller partitions?
>
> Personally, I don't mind if the data is split up.
>
> The data is 85% jpegs (50 KB to 200 KB) and 15% video (50 MB to 400
> MB).
>

"R. C. White" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)
> Hi, Mark.
>
> You realize, of course, that this is kind of like a religious question,

Yes, he does, and that is exactly why he puts it here.

> or which car should I buy? I've been using personal computers since before
> we had hard drives, so my opinion is colored by my experience with legacy
> systems, continually upgraded over the years.
>
[snip]