Help! - Need Partitioning Advice

[contrapositive]

Hi. I just built a new PC with a 250 GB SATA hard drive, and I'm installing
Windows XP, SP2. I want to partition the drive in some practical way, but
without going completely overboard. My thought was to have four partitions
as follows:

C: Windows XP, Program Files (19 GB)
D: Temporary system/internet files (1 GB, disposable)
E: Essential data (30 GB, to be backed up regularly)
F: Non-essential data (200 GB, mostly disposable multimedia files such as my
iTunes library)

Some questions:
1. Any thoughts on a dedicated partition for the swap file? I decided
against it, as I read it only makes sense if you have more than one physical
drive.
2. I decided to keep Windows and program files on the same partition. Again,
I read that the cost outweighs the benefit for most of us. Any thoughts?
3. Should I use FAT32 on C and NTFS on the others?
4. When designating partition sizes, should the sizes be a multiple of some
magic number, or is there some other means for calculating efficient
partition sizes? Or is it completely arbitrary?


Thanks in advance. Any other thoughts are welcome.

 

[Stubbo_of_Oz]

Hi. I just built a new PC with a 250 GB SATA hard drive, and I'm installing
Windows XP, SP2. I want to partition the drive in some practical way, but
without going completely overboard. My thought was to have four partitions
as follows:

C: Windows XP, Program Files (19 GB)
D: Temporary system/internet files (1 GB, disposable)
E: Essential data (30 GB, to be backed up regularly)
F: Non-essential data (200 GB, mostly disposable multimedia files such as my
iTunes library)

Some questions:
1. Any thoughts on a dedicated partition for the swap file? I decided
against it, as I read it only makes sense if you have more than one physical
drive.
2. I decided to keep Windows and program files on the same partition. Again,
I read that the cost outweighs the benefit for most of us. Any thoughts?
3. Should I use FAT32 on C and NTFS on the others?
4. When designating partition sizes, should the sizes be a multiple of some
magic number, or is there some other means for calculating efficient
partition sizes? Or is it completely arbitrary?

In case you want to install Windows Vista at a later stage, have a
read here about hard drive capacity required. You might like to
increase the size of the partition for Windows base don this!!

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060518-6863.html

 

[Guest]

Why would you format C: in FAT32,by default xp uses ntfs as does vista.
As microsoft said years ago, "Would like to not see FAT32 on any OS".

 

[John R Weiss]

C: Windows XP, Program Files (19 GB)
D: Temporary system/internet files (1 GB, disposable)

Superfluous. Incorporate it as a folder on C.

E: Essential data (30 GB, to be backed up regularly)

Make it bigger. My 35 GB drive is reaching its comfortable limits, and I'm
conservative.

F: Non-essential data (200 GB, mostly disposable multimedia files such as my
iTunes library)

Your "backup" partition should not be bigger than 2X the active data partition
(accommodates recently archived data) + data you want to save from your boot
partition.

Make a separate "iTunes" partition, no bigger than your iPod..

Give yourself more room on your primary data partition.

Some questions:
1. Any thoughts on a dedicated partition for the swap file? I decided against
it, as I read it only makes sense if you have more than one physical drive.

Good plan.

2. I decided to keep Windows and program files on the same partition. Again, I
read that the cost outweighs the benefit for most of us. Any thoughts?

Individual preference. Your scheme works.

However, I'd consider 20 GB a MINIMUM for that scheme. Give it 30-40 GB for OS
+ apps.

3. Should I use FAT32 on C and NTFS on the others?

NO! Use NTFS for all! You no longer need to boot from a DOS floppy -- you can
boot from a Windows install CD that reads NTFS!

4. When designating partition sizes, should the sizes be a multiple of some
magic number, or is there some other means for calculating efficient partition
sizes? Or is it completely arbitrary?

The partitioning software deals with the nits. Don't worry about it.

 

[BC]

Hi. I just built a new PC with a 250 GB SATA hard drive, and I'm installing
Windows XP, SP2. I want to partition the drive in some practical way, but
without going completely overboard. My thought was to have four partitions
as follows:

C: Windows XP, Program Files (19 GB)
D: Temporary system/internet files (1 GB, disposable)
E: Essential data (30 GB, to be backed up regularly)
F: Non-essential data (200 GB, mostly disposable multimedia files such as my
iTunes library)

Some questions:
1. Any thoughts on a dedicated partition for the swap file? I decided
against it, as I read it only makes sense if you have more than one physical
drive.
2. I decided to keep Windows and program files on the same partition. Again,
I read that the cost outweighs the benefit for most of us. Any thoughts?
3. Should I use FAT32 on C and NTFS on the others?
4. When designating partition sizes, should the sizes be a multiple of some
magic number, or is there some other means for calculating efficient
partition sizes? Or is it completely arbitrary?


Thanks in advance. Any other thoughts are welcome.

1) Use Fat32 on the system partition, NTFS on the others.
The nature and sophistication of recent viruses means that
detection and cleaning has to be done on an inactive partition
via a Boot CD/Flash drive/floppy, and while NTFS is proprietary
and periodically modified by Microsoft, Fat32 is not. While
Bat's PE disk can be used for troubleshooting and repair,
Fat32 will guarantee that other tools like Linux boot CD's
will always work.

2) 20 Gb for the system partition should be fine, but I would
install applications to another partition (make a folder called
"Apps" or such.

3) Nowadays, think of partitions in terms of backups and
imaging for recovery. Two should be enough on the system
hard drive, but get a USB hard drive for general backing up
a second copy stuff.

Hope this helps.

-BC

 

[Guest]

I would suggest tooo - make all your partitions NTFS; divide all your
partitions (4 is good) into equal sizes. Keep your swap and temps on the
system partition. In addition, buy a partition manager like ACRONIS as you
will have the ability and absolute control to manage your hard drive(s) and
partitions in the future, cuse nothing stays the same for long. (PS: I used
partition magic, but when i upgraded to a pentium it made a complete disaster
of all my partitions. Acronis disk director was perfect and had the ability
to restore my lost/deleted partitions too) Good Luck, your pretty smart for
asking....