How do I partition hard dive

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I have an 80GB hard drive which I would like to partition.
C: for O/S D: for programs and data. How can I accomplish this?
My objective is to have O/S on its own partition, so I do not have
re-install in case of major problems with programs and/or data.
Thank You
 
This website has instructions for clean installing XP onto a hard drive..

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

When creating the primary partition, allow at least 20gb for the OS and
programs.. splitting programs from the OS is pointless as programs install
files directly into the OS.. if the OS has to be reloaded, so do the
programs..
 
Dale said:
I have an 80GB hard drive which I would like to partition.
C: for O/S D: for programs and data. How can I accomplish this?
My objective is to have O/S on its own partition, so I do not have
re-install in case of major problems with programs and/or data.
Click to expand...


Mike answered your question, but let me add a comment or two:

Many people separate their installed programs from the operating system with
the idea that if they ever have to reinstall the operating system, their
programs will be intact. Unfortunately that idea is completely wrong. All
installed programs (except for a very occasional very small one) have many
entries referring to them within Windows, in the registry and elsewhere. If
you reinstall Windows all those references are lost and the programs will no
longer run. If Windows is reinstalled, all the programs have to be
reinstalled too.

So for most people, it's better to have programs in the same partition as
Windows.

If you put your data in a separate partition, yes, it will survive a
reinstallation of Windows, but I'm always concerned that people who want to
do this may think that their data is safe there and no backup is required.
It is always possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby lightning
strike, virus attack, even theft of the computer, can cause the loss of
everything on your drive. As has often been said, it's not a matter of
whether you will have such a problem, but when.

The only real safety for your data is on external backup media. Just having
a separate partition doesn't cut it.
 
Thanks Mike for your reply. I knew I read somewhere about this issue, but
could not remember where. It WAS Mike Steven's site!

Thanks Ken for your clarification.

Next question....
1. Do I really need to partition 80MG or is it ONLY for ease of data
'Backup'?

Just trying understand what is the advantage of partitioning other than on a
large drive ex. 200 MG

Thanks again, I am so pleased I received these answers so quickly and they
were right on the MARK!
 
Dale said:
Thanks Mike for your reply. I knew I read somewhere about this
issue, but could not remember where. It WAS Mike Steven's site!

Thanks Ken for your clarification.
Click to expand...


You're welcome. Glad to help.

Next question....
1. Do I really need to partition 80MG or is it ONLY for ease of data
'Backup'?
Click to expand...


First a word on the terminology.Partitioning is the act of creating one or
more partitions on the drive. Since you can't use a drive until it has at
least one partition on it, *everyone* needs to partition.

So I assume you're asking about whether you should have more than one
partition. This is not a question to which everyone has the same answer, and
you'll find different points of view. My view is that most people's
partitioning scheme should be based on their backup scheme. If, for example,
you backup by creating a clone or image on
the entire drive, then as ingle partition might be best. If, on the other
hand, you backup only your data, then the backup process is facilitated by
having all data in a separate partition.

Except for those running multiple operating systems, there is seldom any
benefit to having more than two partitions.
 
Thanks again for your clarifications.

You wrote: "Except for those running multiple operating systems, there is
seldom any benefit to having more than two partitions".

No benedfit on a 160mg or 200mg drive? (I have one sitting in a drawer)
Nowadays a large drive seems a necessity with prgrams such as "SUN" for one.

Also, I will assume that if you partition, (in addition to NEEDED
partition), Windows will automatically change Drive Letters for CD drives.

Thank You
 
Dale said:
Thanks again for your clarifications.

You wrote: "Except for those running multiple operating systems,
there is seldom any benefit to having more than two partitions".

No benedfit on a 160mg or 200mg drive? (I have one sitting in a
drawer) Nowadays a large drive seems a necessity with prgrams such as
"SUN" for one.
Click to expand...


You'll likely get lots of strong opinionm out this, not all the same as
mine. I don't think the size of the drive is the main issue, but rather how
you use it, as I said earlier.
 
I agree with Ken. Beyond separating your software from your data, there
is no need or benefit gained by extra partitions. Of course, there will
always be certain specialized situations where more partitions are needed.

Beyond the two partitions you've been reading about, extra partitions
are only for convenience, no matter how large the size of the disk.
 
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