optimum HD partitions?

[Guest]

I have a 120 GB HD, and was going to reinstall XP Pro due to a virus problem. I will have to reinstall/reformat all. Is say a 15 GB OS partition and a 105 GB general program partition a good setup? If I have to reformat/reinsatll the XP partition, can I just leave the other 105 GB of programs, games, etc., alone and all will be as before? Or must I then reinstall all of the programs anyway?

Also, will only reformating the OS partition get rid of persistent viruses/malware?

And I need a simple system setup as there is another user on the computer who has no knowledge beyond the basics. If I have this OS partition system at work, will it be difficult for her to know which newly installed programs must be on the OS partition and which can be on the main partition (I understand some non-XP programs MUST be on the OS partition in order to function properly)?

Thank you sooo much for any info, as this is very trying!

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

I have a 120 GB HD, and was going to reinstall XP Pro due to a virus problem. I will have to reinstall/reformat all. Is say a 15 GB OS partition and a 105 GB general program partition a good setup? If I have to reformat/reinsatll the XP partition, can I just leave the other 105 GB of programs, games, etc., alone and all will be as before? Or must I then reinstall all of the programs anyway?

Also, will only reformating the OS partition get rid of persistent viruses/malware?

And I need a simple system setup as there is another user on the computer who has no knowledge beyond the basics. If I have this OS partition system at work, will it be difficult for her to know which newly installed programs must be on the OS partition and which can be on the main partition (I understand some non-XP programs MUST be on the OS partition in order to function properly)?

Thank you sooo much for any info, as this is very trying!

Jonny,

the optimal way is to use only one partition that fills the
entire hard disk. Unless you have any overriding good reason to
hack the most valuable asset of a hard disk into pieces---its
free space---don't create any superfluous partitions.

Only on computers with old BIOS versions it may sometimes be
necessary to have a tiny (20 MB or so) partition to boot from,
but everything except the few boot files (like BOOT.INI,
NTDETECT.COM, NTLDR) can be in one large partition. The tiny
boot partition can be in the beginning or at the end of the hard
disk, and the main partition should have the drive letter C:.

Hans-Georg

 

[John R Weiss]

I have a 120 GB HD, and was going to reinstall XP Pro due to a virus

problem. I will have to reinstall/reformat all. Is say a 15 GB OS
partition and a 105 GB general program partition a good setup? If I have to
reformat/reinsatll the XP partition, can I just leave the other 105 GB of
programs, games, etc., alone and all will be as before? Or must I then
reinstall all of the programs anyway?

IF you install all your apps on the separate partition, 15 GB will be plenty
for XP Pro. You will have to monitor the Uninstall infoand backup files
that accumulate in the Windows folder during each patch and Service Pack,
and delete them when you confirm the machine is running OK again. However,
if you allow apps to install themselves on the C: drive, you may need more.

You will likely have to re-install all apps after reformatting the boot
partition, because the Registry will be "virgin," without all the app info.
Make sure your "My Documents" folder and other default data folders that XP,
Outlook, OE, etc. install in the C:\Documents and Settings\[username] folder
are redirected to the data partition. Otherwise, you'll lose more than the
OS when reformatting.

Also, will only reformating the OS partition get rid of persistent

viruses/malware?

Maybe. It depends where they are installed. Most of them will likely be
somewhere on C:, though.

And I need a simple system setup as there is another user on the computer

who has no knowledge beyond the basics. If I have this OS partition system
at work, will it be difficult for her to know which newly installed programs
must be on the OS partition and which can be on the main partition (I
understand some non-XP programs MUST be on the OS partition in order to
function properly)?

Installing apps is relatively simple: If they have an option to change the
installation folder, do it. I have a D:\Apps folder and a D:\Utils folder
under which I install all my applications and utilities. You can do the
same with device Drivers, and have a separate "D:\UserApps" folder into
which you can have her install any apps.

 

[JAX]

Hi Jonny,

Your plan is reasonable, except there is no real point in installing your
programs to another partition unless, in the case of a few that prefer to be
on a different one. You would have to re-install them in the event of a
format of the drive anyway. The file associations,etc., would have to be
re-established.

It depends on how many and how large the programs you intend using are as to
how large to make your primary partition. I would think that the 15 gig's
you mentioned would be sufficient for most users, however, with that large a
drive, you may want to increase it a bit in case you have different needs in
the future.

It is good to keep you data files, MP3's, pictures, etc on the separate
partition. That way they are protected in case of a system malfunction that
could corrupt them or necessitate re-formatting the primary drive. Of
course, you should always have back-ups of anything that is important to you
on separate media.

LOL, JAX

I have a 120 GB HD, and was going to reinstall XP Pro due to a virus

problem. I will have to reinstall/reformat all. Is say a 15 GB OS
partition and a 105 GB general program partition a good setup? If I have to
reformat/reinsatll the XP partition, can I just leave the other 105 GB of
programs, games, etc., alone and all will be as before? Or must I then
reinstall all of the programs anyway?

Also, will only reformating the OS partition get rid of persistent viruses/malware?

And I need a simple system setup as there is another user on the computer

who has no knowledge beyond the basics. If I have this OS partition system
at work, will it be difficult for her to know which newly installed programs
must be on the OS partition and which can be on the main partition (I
understand some non-XP programs MUST be on the OS partition in order to
function properly)?

 

[Guest]

<snip>
you cannot do anyting with the program files if it gets full
</snip>

Not entirely true.
Using a little program from the dark ages (what a foresight!) called COA32
(Change Of Address) you can:
1. manually copy your installed program files\folder to a desired new
location
2. use COA32 to go through your system and change all references in
shortcuts, registry, ini-files and what have you from 'old' location to
'new' location.
Often times that beats re-installing all your apps and maybe loosing all
customization in the process.
Used it myself (with great success) on a few occasions.
Get it while it is still there:
http://hawaii.hawaii.edu/math/Links/Download/Windows/CoA32.htm

Hi,

Remember that you can move data files if the data partition runs out of

space,but you cannot do anyting with the program files if it gets full.

So my recommendation is to allocate a bigger slice of the disk for hte

operating system and program files. you can do this way 50%-50% or 60%-40%
but never allow the operating system partition to be lesser than the data
partition.

--
Regards
M. Rajesh
.Net and Windows Shell MVP
www.winxpsolution.com

problem. I will have to reinstall/reformat all. Is say a 15 GB OS
partition and a 105 GB general program partition a good setup? If I have to
reformat/reinsatll the XP partition, can I just leave the other 105 GB of
programs, games, etc., alone and all will be as before? Or must I then
reinstall all of the programs anyway?computer who has no knowledge beyond the basics. If I have this OS
partition system at work, will it be difficult for her to know which newly
installed programs must be on the OS partition and which can be on the main
partition (I understand some non-XP programs MUST be on the OS partition in
order to function properly)?

 

[Ron Martell]

I have a 120 GB HD, and was going to reinstall XP Pro due to a virus problem. I will have to reinstall/reformat all. Is say a 15 GB OS partition and a 105 GB general program partition a good setup? If I have to reformat/reinsatll the XP partition, can I just leave the other 105 GB of programs, games, etc., alone and all will be as before? Or must I then reinstall all of the programs anyway?

Also, will only reformating the OS partition get rid of persistent viruses/malware?

And I need a simple system setup as there is another user on the computer who has no knowledge beyond the basics. If I have this OS partition system at work, will it be difficult for her to know which newly installed programs must be on the OS partition and which can be on the main partition (I understand some non-XP programs MUST be on the OS partition in order to function properly)?

Thank you sooo much for any info, as this is very trying!

MVP Jim Eshelman has a pretty good article on the subject at
http://www.aumha.org/a/parts.htm

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Guest]

Thanks a bunch fellas. I think when all is said and done it will be easier to just keep the whole lot on C: and make a small D: for backups. Cheers again!

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

It is good to keep you data files, MP3's, pictures, etc on the separate
partition. That way they are protected in case of a system malfunction that
could corrupt them or necessitate re-formatting the primary drive.

JAX,

you think that the operating system could corrupt files in one
partition, but not the other? I don't think this is so.

Hans-Georg

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

Thanks a bunch fellas. I think when all is said and done it will be easier to just keep the whole lot on C: and make a small D: for backups. Cheers again!

Jonny,

consider though that backups on the same hard disk aren't worth
much. One of the most frequent problems is the hard disk
failure.

The real backups have to be somewhere else, not even in the same
computer. For higher security aims they have to be off-site, so
they survive a burglary or a major fire.

Hans-Georg

 

[JAX]

Hello Hans,

I probably should have said, render them inaccessible, rather than corrupt
them.

JAX