Partition

[Kate]

Does Vista have something that allows me to partition my HD or do I need
another software. If someone could direct me I'd appreciate it.

Also if I do partition and install Vista on one and all the programs on
another will that make reinstalling easier? Or will I still have to
reinstall the programs?

Ty, Kate

 

[Paul Montgomery]

Does Vista have something that allows me to partition my HD or do I need
another software. If someone could direct me I'd appreciate it.

Also if I do partition and install Vista on one and all the programs on
another will that make reinstalling easier? Or will I still have to
reinstall the programs?

Partitioning, now and in the future: Acronis Disk Director Suite

Separate partition for programs: won't help when OS is reinstalled.
Remember: the registry and several Windows folders get entriesl when
software is installed.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Windows Vista is a dynamic operating system. It performs best
on a single partition with programs installed on the same partition.
Installing programs on a different partition will hinder performance
due to added seek times.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

Does Vista have something that allows me to partition my HD or do I need
another software. If someone could direct me I'd appreciate it.

Also if I do partition and install Vista on one and all the programs on
another will that make reinstalling easier? Or will I still have to
reinstall the programs?

Ty, Kate

 

[Kate]

Does Vista have something that allows me to partition my HD or do I need
another software. If someone could direct me I'd appreciate it.

Also if I do partition and install Vista on one and all the programs on
another will that make reinstalling easier? Or will I still have to
reinstall the programs?

Ty, Kate

Thanks Paul and Carey. That helps
Kate

 

[Richard Urban]

But you must remember that countless thousands of people use a second
partition to store data, downloaded programs, music, videos etc. There IS
use for a second partition - even in Vista.

When you install a new operating system to partition C: (even if you format
the partition) your data is retained.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Kate.

Every Windows version since Windows 2000 has included the excellent Disk
Management snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console. DM does all the
things that we used to do with FDISK and Format.exe - and more.

The official path to DM is Start | Control Panel | Administrative Tools (or
right-click Computer and choose Manage) | Computer Management | Disk
Management, but a much shorter route is just to press Start, type in
diskmgmt.msc and press Enter. You'll need Administrator credentials either
way, even if you are already logged in as an administrator. The shortcut
way has the additional benefit of using more of your screen for DM, rather
than peeping through Computer Management's keyhole. There is a Help file
with lots of excellent information, although its organization could be
greatly improved.

We all have our favorite ways of organizing partitions. My favorite
probably won't fit you - and vice versa. But re-installation of the
operating system usually does require re-installing applications. Even
though the app's files may be still in place, we need to run its Setup
program again to let it (re)make its entries into the new Registry.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, LeeTutor.

You might want to add a caveat that Disk Management usually deals in
MEGAbytes of disk size, not GIGAbytes. So, if you want to Extend a Volume
by 10 GB or Create a new 10 GB volume, be sure to type in 10,000, not 10.
(Yes, this is the voice of experience - more than once. :<{ )

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Does Vista have something that allows me to partition my HD or do I need
another software. If someone could direct me I'd appreciate it.

Yes, it's included in Setup. It's called Diskpart.

Also if I do partition and install Vista on one and all the programs on
another will that make reinstalling easier?

No, it will *not*. This is actually not at all helpful.

Or will I still have to reinstall the programs?

*Yes*, you will have to do this in that model.

The reason is that most modern programs don't exist by themselves in their
own folders. They copy files into the system folders and, most
importantly, write a lot of entries in the registry. Without those, the
programs just won't function.

There isn't a lot of reason these days to use extra partitions, and there is
a significant downside when your system partition runs out of space.

Modern backup utilities allow you to easily specify what files and folders
to back up, regardless of their partition. And to be clear, it is not a
good idea to back up to a partition on the same physical disk; when the disk
fails, you lose access to all partitions. Back up to another physical
disk, preferably more than one.

The better idea is to install Vista and your standard applications, set up
your mail accounts etc, and then take an image of the system drive, using
something like Acronis TrueImage. Then take regular backups of your data.

If your system craters and the drive fails, you can boot with the boot DVD
TrueImage helped you make, restore to the new hard disk and be up and
running in an hour or so.

HTH
-pk