Hardrive "partitions" questions....?

[sunny3]

Hi guys...

I've always had/built my desktop systems,with 2 drives one for windows and one for all my other data.
Obviously that way if windows drive fails...and worst case scenario a format is needed,at least all other data is safe.

Just got my first laptop and have put xp pro on it.
Have noticed most laptops consist of 1 drive with a partition on it.As mine did.I have now merged as one.

Question...
What is the advantage of having a "partition"...?
Are there any disadvantages...?

Thanks.

 

[Grenage]

Obviously that way if windows drive fails...and worst case scenario a format is needed,at least all other data is safe.

Surely the worst case scenario here would in fact be your data drive failing?

If you want/need to format the machine partitions can make life easier in much the same way a second hard drive would. Partitions are also somewhat essential when using older File Systems such as FAT where there is a maximum partition size.

There are no real disadvantages to partitions that I can think of.

 

[AckNack]

Advantages are you can still set up the way you usually do, just with two partitions instead of two drives.

Backups are even more important now, though, because if the drive fails you lose both OS and data.

AckNack

http://www.diypctech.com

 

[sunny3]

So are you saying that I should have a partition...?

This wouldn't slow the system down in anyway...?

If I did decide to have a partition,how would I go about it ie; what would be the ideal size to set the partition for xp (total for hd is 60 gb).

And what would be the actual figure I would need to enter..?

I understand that if for example I wanted a 10gb partition,I couldn't just enter 10000 ,is this right...?
Is there a simple calculation to follow for setting sizes to be entered,relating to the size of the partition that is wanted...?

Thanks.

 

[Grenage]

Speed will not be an issue, no. Personally I try to have a small(ish) primary partition of around 10gb for the operating system and programs I install, then keep my data on the second partition. It's a matter of preference, how would you like it?

When setting partitions you are usually asked how big you want it to be in MB, so simply typing in 10000 would work fine. The partition will be created as close to that size as possible.

 

[cdogg]

Actually in terms of real bytes, you have to remember that there are 1024 bytes in a KB, 1024 KB in a MB, and so on...

Therefore:

1GB = 1024^3 = 1,073,741,824 bytes = 1,024 MB

So for 10GB you'd want to use 10,240.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[pweegar]

The biggest advantage I see to have multiple partitions is the ability to organize what goes onto your hard drive. I have several partitions ona 160 GB HD. Seperate partitions for games, applications,misc. (temp files, downloads, unzip files, etc) along wwith a partition that holds SQL and data, along with a seperate part. for the OS.

Another advantage, depending on the OS, is the type of file system you use. NTFS allows for security, which is lacking in the FAT/FAT32 type of system.

A downside is sometimes trying to remember what goes where. Esp with a large number of partitions.

 

[Grenage]

So for 10GB you'd want to use 10,240

For some reason I always thought (assumed?) that it used the HD manufacturers system when it came to partitioning. Quite silly thinking about it.

Ta for the correction.

 

[sunny3]

Ok thanks for the info so far guys...will I have to format the drive and set the partition through windows setup...?

or can this be done within windows,ifso how...?

Thanks.

 

[AckNack]

If you change your one partition, you'll lose whatever is on it unless you use some third party application that can resize/rearrange partitions without losing the date.

Partition magic is the easiest, and most expensive (around $60). I haven't used any of the other commercial partitioning products, so I can't state any opinions about them.

There are some free alternatives, but it's been a few years since I've tried any, and then they were problematic.

AckNack

http://www.diypctech.com

 

[zepper]

I have three physical drives with logical drives C: - L: on them - I believe in partitoning to protect data and the OS partitions. I set aside one logical drive just for swap files (virtual memory) and scratch (TEMP/TMP) directories (including the "Temporary Internet Files" folder), printer caches etc. to keep them away from valuable data and OS locations. May require editing the registry for best results. If you seldom or never WRITE to a logical drive, there is little chance for the data to be damaged!
. I use the logical drive label as sort of a top-level directory.
.bh.


He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine.

 

[sunny3]

There seems to be conflicting statement as to wether xp does the calculation itself.
One last confirmation...please...

Xp does not work out the calculation itself,so whatever size is required,the amount would have to be x by 1024 and then entered.

Is this right...?

Thanks

 

[cdogg]

sunny,

I'm not sure I understand your question. You mention that there seems to be a conflicting statement. Where?

If the application you're using is asking for the number of megabytes, then yes you would take the number of Gigabytes you want and multiply it by 1024. If it's asking for the number of bytes or kilobytes, then it would be the number of GB you want multiplied by either 1024^3 or 1024^2 respectively.

Perhaps you can explain what you are trying to do more clearly. Also, I don't understand what you're saying about "[blue]Xp does not work out the calculation itself[/blue]".


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[micker377]

I just use "percentages" and let fdisk worry about the numbers.

 

[sunny3]

Sorry cdogg...poor wording...
I was reffering to a fresh install using xp setup...further up this post Grenage wrote to enter 10000,then your post said to enter 10240.

"Xp does not work out the calculation itself". was a question rather than a statement.

Thanks

 

[cdogg]

OK, I see. Actually further down Grenage acknowledged the correction. If the setup is asking for you to use MB, then yes it would be 10,240 for 10GB.

The difficult part to get is that when the system reports Gigabytes, it's reporting the number of actual bytes. But in the setup part where it asks you to specify a size, you must take into consideration that if you were to enter 10,000MB then XP later on will report 9.77GB (which is the REAL number of bytes - 10,000 divided by 1024).


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[sunny3]

All understood.That clears it up.

Thanks.