HDD partitions

[ShadoWolf]

Hello

I have been doing a bit of research regarding using a separate partition for your OS. I have read the below thread which was VERY interesting:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...on-theory.html

I didn’t want to trawl up an ancient post for my (possible) ignorant question, so here it is....

....in the post they say the first partition should be about 1/5 the size of your hdd but I have a 500Gb hdd and I think 100GB is way too big for just the OS, surely that’s a waste of space? Even the 25Gb they suggest for the first os partition seems a bit excessive? Am i missing something?

[aidanjt]

It depends on a lot of factors. Personally, the very first partition I create is a boot/pagefile partition, which I make as RAM*2, just in case (in reality I rarely use half that), then I create the OS partition, that depends on the OSes minimal requirements, Vista is 40GB or something like that, for e.g., it's also no harm to have additional space for programmes with stupid installers that don't ask, or semi-ignore the installation path, Live messenger, and Visual Studio, for example. Do the same for any additional OSes you plan to install. Then I just lump everything else into a single partition. But there's no harm creating separate partitions for program files and user data.

[Lourdes]

It's just to keep the OS on the fastest part of the disk really, it need only be big enough for that. But personally I make it big enough for all my programs and some desktop space too. Going mad with partitions is pretty pointless.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

yup i got a 1tb hdd. first partition has OS and apps like office, photoshop etc on a 200gb space,

2nd partition is around 300gb for games online and the last partition for storing my files and media content

[smargh]

25GB is NOT excessive. I recently had my boot OS partition set to 25GB and was used over about a year with XP. I had to trim the files on it about every 5 months - mainly the big things were %temp%, application install files which insist on creating a .msi in %windir% (Crysis is *seriously* leaves a huge file there), and VMWareDnD (drag and drop) files.

Over time it can get well-used. When I repartitioned, I made the size 35GB to give a bit of a buffer, which should probably last at least two to three years. At the moment, a few weeks after installing all my apps (I have a dedicated apps partition) c:\ is using 7.8GB.

So, the best thing to do is to get a 32GB Intel SSD as your boot & OS partition Or, as I have, get a Velociraptor - very speedy.

[Barry]

25GB seems abit small tbh, by time most have a OS installed that can eat 10+ GB on its own and if games are installed on to the same partition they can use 5 - 10 GB per game!

[ShadoWolf]

Progs and Games will be put on a different partition

[jim]

The thing I've never been keen on is that if I left program files and user data (by that I mean the entire users folder) on another drive, then the advantage of that would presumably be that I could wipe the OS partition and install the OS again - but the games and applications wouldn't suddenly work again if the OS was reinstalled. And if I particularly wanted to wipe the OS, I could always back up the program files, users folder, and registry manually, then restore it all.

I put my documents, music, pictures, videos, install packages, and so on on entirely separate drives, and so the only partitions on my main drive are one for the OS and page file.

I partitioned the rest off for additional backup space, but that's besides the point.

[idimmu]

the main reason i have for partitions is incase my install goes haywire and i need to do a quick format. i think ive got something along the lines of 15gb ish for my xp install, then the rest is games and media1 and 2

[kosgi]

While using a separate partition for your OS and vital apps is a good idea when you have 1 hd I don't think you are looking at any great speed benefits unless you get a second one and use one for OS and the other disk for all your other stuff. Especially using a partition for the pagefile on the same drive is no good as it will be accessed all the time, cancelling any benefit of having it in another partition in the first place.

[aidanjt]

While using a separate partition for your OS and vital apps is a good idea when you have 1 hd I don't think you are looking at any great speed benefits unless you get a second one and use one for OS and the other disk for all your other stuff. Especially using a partition for the pagefile on the same drive is no good as it will be accessed all the time, cancelling any benefit of having it in another partition in the first place.

Fragmentation effects big drives too, you know.

[watercooled]

And as stated in 'Zak's partition theory' having the OS in the first partition forces it to the outside of the disk, increasing IO performance (by a fair bit compared to the centre of the disk - look at HDD benchies for just how much it can be) and slightly reducing access time (by how much I'm not sure).

[kosgi]

Fragmentation effects big drives too, you know.

Hi aidanjt,

I can't see what your point is in relation to my post. I didn't mention anything about the size of drives. Fragmentation affects performance, but in regards to the OPs question about how to partition his hd and setup his OS I think there is a marked difference in having your OS and rest of your stuff on different drives. The page file being located on a separate drive from your OS improves things considerably from personal experience.

Regards,

kosgi