Fresh xp Install - partition windows os?

[soke73]

wassup all,

i am about to do a fresh install of windows xp on my comp. i have a single 80 gig hd. basically my question is should i partition windows when i format. in all my reformatting experiences i always installed windows in a single part. is this ok or should i partition 8-10gigs for the os. also is there any advantages to separating the os from data.

thanks for the help...

happy new year!

[Ice Czar]

http://partition.radified.com/ (especially the 2nd page)
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=741512

highly dependent on what you have, and how you use it ;)

[matthew]

Ah I was just about to ask this question. Thanks

[EnderW]

seperate partition for your OS is a must if you ask me
keeping all your data files seperate makes it SO much easier when you need to reinstall

[Tiny]

seperate partition for your OS is a must if you ask me
keeping all your data files seperate makes it SO much easier when you need to reinstall

That is exactly why I put mine on a seperate partition all its own. Even all my apps and games have their own partitions.

[ohnnyj]

How or would you partition a RAID-0 setup. I am putting my new computer together with 2 WD 74GB Raptors and a Seagate 400GB, should I partition them at all? Can you partition RAIDed drives?

Thanks.

[Dan_D]

Yes you can partition RAID drives but I wouldn't. It kind of defeats the purpose. With the exception of being able to reinstall your OS whenever you need to and not lose your data there are NO advantages to partitions. However seperate physical disks do have an advantage of keeping your data seperate from your OS in the event you need to reinstall or the primary RAID array or primary drive goes tits up.

Personally I'd do the fallowing. RAID the two 74GB Raptors together for maximum performance and then use that 400GB drive for data.

Remember partitions take up space. So you lose some the more you split of the drive. And when a physical disk drive dies, partitions don't do jack.

There is also a myth perpetuated by people stating that partitioned drives are faster because data is broken up. That's a big negative in reality. All the data exists on the same physical drive. The drive can handle only so many read and write commands at a time. Partitions do not change this.

[matthew]

I tried creating a 25 GB partation on my 160 GB hard disk (already had a 3 GB paration in the beginning and it wouldn't boot. the 25 GB was moved to the end...

i moved it to starting at 90,000 MB and it booted fine this time. before when i tried to install win2k i got this message

boot record signature aa55 not found .. etc etc and it wouldnt do the install when it tried to boot windows setup from the hard disk..

is there a way to move it to the end and still be able to boot to it?

[Ice Czar]

Yes you can partition RAID drives but I wouldn't. It kind of defeats the purpose. .

first Id limit that statement to RAID0
(of course you reasonably assumed that is what he meant)
second Id not necessarilly agree, it would depend on what its being employed for

its typical in here to see a RAID0 acting as storage and performance space, in which case the normal partitioning advantages would apply
(areal density\STR, positioning advantages\seek\latency, fragmentation, ect)

if it just performance space, dedicated to video rditing or database, then Id agree