A few vista questions.

[unknown]

Wondering if I could get some help in regards to a Vista system.

I have a single 500GB hard drive that I'm thinking of partitioning so that I have less to worry about in the event that I need to reinstall my operating system. I understand that you want growing space to handle program files and future updates to the operating system but I'm not sure how much space would be needed. When it comes to games, is it best to have space on the system partition to install them, or are they fine if you install them to another partition?

Regarding the page file. I've seen suggestions saying that you should have a 1GB or 2GB static page file or match it to you ram. What would the recommended page file setup be if I have 4GB of ram?

I also recall that when it came to ME and XP system restore tended to be more of a waste of space then a useful feature, has this changed for Vista? If so are there any recommended settings for it?

 

[darkpaw]

I use a 100GB partition and it works pretty good. I only install the OS and the system utilities on the system partition. All my games are installed on the other partitions (I'm a bit of a partition freak).

I leave page file on auto, always. Its much better to let the system manage it.

System restore still mostly wastes space if you know what you're doing, but I have used it to actually fix issues a few times on other systems. It sometimes actually works on Vista so not a complete waste. I leave it on, doesn't hurt anything and space isn't really an issue.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I don't typically like to partition a disk into more than one total partitions. If you do, 100 Gb would be plenty, and you could keep your data files on the secondary partition. Just make them both primary partitions. There's no real benefit or reason to keep your applications or games on the second partition, so don't bother.

For the page file with Vista, leave the settings alone.

I still don't use System Restore. It hasn't ever resolved a problem for me, and only gives malware a place to hide, in the event I would ever get an infection. I prefer to leave it off, and resolve the issue, rather than roll back to a time right before the issue popped up.

 

[spacetrader]

I don't typically like to partition a disk into more than one total partitions. If you do, 100 Gb would be plenty, and you could keep your data files on the secondary partition. Just make them both primary partitions. There's no real benefit or reason to keep your applications or games on the second partition, so don't bother.

not even installing all games onto a second partition, therefore when you need to reinstall the os partition there is a great amount of work that doesn't need to be done?

 

[Archer75]

I don't do partitions. It's rather pointless IMO. Even should your games and apps be installed on a different partition and your OS partition dies you are going to have to reinstall almost everything anyways as they rely on the registry and with no registry they don't run.
And it doesn't protect against hard drive failure which would hose all partitions.

I use a server now for all my data but in the past I just used additional hard drives for my data, music, photos, documents, etc.

 

[MrF]

Even should your games and apps be installed on a different partition and your OS partition dies you are going to have to reinstall almost everything anyways as they rely on the registry and with no registry they don't run.

Not true!
Steam runs perfectly fine along with all its games without a re-install.
Many regular games run fine as well.

 

[Archer75]

Not true!
Steam runs perfectly fine along with all its games without a re-install.
Many regular games run fine as well.

I did say almost everything. WoW and L4D are the only games I am aware of that don't require a reinstall. Though you will have to recreate the shortcuts.
The only games on my computer right now are WoW and EVE. I generally don't play steam games.

 

[darkpaw]

All steam games can be run without a reinstall. The first time you try and run it, it acts like it was just downloaded and installs the necessary files. Most MMOs I have experience can be run without installation as well (EQ, EQ2, WoW) and considering how big those installs are that's a good thing.

I have one partition just for Steam (since my install folder is about 300gb) and I can access it from either Vista or W7 without issue.

 

[Archer75]

All steam games can be run without a reinstall. The first time you try and run it, it acts like it was just downloaded and installs the necessary files. Most MMOs I have experience can be run without installation as well (EQ, EQ2, WoW) and considering how big those installs are that's a good thing.

I have one partition just for Steam (since my install folder is about 300gb) and I can access it from either Vista or W7 without issue.

In my experience both EQ and EQ2 had to be reinstalled.

 

[darkpaw]

That might have changed since last time I played EQ1 (last summer when it was free), however I was able to play EQ2 in my W7 beta install without reinstalling it.

 

[Archer75]

That might have changed since last time I played EQ1 (last summer when it was free), however I was able to play EQ2 in my W7 beta install without reinstalling it.

Ah, I see. Been awhile since i've played EQ2.

 

[MrF]

You have to recreate a shortcut to the .exe file for each game in the start menu. For Steam, only a shortcut to steam.exe. That is hardly a justification for a full (2-6GB for each game?) re-install.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything and no one solution is for everyone.

But, other than Microsoft games (Halo, Halo 2, ...), are there any other games you know require a re-install after an OS restore?

Edit:
I can make a big list of games I have played with no problem after an OS restore. I believe it makes more sense to make a list of those that do not run.

 

[MrF]

OP
You can move "Music", "Pictures", "Documents" and other personal folders to another partition as well. Then, all those will survive an OS restore as well.

 

[Archer75]

You have to recreate a shortcut to the .exe file for each game in the start menu. For Steam, only a shortcut to steam.exe. That is hardly a justification for a full (2-6GB for each game?) re-install.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything and no one solution is for everyone.

But, other than Microsoft games (Halo, Halo 2, ...), are there any other games you know require a re-install after an OS restore?

Edit:
I can make a big list of games I have played with no problem after an OS restore. I believe it makes more sense to make a list of those that do not run.

The vast majority of games i've played over the years had to be reinstalled. Though lately it's pretty much just been WoW i've been playing. EVE has to be reinstalled. I did have CoD4 on here awhile back and that had to be reinstalled. Sims 1 and 2 had to be reinstalled.
It would help to know what games the op is talking about exactly.

 

[DeaconFrost]

not even installing all games onto a second partition, therefore when you need to reinstall the os partition there is a great amount of work that doesn't need to be done?

If you think that's a great amount of work, wait until you have a real job. Are people getting that lazy, that they can't pop a disc in and click a few buttons? How many games are these people installing at once? I wish I had that much free time.

If you used SyncToy, all your custom files and game saves would be backed for you automatically to your data partition, or drive.

 

[unknown]

I don't typically like to partition a disk into more than one total partitions. If you do, 100 Gb would be plenty, and you could keep your data files on the secondary partition. Just make them both primary partitions. There's no real benefit or reason to keep your applications or games on the second partition, so don't bother.

Any reason to use a primary partition over an extended partition when it won't be used to install an operating system?

It would help to know what games the op is talking about exactly.

Nothing in particular, I haven't did much pc gaming in recent years so I was just looking for general information.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Any reason to use a primary partition over an extended partition when it won't be used to install an operating system?

Should you need to restore or reinstall, you would have to blow away both partitions anyway, which defeats the purpose of splitting the drive up anyway. I prefer to use two physical drives, but if you have to split a single drive up, you can easily make them two separate, independent partitions. I create the initial one during the OS install, and then the data partition is done once Windows is installed.