Separate partition just for data?

[Night Owl]

When I did a clean install of Windows 7 last night, I tried to get a C: drive of 100 GB and a D: drive of 198 GB. I was thinking that the C: drive could be for Windows 7 plus all my applications while the D: drive could be for all my data (Downloads, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, etc). Whenever I tried to do this with the Windows 7 installer, it always kept adding another partition of 100 MB for system files. I thought that three partitions was too much. I finally gave up and just went with one partition. The install worked fine, but it secretly added the 100 MB partition anyway and it turned out to be a hidden partition. Grrr. :frusty:

This computer had Vista originally with one large partition for Windows (minus a hidden recovery partition). When I drive imaged my Vista computer before installing Windows 7, I started thinking that future drive images would be much faster if Windows and my applications were in their own smaller partition. My data partition could be backed up simply by copying it to an external hard drive.

Steve Gibson of Security Now! has an interesting article here: Optimizing a system for backup and restoration:

A FAR better approach is what PC veterans have been doing for years – deliberately dividing a large hard drive into several purpose-specific partitions, like this . . .

There's an interesting article here at Lifehacker: Separate Your Data from Windows on a Standalone Partition:

You've got to switch where all your applications save their documents. It's not difficult to tell Windows you've relocated your "My Documents" folder, but with a separate data partition you do have to do just that. (In all versions of Windows, it's a matter of right-clicking on your My Documents icon and setting the path in the Properties dialog). Even if you do that, some older software might not get the memo.

What do people here at nsane think? Keep my Windows 7 computer like it was with Windows Vista, or put my data into a separate partition of its own?

[WaKa WaKa]

I put the data in another partition.

I have 3 HDD:

1 WD 500GB

1 Seagate 500 GB

1 WD 160 GB

WD 500 GB

|__ 200 GB partition with Windows 7 and installed games and apps.

|__ Ther rest for data, ISO games, etc.

WD 160 GB

|__ Only Windows XP for old apps. An its helpful if Win 7 stop working for some virus.

Seagate 500 GB

|__ 200 GB for more data. And for extract or compress big files or record games with FRAP.

|__ The rest for Backup (Acronis True Image files)

A LOT of partitions :fear:

if you install from a DVD/Image on to a clean disk, it will create a 100mb partition for you. This will contain all the boot folder and associated files.

If you pre-partition your disk the the installation will install everything into you boot partition (usually C:\...)

[chlorophyll]

keeping one partition is risky???if anything goes wrong in windows intallation folder whole data wil be lost,,better to go for 2 partitions,,

[HX1]

You know technically if something goes wrong with Windows its no big deal anyway.. you can use something like BartPE to pull the files off ( working data ).. ( or use network drivers to retrieve the data with an installed configured version of Apache.. if need be to another system with space - Lot of ways essentially ).. loosing no data.. before you reinstall..IF you don't have an image..If your data is on another partition great.. just re-install.. BUT.. if you have a real HD failure.. none of the partitions are going to matter.. and you may battle with un-responsiveness even after a repair.. but you can still grab your data from the drive if not corrupted.. in short ..another drive is most advisable.. another bootable OS could go in and access your files. Just the same as a BartPE disk..

When you get into Encrypting your drives/files then it gets a little more complicated as you have to have an OS and you key backed up.. and it has to be the same OS.. unless I am wrong here..

IMO .. partitions should be good for people who only have one drive.. and want several OSes..but if they are only there or you want them to work in the event of unforsee-able disk failure then you need the OS installed on another drive all together.. ( and you have to keep all of these up to date ) OS failing without being recovered is quite rare anyway.. especially with anyone with experience in repairing a system ( with the install disc )..or protecting it.. or using any other of many methods of virtualization, shadow copies, or backups of them.

I just personally believe and feel that external storage is the best set in these sort of circumstances...EHD's can easily move from system to system.. without having to plug in to the Motherboard too.. upgrading to another computer or system is much easier and less work..

[Bizarre™]

@heath28m:

An external storage is indeed the best solution.

It saved my @$$ many times :thumbsup:

[DKT27]

External storage is really useful. :)

Speakin of partitions. What I felt on my PC usage years that more you keep space on you main OS drive, the more it remains fast. For example, if you install too many software's etc on your main drive, it's obvious that your OS will slow down. Well that's my experience. Because of all this I have 3 partitions in one HDD. I've kept one only for winodws, it's important programs, pagefile, etc. Another only for games(even that feels less now). And the last one on that HDD is only for softwares, example Firefox ESET, COMODO, etc.

Now I keep my personal documents on another HDD. Not external but comparatively new and better one.

And what I see by doin this? My PC always flies. Better than when I installed softwares on my main drive.

You should not forget that the other files may also take some space on your main drive. Like Windows Update, you never know in comin year it may take more than 1GB of your main drive. And for me even 1GB matters a lot.

[shought]

I've always used just one partition, but now with Windows 7 I have two(one with Windows XP and one with Windows 7, I have to fix that some day).

Should tell you that I don't think it's necessary to have two partitions, but when you have two OSes it's a must, obviously :P

When I'm going to 'fix that' I will move all my important files to another computer using our home network, then I'll format the whole HD and maybe format it into two partitions, but I guess it's just all depending on my mood...

I've never been unable to access my files with just one partition, well, once, for a while, but in that scenario two partitions wouldn't have had helped either since the computer failed to boot :P (Unplugging the HD and plugging it in to another PC covered for my files that time)

[DKT27]

I've had problems that my HDD was not bein detected properly and it was not able to boot. From that day I've been keepin Live CDs. :)

[Night Owl]

I put the data in another partition.

I have 3 HDD:

...

A LOT of partitions :fear:

if you install from a DVD/Image on to a clean disk, it will create a 100mb partition for you. This will contain all the boot folder and associated files.

If you pre-partition your disk the the installation will install everything into you boot partition (usually C:\...)

Wow, 3 HDD. My Windows 7 notebook only has one 320 GB HDD (really 298 GiB) and no connectors for any more HDDs.

Ah, thank you very much for that explanation about when the hidden 100 MB partition is created. I did a clean upgrade install from the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD so I wouldn't have been able to pre-partition my disk. (If I did pre-partition my disk, the Upgrade DVD wouldn't have seen any Windows to upgrade.) Anyway, a hidden 100 MB partition is no big deal.

IMO .. partitions should be good for people who only have one drive.. and want several OSes..

...

I just personally believe and feel that external storage is the best set in these sort of circumstances...EHD's can easily move from system to system.. without having to plug in to the Motherboard too.. upgrading to another computer or system is much easier and less work..

Yes, I use an external hard drive now (where my Vista drive image is kept, as well as all my manual backups of Documents, Downloads, Music, etc).

@heath28m:

An external storage is indeed the best solution.

It saved my @$$ many times :thumbsup:

Actually I have two external hard drives: a 1 TB Western Digital My Book Essential (desktop EHD), and a 500 GB Western Digital My Book Passport Essential (portable EHD).

Because of all this I have 3 partitions in one HDD. I've kept one only for winodws, it's important programs, pagefile, etc. Another only for games(even that feels less now). And the last one on that HDD is only for softwares, example Firefox ESET, COMODO, etc.

Now I keep my personal documents on another HDD. Not external but comparatively new and better one.

...

You should not forget that the other files may also take some space on your main drive. Like Windows Update, you never know in comin year it may take more than 1GB of your main drive. And for me even 1GB matters a lot.

So you've got one partition just for Windows (and related stuff including the pagefile), another partition for games, a 3rd partition for all your software, and a separate HDD for your documents. That is more than I want to do (or even can do) on this notebook. From what I've read, you can put your Windows pagefile onto your better HDD (that has your documents) and this should improve your performance.

Yeah, I keep thinking how Windows keeps creating restore points, folders for updates and service packs. If I choose 100 GB for Windows and all my applications, that might get very full over time.

I've always used just one partition, ...

Should tell you that I don't think it's necessary to have two partitions, but when you have two OSes it's a must, obviously :P

Yeah, I'm starting to think the same thing. Just keep one large partition for Windows 7 just like I used to have before with Windows Vista. Imaging the entire drive with verification took about seven hours. I can just keep doing that overnight and I'll always have an exact copy waiting in the morning.

[myidisbb]

just use seperate harddrives. you can get 2 tb for each one. if you are using eide in he desktop you should be able to find 750mb-1.5 tb for those. any newsgrouping or p2p should be down on a seperate harddrive anyway.

[DKT27]

Forget pagefile. What I'm tryin to say is the OS drive needs enough space to run, more than what the guides say. I've been experiencing slow downs from the time my OS drive has less than 30% space left.

[HX1]

Well I always heard that having a main drive over 80 GB slowed it down.. having a HD with nice RPM range about 60 GB.. would usually cover it and keep things running smoothly..of course storing everything else.. elsewhere.... Probably for DKT27.. organizing and placing certain files in the High Performance area of your HD would be the best bet to keep it efficient.. ( with Ultimate Defrag )..30% from being full.. you shoudl have made for more space.. or do some necessary cleaning of BS..keep programs you like but are not using.. as an archive elsewhere and get rid of them from being installed.. You can also ( especially if you do regular backups.. ) turn off system restore.. and delete all restore points.. there technically is no reason to have two sets of backups.. talk about killing performance and taking up too much space.. that right there.. I don't even use VSS in 7.. if I used it online all the time I might.. MAYBE.. but not real concerned with it.. though its an excellent idea however.. ( of using VSS ) again huge gains performance wise.. system is fairly basic.. nothing going on gets in the way for me..including Cleaning the drive.. but I never trust just having one drive..ever..

To me I think it would nice for Windows to integrate some of its functions such to be able to be used on external media.. or procure a few more options for these areas... just my thoughts.. anyway.. not for sure how right away.. but you get the idea..

[DKT27]

I've kept many important things in hight performance. ;)

And was sayin that slow down in the about posts as it's my experience of, well I've installed OS four times 98, XP, XP , XP. And all the time it happened the same.

[HX1]

I know you keep your registry cleaned too.. so its not that.. unless you do a lot of file moving CD/external references in the registry in between cleanings.. a lot of people never see the relationship between the two in some cases.. but I dunno thats odd.. but I never have let my drives get that full except an older system I had once.. in which I can remember that it did do the same thing.. was a slower older Maxtor 80 GB drive.. but that was way before I was good on PC maintenance so I don't really know what may have been the cause besides t just being full and having a large MFT area written..not just reserved..

What kind of drive is it? The same drive each time? Have you tried using the new drive you have for OS? Same RPM's/size/age?

[Night Owl]

just use seperate harddrives.

My Windows 7 computer is a notebook, so I can only use one hard drive.

[Lite]

I use a few external hard drives for files i need sporadic access too and i keep the files i need regular access to on my laptop. Portable USB drives are good for laptops. It also helps as i have two "main" computers i use.

If this isn't an option, the separate partition is the way to go.

[Night Owl]

@Lite: Wow, I was just thinking the same thing all day today. A drive image I did last night with Windows 7 x64, drivers, security software, Office 2007 Enterprise, and a few other programs only took about 14 minutes including a byte-for-byte verification. I still have some more programs to install, but that easily beats my roughly seven-hour drive image and standard (not byte-for-byte) verification of my PC when it was running Vista x64.

The biggest difference between my new Windows 7 to old Vista setup is that on Vista I had about 105 GB in my Downloads folder and around 55 GB in my Music folder (mostly FLAC files). That's a little more than half of my 320 GB (297 GB according to Windows) hard drive!!

Yes, I have two external hard drives I can use:

1) a 1 TB Western Digital My Book Essential (desktop) that I'm already using for backups and drive images

2) a 500 GB Western Digital My Passport Essential (portable).

The stuff that was on my PC before can just stay on my portable external hard drive (in addition to my desktop external hard drive).

I can also backup/move more stuff to DVDs.

[someone]

Well... for me the advantage of making multiple partitions is 3: Organization, Easy for backup and performance.

In my case i just have one 80gb HD (i not use much things) and setup like this when i'm using WIndows:

1 partition 25 gb for the system partition

1 partition 15 gb for data/archive/installers

1 partition with aprox. 34 gb for VMs.

With this setup is easy make system backups (normally Macrium Reflect take about 8-10 minutes for make a backup/restore of the system partition and without chance to this affect my archives/VMs) - and with the system partition not being changed much, the need to make system defrags is reduced (this make more easy i think configure Ultimate Defrag - the system partition at the begin and the archive to the end. No need to make folder exclusion and things like this) If i have something really important this is saved in a external drive or in a DVD-RW.

If you use a system backup software like Comodo Time machine/Rollback RX/ EAZ-FIX you can use a single partition only, because the amount of time and the space required for make a snapshot with this type of software is insignificant... not import the size of the HD. Schedule a drive image in a 15-30 days period and you are read to go.