Partition?

[andy_lis]

just bought TP t42. my HDD is 40 Gb. But it is only 1 Drive - C. I want to have 2 Drives. The first one for the Operating Sys + other soft. the second one for the docs, music and films. How can I do this. i have the Partition Magic 8 Software.
What about the hidden area? Will that Partition affect the Area somehow? How can I disable the hidden area? I want to have all 40 Gb!
thanks in advance

[jdhurst]

You would be better off, in my opinion, to get a bigger and faster drive before throwing away the Pre Desktop Area. Partition Magic 8 (if you read the instructions carefully and thoughtfully) will permit you to size down the main partition and build a second one.

Your design point, however, leaves me scratching my head. It won't protect against drive failure, and your time investment (OS plus software) is still on the main partition. You could get a second drive and back up to it, or you can synchronize the docs/data folders to another computer and not bother with partitions. I do the latter, and it works well (including the entirely unplanned air bag debacle).

Just thoughts on my part, FWIW. ... JD Hurst

[Marc_G]

I'm a big fan of having multiple partitions, though my rationale and implementation have changed as technology has marched along. I do it on my 80 GB as follows:
C:\ System + main programs. 15 GB, currently 2/3 empty
D:\ Virtual Machine partition (most people won't need this) 23 GB, 2/3 empty currently.
E:\ My company-specific software + related data. About 8 GB.
F:\ Lotus Notese database files. Lots of these are in the 400 MB+ size range. They fragment terribly. I corral them into a partition of their own to prevent them from fragging the rest of the disk. 10 GB
G:\ Most of my data files are here. 5 GB, about half free.
H:\ Archive. I stash installers, Delorme map files, and other things like that here.

Each partition fits on a single DVD when turned into a compressed image file, except for H:.

For backups, I use DVDs for offsite backups in my safe deposit box. Before each trip I use a second drive in the Ultrabay slim and ghost image files onto that drive, then leave it at home. And, a new thing I've just started is the use of an ABS backup drive with BounceBack from CMS. It automatically backs things up each time you plug it in. I'm still working out disaster recovery with it; I've got some issues.

Anyway, to the OP, do either of these:
-Make a copy of your service partition onto a DVD or CDs, then remove it and use Partition magic to rework your partitions as you desire.
-Better: get a new larger drive and either an Ultrabay second HDD enclosure, or an external USB2 enclosure, copy your current partition over to it (resize if desired), then create a second/third whatever partion on it.

Good luck.

Marc

[Schmendrick]

I've been told that dividing a large drive into one partition for the OS and another for app.'s and data delivers overall performance improvements. Is this so? If so, why and what does it really get you? For a machine running mainstream business and software development applications, is there an "optimal" number of partitions to put on a single drive? To what extent might the answer depend on the OS?

[Ever notice how every new question seems to foster at least one new one. The more I learn, the less I know...]

[rhema83]

I've been told that dividing a large drive into one partition for the OS and another for app.'s and data delivers overall performance improvements. Is this so? If so, why and what does it really get you? For a machine running mainstream business and software development applications, is there an "optimal" number of partitions to put on a single drive? To what extent might the answer depend on the OS?

[Ever notice how every new question seems to foster at least one new one. The more I learn, the less I know...]

I would vote for 2-3 partitions. Too many and it gets a little hard to manage. I've always used 2.