partition question

i was just wondering if there is a way i can split my HD into 2 partitions (one for programs and other for gaming and music/videos) without actually reformatting my whole computer (prevent losing data)

also if people can just tell me the setup they used to split up there HD...like how much space for each one...mind u i have 100 gb HD...anything will be appreciated thank you

 

partition magic.

20-30gb is usually more than enough for the OS and programs...... that leaves you with 70-80gb for your documents, movies, music, photos, etc.

 

Use something like Partition Magic ($$$) or GParted Live CD (free) to partition your drives.

I have 20 GB for Windows and Programs, 80 GB for data and the rest...

 

You can also do that from Linux, though that is a little bit more advanced and sometimes takes quite a bit of time to do.

Darrick - you got me by some really small margin - good work on the answer.

 

I only allocated 12 GB for my Windows/Programs partition, I didn't realise the pagefile+hibernation would take 4GB alone. Oh well, I can always increase the size with Partition Magic if the need arises.

 

Caleb: And Justin got me by a really small margin the moment I posted, there were our 3 answers at the same time...

 

PartitionMagic is great and the wizards are really easy to use. I have 30 gb for OS and programs (C and 80 for data (D . I would recommend reassigning drive letters before partitioning (bit less shifting around that way) and moving My Documents to D:.

 

thanks guys really appreciate it

 

How can you move my documents to another drive? I copied my stuff over to my newer partition, but windows kept creating a new My Documents Folder (and Music, etc) in the same spot on the C: drive (just empty now).

 

Well, Rifter, just right-click My Documents, go to Properties, and you'll know what to do

yin

 

i have another question to add...i got partition magic and now im ready to split the partition....but right now its fat32...it is ok if ifollow that link to convert to NTFS with 4k cluster size THEN split the partition...or should i split it then do that whole procedure?

 

I think it's the same.

I don't know why (origins in the setup of my first desktop) but I use the following partition layout:

C: System: 15-25 GB depending on the size of the HDD
F: Swap partition (around 120% of RAM size), for pagefile.sys
D: Data: 40% of remaining space
E: Media: 60% of remaining space

System: windows and program files, pretty much that, no data.

Data holds kits, documents, work files, download directories and so on, it's the most heavily used.
Media holds music, images, movies etc. It's relatively rarely written on.
Keeping pagefile.sys on a different partition - I suppose it's a good idea, the linux guys do it and it serves them well.

 

if i split my partition...will the cluster size be the same on the other partition or will they both be different???

 

If by split you mean shrink + create new in the free space, then the firrst keeps the original filesystem (so I presume also the cluster size) and the second gets a brand new filesystem with whatever cluster size it will be formatted with.

 

There's some instruction on converting to NTFS, where you should do cluster sizes beforehand, otherwise there's some performance hit.

 

Are there any partition or hard drive file system "How To" or "For Dummies" posts? I think that would be a worthwhile addition if anyone has the time and is interested... unfortunately I don't know enough to do one myself...

~ Brett

 

i just converted to NTFS with 4k cluster so im happy with that...now i just created a new partition using partition magic and hopefully that partition is NTFS w/ 4K cluster as well

EDIT: just wondering...i noticed i have a "recovery" partition that is FAT32...is it ok to have that or it is safe to just delete it??? and both partitions are 4k cluster...thanks guys

 

Oooohhhhhhhhhh It's amazing how the little things can slip by sometimes. LOL Thanks for not burning me, yin.