cdrive partitioning

Thanks Mark, Right now as I haven't set up the new computer, I have another internal harddrive that I have the games (60gb) on, plus partitions for photos, backups etc. The programs currently reside on c drive. You think it'd be ok to set up the new computer as I have the old one? I heard somewhere where you'd get a performance increase if you put the os on it's own partition. That's probably not true or not even much if any of an increase.

There are experts here who will tell you better, but logically it seems to me that different partitions don't make any difference.

The only difference it could make is if the disk head, the part that floats over the surface of the drive and reads/writes data, accesses different partitions more quickly than accessing different folders. But that is not so. The hard disk spins at a constant speed, and the disk head travels back and forward also at a constant speed. So, assuming you install Windows on drive C, whether or not there are folders or partitions for the other software and data makes no difference it seems to me.

Using different hard drives is ok, and as hard drive capacity gets bigger year by year you can save all your heavy files, eg videos, music, and all your personal documents onto a different drive. That leaves the C drive uncluttered. But as the C drive is also likely to be large it would be a shame to waste that space. So why not use it as the default drive for where all the programs are to be installed.

That's just my view and I am willing to be persuaded otherwise,

Mark

Thanks Jackson, as I said before it'll be 2 75gb drives, so it is 150gb and that's plenty. I have acronis and it works great as I haven't had to reinstall the operating system in about 4 yrs (the systems 5yrs old). I guess I'm kindof vague on the raid thing. I suppose windows views it as one hard drive. Anyway I think I'll use the folder idea from Mark. Thanks

Sorry murman I didn't see that about Raid 0. It makes no difference to partitioning but it does make a difference to storage capacity and vulnerability.

There are a number of Raid formats, (definitions and brief explanations at Wikipedia), but for most purposes the two most common are Raid 0 and Raid 1

Raid 0, is two disks where data is written to, and read from, alternate disks. So if you have a file that is 2 bytes big, 1 byte will be saved on the first disk, and the 2nd byte will be saved on the 2nd disk. This means faster writing to and faster reading from the hard disk. The two disks are treated as one disk. Faster, but if one disk fails, you lose everything!

Raid 1, is two disks where each time data is written to the disk, it is written to both disks at the same time. This is slower than Raid 0, (but no slower than normal single disks), but it has an important feature. If one disk fails, you lose nothing. The Disk Operating System can still work just off the one disk. (This assumes the disk failure is not catastrophic, eg breaking up and damaging the other disk). The two disks are still treated as one, but they back each other up.

So if you are having two 75GB drives in Raid 0 format, you are not getting 150GB of storage. You are only getting 75GB of storage. The same applies to Raid 1 but that doesn't apply to your proposed set up.

Be careful then. If you need more than 75GB hard disk storage, you will need larger capacity hard disks if you are sticking with Raid, or you could add an additional internal drive, non-raid, for storage.

I use Raid 0 myself, and I am beginning to worry. My system is over 4 years old now, and the likelihood of disk failure grows. I use an external hard disk backup, and I have all my important files backed up to CD and DVD.

Mark

I said that two 75GB disks in Raid 0 format is just 75GB in total storage space.

That's incorrect. With Raid 0 the two 75GB disks give you 150 GB total storage. However it still applies that losing one disk means you lose everything.

Mark

Sorry I didn't write back yesterday, but I was moping about thinking I'd messed up when I ordered it with the raid 0 stuff. I knew you'd lose everything if one went out and I was ready to gamble on that as I wanted the speed of the 10000rpm drives. What a releif. I'm still happy with the decision. I'm just going to put the games as you suggested into a folder and back all of it up with acronis and put it onto the other internal drive and also an external one that I have. Thanks a bunch for clarafying the the total drive capacity for me. Have a good one

that I've had no problems with my Raid 0 setup so far. It's just a consideration you need to have.

Good luck with your new computer, and I'm sure you will have a great time with it.

Mark