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Thread ID: 49957	2004-10-05 22:43:00	FAQ #43 - Multiple partitions on a hard drive	-FAQ- (807)	Press F1

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278533	2004-10-05 22:43:00	FAQ #43 - Multiple partitions on a hard drive multiple partitions -- originally written by tweak'e with today’s large hard drives keeping everything in order can be a major hassle . one way to help with that is to use multiple partitions . the idea is to simply split the drive up into more usable proportions . almost everyone will have to format c: at one time or another . with partitions data can be stored onto d: so it is not lost when c: is formatted . also, having smaller drives to deal with makes defrag/scandisk a lot easier to deal with . defragging a 20 gig drive is a whole lot faster than a 60 gig drive . most hard drives are fastest at the start of the drive and get slower as you get closer to the end . thus the partition on the front of the drive is the fastest and the one on the end is slowest . this can be useful . instead of having data spread all over the disk (as with a single partition drive) you can store data (eg mp3's) which doesn’t require speed on the slower partitions thus keeping the fast partition free for the programs that require a fast drive . a basic setup:- a 60 gig drive split into 3x20 gig drives . c holds OS and most programs . d: & e: holds bulk data . good thing is that it's simple . drawbacks:- you will lose any programs and data stored on c: (if data isn't transferred to another partition or backed up) when it's formatted . all programs will need to be reinstalled, however the original program installers can be kept on the other data drives making it easy to reinstall . eg having wincabs on d: means you don't have to use the windows cd to reinstall windows . medium setup:- a smaller c: partition with OS and special programs only . d: partition holds majority of programs and data . this is a little bit more complicated to use as any program that integrates highly (eg antivirus, firewall, MS office) into the OS needs to be installed onto c: . after a format of c: and OS reinstall, a lot of programs will only require relinking (eg shortcut to desktop) for them to work . others may require an "over the top" install for them to run exactly as they did before . this is VERY handy (says he who has done many format/installs this year without losing any data) . drawbacks:- you can lose some speed when you have a program accessing data off multiple partitions . this is especially so if c: is far too big (which means other data is on a slow part of the disk while a big part of the fast part of the disk is empty), so pick your partition sizes wisely . pro setup (swapfile partitions and other special partitions):- some other day . most pros know more than enough to make their own minds up . :-) problems with partitions in win9x/me unfortunately win9x/me doesn't have the letter assigning abilities of win2k/XP . if your system has multiple hard drives or partitions, adding another hard drive will alter what letters are assigned to the drives . for example c: will often stay the same, d: will be the new drive, the old d drive will now be e: drive, the old e: drive will be f: drive . unfortunately this causes havoc as a program is looking for the data on d: drive but the data is now on e: drive so the program won't run . There is a cure! Letter assigner ( . v72735 . f2s . com/LetAssig/" target="_blank">www . v72735 . f2s . com) by Vadim Burtyansky will assign letters to the drives so when a new drive is added it gets the next available letter without upsetting the existing arrangement . small tip:- make sure you press SAVE otherwise it will not keep your existing arrangement when you add a new drive . Fixing the drive letters in Win2k and XP including the system drive -- originally written by PoWa Normally you would change improper drive letters, by right clicking My Computer, selecting Manage, then navigating to Disk Management . This would allow you to change all the drive letters except the drive that is running Windows because it is in use . Now that can be a real hassle if you have installed a new hard drive, and your Windows partition is now changed to H:\ drive, instead of C:\ . (NOTE: Windows 2000 and XP will keep the letters the same even if you add a new drive, unless you are booting off the new drive, in which case you will want/need the OS on the first drive . ) Normally to fix that, you would have to unplug the slave drive, and completely reinstall Windows on the new drive to get it back to C:\ . Not anymore! I just found out today, that if you install Partition Magic 8 ( . powerquest . com/partitionmagic/" target="_blank">www . powerquest . com) in Windows, it can fix all the drive letters up for you - including the partition the operating system is on . Partition Magic will reboot the system and make the changes before windows starts . Heres how to do it: • Load up PM8 in Windows . • Select the drive whose letter you want changed . • Click partition from the menu bar . • Scroll down to advanced . • Then select "Change drive letter" . • Change it to what you want, and apply changes . This will save you quite a lot of time installing Windows lots of times to get the drive letters correct . Change the Default Location for Installing Programs There is a very useful registry hack that you can use if you install all your programs to a different partition ie D:\Programs instead of the normal . This information was obtained out of an E-book calle d: O'Reilly, Windows XP hacks . 7 . 3 . 6 Change the Default Location for Installing Programs XP uses the C:\Program Files directory as the default base directory into which new programs are installed . However, you can change the default installation drive and/or directory by using a Registry hack . Run the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion . Look for the value named ProgramFilesDir . By default, the value will be C:\Program Files . Edit the value to any valid drive or folder; XP will use that new location as the default installation directory for new programs . NOTE: Making changes to the Registry should not be done carelessly - if you use Registry Editor incorrectly you can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system . See FAQ #30 - The Registry for information on how to backup your registry prior to making changes . Other reading: --Contributed by FrankS • Microsoft Article 223188 How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter ( . microsoft . com/default . aspx?scid=http://support . microsoft . com:80/support/kb/articles/q223/1/88 . asp&NoWebContent=1" target="_blank">support . microsoft . com) (Windows 2000 and XP) . • Microsoft Article 307844 How to change drive letter assignments in Windows XP ( . microsoft . com/default . aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307844&sd=tech" target="_blank">support . microsoft . com) . --Contributed by FrankS Original FAQ available here ( . pcworld . co . nz/thread . jsp?forum=1&thread=30458&message=127455&q=faq+%2334b#127455" target="_blank">pressf1 . pcworld . co . nz) .	-FAQ- (807)
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