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Thread ID: 134542	2013-07-12 00:44:00	Question about hard drive management - Western Digital and partition realignment	braindead (1685)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1348672	2013-07-12 00:44:00	I'm using XP SP3 (until it dies or I die) and had to go through a partition realignment to make a 2TB SATA boot drive compatible with XP. It was a long-winded process that is better done while all the partitions are empty, aside from the boot partition which is needed for the aligner utility. Since I don't do anything particularly resource-demanding on my work PC, I'm wondering if I would simplify my life by using only a small SATA drive for C:\ and store all other partitions on a big USB-Dock-mounted SATA drive? Would welcome comments on my possible strategy from those who are way smarter than me :) Thanks!	braindead (1685)
1348673	2013-07-12 02:27:00	I'm using XP SP3 (until it dies or I die) and had to go through a partition realignment to make a 2TB SATA boot drive compatible with XP. It was a long-winded process that is better done while all the partitions are empty, aside from the boot partition which is needed for the aligner utility. Since I don't do anything particularly resource-demanding on my work PC, I'm wondering if I would simplify my life by using only a small SATA drive for C:\ and store all other partitions on a big USB-Dock-mounted SATA drive? Would welcome comments on my possible strategy from those who are way smarter than me :) Thanks! Yes, you can do that. I am great believer in keeping the OS on its own physical drive, and all documents and stuff you work with on a separate drive. That way, if your system drive goes belly-up or you need to re-install Windows, your important stuff remains safe. However, if you are thinking about using a large USB external drive for documents you will find yourself hampered by relatively slow data transfer speeds. Better use a large internal drive for that and get a USB external drive to back up your stuff. After all, we all keep backups of important files, don't we? :)	Jayess64 (8703)
1348674	2013-07-12 05:01:00	Hi Jayess64 and many thanks for your info. Good all-round thinking! I'm not doing audio/video recording with this machine so I don't know if a little extra transfer time via the USB/SATA dock matters. A big internal HD sounds like a good idea.	braindead (1685)
1348675	2013-07-12 05:20:00	For me I like to simplify things. You can just partition the HD. So 1 for the OS and the rest for your files. I have 2 internal drives. Can't be fussed alway using exernal .. needing another power source and hope it not fall off the table ..... C1 - partition 1 - OS C2 - partiton 2 - backup of my files. D - not partitioned b/c all just my own files. can't be fussed. It's also faster when you are making an image or restoring it when the OS is on a separate drive. PS. D also has a windows image file of C1. Then I have a external drive in my drawer :D Thinking maybe of a Cloud Drive for my more impt docs, email PST etc.	Nomad (952)
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