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| Thread ID: 108152 | 2010-03-16 04:38:00 | Virtues/drawbacks of separate OS and Program partitions | Billy T (70) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 867550 | 2010-03-16 04:38:00 | Hi Team I'm slowly getting to grips with the new computer, and since I have an abundance of disk space, I have been thinking about putting the OS and Programs on separate partitions. I've always had my OS & Programs on one disk, and all my Data on another, so with more space to play with than the Aussie Outback, it seemed a logical step forwards. A quick Google showed that it is not an unknown practice but I haven't found anything about drawbacks. It seems to me that separating the two lots of programming pretty much eliminates the chances of a meltdown in one making necessary a full reinstall of the other. I've survived within two 20GB hard drives for Programs and Data for the last umpteen years, so with 2 x 640GB to play with, it's unlikely I'll fill those up anytime soon. Any advice on the pros & cons would be appreciated. Cheers Billy 8-{) :thanks |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 867551 | 2010-03-16 04:44:00 | I use to always stick everything on the one partition, because I had small drives. Now I have bigger drives I use one drive for the OS and the other drive for data so if the OS drive crashes the important stuff is safe. Never really worried about the programs. Edit: Hey just noticed post 1000. |
nedkelly (9059) | ||
| 867552 | 2010-03-16 04:49:00 | I would not put the programs elsewhere. If the O/S partition dies then the registry dies with it unless you image or clone everything. With 2 x 640 you could partition one and clone the other as a backup. |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 867553 | 2010-03-16 04:50:00 | I've never seen the need to separate OS and programs - a corrupt OS, prompting a reinstall, will require a reinstall of all programs anyway, as the windows registry will be cleared by the OS install. I do have all my data on a separate partition (as well as a backup on a separate physical hard drive just in case). Looks like Sweep just beat me to it :) |
Miami Steve (2128) | ||
| 867554 | 2010-03-16 09:05:00 | Ummm, well, I've always used separate data and OS drives, and as I mentioned previously re this build, I'm also running twin 640GB drives (with Raid 1) for the OS & programs, and another pair for Data. I use drive imaging as insurance against registry corruption or any other unexpected disasters. I don't think a registry meltdown would cause a major problem, however, I was still undecided about separating Church and State, so I did some research and it seems that the jury is still out on the benefits and disadvantages of separating OS and programs, so I think I'll stick with what I know and just make sure I do my backups, or perhaps put additional effort into automating them. Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 867555 | 2010-03-16 09:09:00 | Given the low cost of large drives nowadays, abstracting your O/S and apps out physically from your data makes much more sense than just doing it logically; as others have said, if the O/S partition goes and takes the registry with it, your apps won't run anyway. The physical separation was/is best practice for servers, and now drives are cheap and most MoBo's support basic RAID, it's an easier decision for home users. I usually recommend doing a daily image of your O/S drive to your data drive, and then backing up to an external device (external HDD or NAS box) regularly too. That way if it all goes pear-shaped, you can copy your image back at sata-to-sata speeds. |
nofam (9009) | ||
| 867556 | 2010-03-16 10:01:00 | Personally I think its a crap idea, However as usual our logic is poles apart so its no surprise. I keep no backup of my OS partition, Just my data. In the event I manage to kill my OS then I'd rather have a brand new install, with brand new installs of the latest versions of my favorite apps, and leave out the ones I no longer use. Hell, I enjoy the process, I do it every couple of years just so I can have that clean slate even if the PC is humming. |
Metla (12) | ||
| 867557 | 2010-03-16 10:11:00 | Same here, I would rather use 1 hdd with a few partitions on it, than having 2 or more hdds with files all over the place. If I have to reformat, I'll just format the main partition, then reinstall the updates, from the hdd. Or use windowsupdate if I cant be bothered installing the updates one by one Since it wont count towards my data usage |
Speedy Gonzales (78) | ||
| 867558 | 2010-03-16 10:43:00 | So just keep doing what you were etc. Do not install Programs on a separate partition. | Sweep (90) | ||
| 867559 | 2010-03-16 18:37:00 | If you wont use all that space, I would of Raid 1 the pair for fault tolerance and greater read speed, you could still partition the the volume also... | SolMiester (139) | ||
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