Partition size advice please

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 11 Feb 2007, 11:56

I should have my new PC early next week, which has a 320GB HDD.

I plan to have one partition for a XP Pro 32-bit installation, one for a XP Pro x64 installation and finally a huge one for data storage.

Question: How big should I make my partitions?
I was thinking maybe 20GB for each of the XP partitions.

Thanks in advance.

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 11 Feb 2007, 12:00

well i have a 100gb hdd on my laptop that has an automatic partiton for the xp installation as well as drivers and stuff and its only 9.33gb...20gb seems a bit much.

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 11 Feb 2007, 12:10

I would stick with the advice of "always have more than you think you'll need". You never know what you'll fill it up with.

But actually I would use the 320GB drive as a secondary drive for storage of media & files. I would buy another (or maybe 2 for your situation) drive & put Windows on that, if thats what you really want to do.

I don't like the idea of more than one partition on each drive; you can guarantee that one day I'll change my mind for some reason & need that little extra space that I never thought I would need.

I think the best advice is to stick another HDD in there. They're cheap as chips these days...

Mordib · Post by **Mordib** » 11 Feb 2007, 14:00

I'm intrigued, what is the purpose behind having both 32 bit and 64 bit OS's installed?

I used to keep windows complety seperate but in a few days im investing in a 150gb raptor drive on which i will be stoing windows and installed application s and games. i will then have 2 much larger drives withmedia players and music/movies etc on them I'll also be moving to windows vista 64bit to take advantage of my amd dual core chip.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 11 Feb 2007, 15:35

Mordib wrote:I'm intrigued, what is the purpose behind having both 32 bit and 64 bit OS's installed?

Why not? 32-bit for the best compatibility, 64-bit for stuff like this.

As an IT student I can get XP Pro x64 for free, thanks to the MSDN (some unknown version of Vista as well, but I'm not interested in being in DRM hell at this time).

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 11 Feb 2007, 18:04

DRM in Vista is only a reality if you use a bootleg or you're unlucky enough to own a TV/Projector and the like without HDMI. Otherwise it's your usual scaremongering.

Back on topic: IMO that's extreme overkill, especially on the data front. Just create a folder called Data and be done with it.

As for partitions, 20Gb for an XP partion is a bit low. My Windows and Program Files folders come to 9Gb. I guess 20Gb is okay; I'd set it to 30Gb.

IronMonkey wrote:I don't like the idea of more than one partition on each drive; you can guarantee that one day I'll change my mind for some reason & need that little extra space that I never thought I would need.

Exactly me neither. If you must this is easily resolved with Norton PartitionMagic.

Before anyone says it Symantec bought out PowerQuest so it's really PowerQuest PartionMagic. It's a fantastic tool for reducing cluster size and resizing partitions in real-time, something you cannot natively do.

It works wonderful. I've no longer any use for it. Personally I don't see the point in partitions and have one C drive with folders for stuff but I guess it's easier if you really want XP 32 and XP 64.

IronMonkey wrote:I think the best advice is to stick another HDD in there. They're cheap as chips these days...

Maybe but that is using up extra motherboard slots. Still you do get 4 SATAs nowadays.

As for 64-Bit in theory it's the way to go but in reality it's just start asking for trouble. Sure 32-Bit software will work on it though. I'll be getting 32-Bit Vista, it's just less hassle.

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 11 Feb 2007, 18:41

You only need about 6GB but personally I sue more because I like to install programs to the same drive and make use of the desktop for downloads.