-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Partitioning
- From: Don <dsw32952@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:57:45 -0400
I've got a brother-in-law that knows more about computers and networking
by accident than I will ever know on purpose. His home computer is
right out of the box, plugged in and put to work. No partitions, no
dual boots, no relocating "stuff".
I do all that for 2 or 3 reasons... 1) I can 2) I want to 3) I don't
like all the junk on computers 4) I want to make it faster 5) I want
to organize 6) I want to make backups and other recurring tasks as
simple as possible 7) I want the computer to work like *I* want it to,
not the way HP thinks I want it to. 8) I am a reckless maverick.
When you understand why something is done and why it is done the way it
is done it becomes easier and less daunting to accomplish. It also
helps to have backups and OS install disks handy "just in case".
Partitioning of a hard drive is done for different reasons. Amongst
them is organizing data and providing a location for installing
additional operating systems for dual or multiple boots.
Multiple boots are used for various reasons also. Testing out a new
operating system, testing new software in a separate OS, software
compatibility, hardware compatibility and more.
In your situation, I suspect the main purpose of partitioning and
organizing is to conserve hard drive space so the dual boot operating
systems will have enough space to live, work and grow.
In the good old days (remember MS-DOS?) doing anything with a partition
would destroy any existing data on a drive. Today, software can
manipulate partitions without harming existing data. Manipulating a
partition will not harm the data on that partition assuming you use the
proper software to do it. Acronis Disk Director Suite and the disk
management tool in XP and Vista are two examples of safe software to
use. Of course, deleting or formatting a partition will destroy
existing data.
Operating systems and software must keep track of certain data in order
to function correctly. Those that get "installed" use the registry.
Portable operating systems, such as some Linux distros, and portable
applications either hard code all this data so it can't be
changed/relocated or use a file they write to the removable drive to
keep track.
Typically all this data is scattered all over "hell's half acre" which
makes it difficult for humans to protect and backup. It can also impact
system performance if it is all on a single physical drive since the
drive would be looking all over the drive all at once and that takes
time especially if you are doing two or three different things at once.
If you have ever had to keep track of two or more kids while shopping at
Walmart you'll understand how that can slow down performance.
By relocating a lot of "stuff" off the OS drive or at least collecting
it all in a separate partition you can make things faster for the
computer and easier for yourself. Relocating this "stuff" requires you
to tell the OS where you moved it to. If your
wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband has ever put your things away where
he/she thinks they belong instead of where YOU think they belong, you
will appreciate the need to tell the OS where these things are moved to.
Editing the registry to keep the OS informed is lmost as easy as editing
your shopping list. Using TweakUI in XP or TweakVI in Vista makes this
editing even easier. Of course, a badly done edit in the registry can
be more damaging than in the shopping list, but a backup will protect
you against such mistakes. Regedit in Xp or Vista will both backup and
edit your registry. You can also use it to just poke around and explore
to see what is there even if you don't know what everything means.
Probably the most common thing to move is your personally created data
such as letters, spreadsheets, pictures, music and movies. These are
typically kept in a folder called Documents or My Documents or
<username> Documents.
Some people will also create additional folders to help organize their
data. Relocation and organization is typically done to make them easier
to find and backup.
Other items that can be moved have already been discussed in this and
other threads about partitioning, moving files and backing up.
Since you are working on a laptop with a small hard drive your efforts
may have limited benefits. I dualboot my laptop with XP Home MCE and
Vista Premium. I use portable applications on an external drive and
keep all of my data and downloads etc on the external drive also. In my
Vista boot I have installed only my security suite and a slipstream
utility (vLite). Everything else was put there by the recovery disk.
On my XP boot I have a bit more installed but there is more room
available since XP requires far less space on the drive. A lot of that
will be removed once I am done with the desktop computers and shift
primary use to them.
I have not yet asked Gman, but I do *not* think it would be a good idea
to use an external drive to hold your Program Files or your pagefile,
but everything else we've talked about would probably be OK.
In your situation I would suggest using a large thumbdrive or small
external hard drive to relocate as much as possible. I would also use a
thumbdrive to hold portable applications and switch to them as much as
possible to preserve hard drive space and to minimize intrusion into the
registry.
Doing that should allow you to split your drive in half and dual boot so
you can check out Win7. Once the public beta of Win7 expires I would
uninstall it and return to a single partition. If you choose to buy
Win7 and continue to dual boot I would suggest you purchase and install
a much larger hard drive in your laptop.
If all of my computers blew up tomorrow it would not be a disaster.
Because the problems I've had with HP and their customer service has
destroyed much of my enthusiasm for computing I probably would not
replace or repair them. Instead I would simply have more time to enjoy
reading books and watching TV.
You might react differently. So be sure to have an up to date back up
of all your data in a safe place. "Safe place" means an external drive
of some sort that is not plugged into your computer or a CD/DVD clearly
labeled as a backup and stored away from your computer.
Gman will likely expound on many of my ideas above especially if I made
any mistakes or over simplified anything. He and I stand by to provide
what ever guidance and encouragement we have to share. He is especially
good at step by step directions to accomplish a task.
Now excuse me while I go calculate some more slightly reckless
activities . . . :-))
Don
Gman wrote:
> Don has been working at this for quite a while now, so his 'needs' are
> further advanced that anything you should be shooting for. Knowing what I
> know about both of your situations gives me the ability to know just how
> much different your needs are, but I completely understand that may not be
> enough make you feel a whole lot better. lol
>
> As I see your situation, you only want/need to set up a dual boot that keeps
> as much of your personal data away from the OS drives. You have many
> options ahead of you as you plan your approach, but the actual steps you
> take to create this masterpiece are not difficult. I promise you that. Don
> is a calculating, but slightly reckless, maverick (one of the many things I
> really like about him, I assure you). However, you are currently new to
> this approach and will want to approach things a lot more cautiously (you
> can earn your maverick stripes later, if you're so inclined lol). I
> already have a relatively strong mental image of how your system will be set
> up, but the final design (simple, complicated or anything in between) needs
> to be created/owned by you.
>
> The trick then is to figure out exactly what YOU want to do with these
> options as opposed to whatever you see someone else do with them. Don said
> that he sent you at least one of my earlier tutorials on all of this stuff.
> Read through it several times (leave a day or more in between to clear out
> the fog it causes) and take notes each time you do. Toss out the things for
> which you believe you have no use. Ask about the things that remain that
> aren't perfectly clear. I don't care if you ask me to expand on every
> sentence I wrote. From my perspective, the most important thing for you to
> learn is the WHY part of each idea included in the tutorial. Once you
> understand the 'WHY' for doing something, you'll be in a position to choose
> whether to include it in your plan. Some of the answers may be revealed to
> you by just watching my discussions with Don (or anyone else who asks), but
> that won't give you everything you need to make intelligent, informed
> decisions about how to best approach your own system. Too little
> modification may severely limit what you're able to do with your eventual
> setup. Too much may turn out to be too confusing to use intuitively. My
> focus is solely to help you design a setup that gives you ultimate freedom
> for usability along with as much expandability as possible for future
> growth.
>
> Peace,
> Gman
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------
Please remember to trim your replies (including this sentence and everything
below it) and adjust the subject line as necessary.
To subscribe, unsubscribe or modify your email settings:
//www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk
OR
To subscribe to the mailing list, send an email to
pctechtalk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject. To
unsubscribe send email to pctechtalk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe"
in the Subject.
To access our Archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/
//www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/
To contact only the PCTT Mod Squad, write to:
pctechtalk-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To join our separate PCTableTalk off-topic group, send a blank email to:
pctabletalk+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
---------------------------------------------------------------
Other related posts:
