Haz wrote:
> Success - thanks to all we're in business
>
> But (there's always something else) - turns out we have a 120 gig HD.
>
> This is a very occasional user, not into anything specific (photos,
> music, etc.), mostly email contacts. I set his file system at FAT32,
> and removed all partitions., and am now having second thoughts. Should I
> set up a little more reasonable partition (25-40 gig?) for
> general use, and if so should it be FAT 32 or NTFS?
>
> I can do that, although I am fast approaching the "getting in over my
> head" status myself. Would use 'diskpart' unless there is a better
> way.
> Great site - great help - and it is much appreciated.
If you installed Windows XP clean - you want to use NTFS or you will need to
use an external application to format anything larger than 32GB. Windows
XP, although it can utilize larger than 32GB FAT32 partitions - cannot
natively format them.
Reasonable user or not - if they have 120GB of space - let them have it all.
As far as how to partition that - it is a matter of opinion.
Some will tell you Partitions it so that all system files/applications are
installed on one partitions (C:\) and all personal files (documents, music,
pictures, etc) are stored on another and set your swap file to the second
partition for slightly better performance. Having one partition for
system/program files will allow you to reinstall by wiping that partition
and leaving the data one intact.
Some will tell you that they have three partitions - one for system files,
one for program files (installs) and a third for all personal files
(data) -- this one is the hardest for me to understand - as Windows XP will
not "pickup" on the program files partition if you reinstall the first
partition of the system files - meaning you will have to reinstall 90% of
your applications again anyway. And being the same physical drive, any
performance gain you get from such a setup is minimal - as the limitations
of IDE state you can only READ or WRITE to the drive at any given point -
not both (simultaneous) - so if you are reading from partition 1, that's the
only thing going on that nanosecond..
Some will tell you just to format it one large partition - everything in one
place. This is my opinion because I am not a big believer in reinstalling
anyway and if the hardware goes bad - it's not likely to matter how many
partitions you had - it's still one physical drive - it goes bad, all
partitions could be lost.
I personally would suggest NTFS in most cases - because of the extra
security features and stability. Others (and not incorrectly) will suggest
FAT32 because if something does go wrong and the system will not boot - you
can boot from a Windows 98 floppy disk and see everyhting on the system -
even copy it. NTFS is a bit harder to do this with, but with tools like the
"Ultimate Boot CD" and BartPE, this is getting to be a moot argument to me..
You have more ability to get your data off any file system with those two
CDs than ever before.
Again - which partitions scheme you choose and what file system you choose
is entirely up to you. However - in order to format larger than 32GB - you
will have to use either a Windows 98 floppy disk before installing XP or
some other tool after to create the other partitions. If you already have
Windows XP installed on one partition of the 120GB (say a 32GB C:\ drive) -
then you could format the rest using NTFS or FAT32 with a utility like:
http://www.mager.org/mkdosfs/
Otherwise you will have to use some third party tool like Partition Magic to
change anything without damaging what you have done so far.
My personal opinion:
A Clean Installation of Windows XP with one or two partitions. If one
partition, NTFS - all 120GB. If two partitions, NTFS - 40GB/80GB.
--
<- Shenan ->
--
The information is provided "as is", it is suggested you research for
yourself before you take any advice - you are the one ultimately
responsible for your actions/problems/solutions. Know what you are
getting into before you jump in with both feet.
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