Partition or not?

Hi!

I just got my new Dell Inspiron 1525 with the 250 GB Hard Drive.

I'm hesitating between partitioning it or not. Since there's no GPU on it (well the X3110 one.. crap), I won't be playing games. Just mp3s, and other files will be on it.

My real question is... Does it really improve performances and access times?

Thank you!

 

I dont know if it improves performance, but i would partition to separate data from programs. This way if your os fails, crashes or whatever, your data partition is unaffected.

 

What program should I use to partition the HD?

Furthermore, I want to set up a home network (I got a wireless network) so that I can transfer the files from my PC to the Inspiron.

How do I do? Which software do I use?

Thank you!

 

You could do a clean install and do the partitions yourself at no extra cost. There is a software called "partition magic" that will do the trick, but that will cost you money.

I'm not sure but I think there is a free partion program available...

Good luck

 

Furthermore, I want to set up a home network (I got a wireless network) so that I can transfer the files from my PC to the Inspiron.

How do I do? Which software do I use?

 

No Special Software Needed Bro Just Plug in Your Internet Connection to the wifi router and voila u got a wireless network , then switch on your wifi card in ur lappy and it will automatically ask you all other details u need to connect to wireless network.

More Refs:

www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/wirelesssetup.mspx
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,1276145,00.asp
http://www.geeksquad.com/tools/detail.aspx?id=339

 

Is there a way to simply drag-and-drop?

I think I found it... I put all my folders on my PC on the "SharedDocs" and I can see them in my laptop when I click on the name of my PC.

That's sweet!

But is there a way (on Windows XP) to configure a folder so that it is shared (without having to put it in the "SharedDocs")?

 

Slim you have vista right?
Do this, go to the orb, and in the search type in "computer" and select "computer management". From there click storage, then disk management. In this window, you should see something saying volume with all of your drives with data on them below it. Right Click the hdd you want to partition and click "shrink volume". This will create a partition on your hard drive and youll have to format it. Its pretty straight forward so its not that hard.

Something to note, you may only be able to create a partition of certain size depending on where your MFT is. I also recommend defragmenting with either JKdefrag or Auslogics before doing this. If your MFT is in an inconvenient place, you may need something like acronis to move it.

 

To do this i believe you must enable file sharing on both the pc and the laptop. After this i believe you can access each computer and just drag and drop. But again, file sharing must be enabled.