C Drive: How much space is recommended?

Hi.

I will soon format my Dell Latitude E6500, which has 231 GB on the hard drive. My C drive is for "Program Files", i.e. installation of programs and such, while the D drive is used to store everything else, like documents, videos/pictures, music etc. Currently the laptop only has a C drive, but I will make another drive (partition D) when formatting.

My question is; how much space should I have on my C drive, for WINDOWS, program files etc? What is recommended? I have 231 GB to deal with, but I want the C drive to have enough, but not too much "dead space".

// Steria //

 

When I've done this set up for friends, I've always gone with a 60GB C:\. It allows enough room for program files, OS, page file, hiberfile, restore points and what not.

It's been successful so far. I side on keeping 25% free space on C:\, just in case you add things down the line.

 

Is it possible to remove/add space on the C disk later on? In case I'm setting it to have 50 GB space, and find out that it is too little/much or whatnot, and want to shrink it or enlarge it.

Does 50 GB sound enough? I have no idea how much space the computer uses in 'hibernation mode' or 'restore points' etc. My program files folder currently is 16 GB, where Steam (6 GB) might be the program that is the largest, and the WINDOWS folder is about 17 GB.

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit if that has anything to say.

 

I'm not at my computer right now, so will keep my answer short. I'd recommend you set it at the max size you think you might need. Partitions can be moved through 3rd party software, but is time consuming and is resorted to when other options are exhausted. You always run the risk of losing data. Page file is usually 4gb, sys restore may be up to 15% of total c drive space. Hiberfile is a few gb.

 

I highly recommend putting your steam folder somewhere other than c:/, that thing can expand like crazy. My C: drive was allocated 110gb and I have roughly 40gb free - it has program files and their respective installers/tempfiles/whatever, documents and pictures (in the My documents folder) and the OS, that's it.

Media files (music/games/video) is best stored on another partition or drive if possible.

 

Ain't there a program on Windows 7 that allows you to do this? Make disks (/partitions) bigger and/or smaller?

I'm not worried about the Steam folder, because I only have CS:S and CS 1.6 on it, due to occasionally boredom/time-wasting... As for music/games/video; these files will be in the new D disk (/partition), where all my other files (documents, excel files, PDF's etc) will be. I do not have that many games, or install that many games either. The games I have are installed on the C partition, under Program Files. Not many; WC3 and Steam (CS:S, CS 1.6).

Everything that is installed (programs; audacity, photoshop, sony vegas etc) I want in the C drive, where all other files (PDF's, documents, pictures, music, videos etc) I want to be in the D drive. I just need to know (having 231 GB on my computer to fiddle with) how many GB's the C partition should have in order to have enough room for WINDOWS, Program Files and such to manage in the best way, leaving the D partition having plenty of room...

 

Partitions are read from the outside to the inside of the disk. This is left --> right as displayed in Disk Management. You can expand partitions to the right (further in the HDD) and shrink from the right, but you cannot shrink or expand from the left side of a partition.

So... if you have a 50GB C:\ and a 181GB D:\ then you realize that you need an extra 10GB or want to give up 10GB from C:\ you cannot add it to D:\, because it is to the right of C:\ and cannot be expanded to the left.

Acronis has tools for partition relocation, as well as a program called Gparted, which is free. What they do is actually move the partitions and the data that's in the way. It can be very time consuming and you run the risk of losing data.

It's best to pick the size that you think you'll want in the longrun and commit to it.

50GB is fine for your C:\, just be sure that you don't think you'll need more later on. It can be done, but it's a hassle.

 

just one partition and an external backup.

 

I find that 75GB on a C partition is enough for my needs (this is with Adobe PP installed, 3ds Max, Office 2007 and basics for the OS).

I still have plenty of space for other things if there's a need, and besides, most games I either install on my D partition or just leave them on C if they don't take up too much room.

If one would be in a position to get an SSD however, 80GB capacity would do the trick (just enough).

 

+1 and 10 char.

 

I set windows to use a 50GB partition and move the rest of my 750GB HD's data around using Gparted, it took somewhere north of 5 hours for it to complete.

If you need to make the C partition bigger later on down the road, you'll get it done faster by backing up whatever data you want to keep on the partition that's after C to another drive, deleting it, extending C to whatever you want, making a new partition after C and dumping the data back.

Edit: I use 50GB because I have a separate physical drive for the pagefile, and I don't use hibernation, so that's 8GB off the C partition. It has about 20GB of free space free right now, but I don't have System Restore turned on, I just use image backups.

 

did we not go through this before somewhere? :lol:

+2

cheers ...

 

I'd check how much my current install uses and add 20-30 GB to that, depending on my needs.
I usually end up with about 50 GB for C: on a HDD.

 

Ok, I've decided to let the C partition have 60 gb (why not...), but

I currently have the 32-bit v. Win 7 Ultimate, and the recovery CD is a 64-bit, which I want to 'upgrade' to. I put the CD in, turn off the computer and press F12 at startup. Then I click boot from CD drive, but.... There is no text showing up to press 'any key', and the computer starts normally after a while...

When I formatted the D620, this also happened, but after a few times turning the computer on/off, the 'press any key' text came up on the screen. It doesn't now, on the Latitude E6500; I've tried 6 times already, and it doesn't happen. What am I doing wrong? I even tried to press a key even though it's not text (only a blinking dash (-) ), but it only comes up to the Log-in screen...

This is starting to get annoying. Please help.

 

indeed. and no matter how often, people just don't learn. multiple partitions on a system are no security feature at all. it's just like having a room, and then putting a wall in the middle. it's IN THE WAY. that's all.

use all the space as one continuous pool works great. external backup is not an option, it's a need. together, you get comfort of not having to manage data ever manually, and 100% savety for any needs. hdd crash, buying an ssd, system crash, etc.. just restore from backup what you need (system, or data), and be happy again.

 

If you note the OP question, you'd see that security isn't listed as a reason for desiring partitions. No reason is given, so we really don't know why the OP wants to do this.

Unless there is something actively wrong with partitioning and keeping OS/programs and user data seperate, then there's no need to be critical of people who want to do so.

Either answer the question put forth or provide constructive alternative solutions, but it's never appropriate to be condescending to people when they don't want to do things they way you think is best.

 

Agreed.

Anyone who posts in a forum should understand this, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that.

 

On my HP it's possible to pick a boot device in the boot menu even though it is disabled as a boot device in BIOS.
Check BIOS and make sure you have the DVD enabled as a boot device.
Or, just try to boot the DVD on another computer.

Otherwise you can copy the DVD to USB stick, try this:

 

Hi Mats,

Thanks, but I managed to figure it out. I had to be in the F12 menu a little while to let the CD-tray load, and spin the disk for a while before clicking the "Boot from CD-tray" in the F12 menu.

I allocated the 60 GB partition, created a new one and allocated the new one to be the remaining 171 GB. I marked the 60 GB partition and clicked 'next', because I wanted that to have the WINDOWS on. Was it necessary to mark it before clicking next?

Another thing I want to know, is before I allocated the last partition to be "Partition 2" or whatever, it said "Unallocated Space - 171 GB". What have happened if I didn't allocate that space? Would it have become the new D partition anyway? After starting up windows for the first time after the format, when clicking on the D partition, it had to format itself for some reason before I could use it...

Thanks for all the help and support.

 

You don't have to format the second partition during install, and Windows won't do it for you.
It will remain unformatted until you do.

I don't know what happens if you don't mark the partition before clicking next.

About user folders.

 

To each their own, though I personally find that using 2 partitions (1 for OS/programs and second for files) is better along with an external backup because we do have a tendency to keep files on the laptop HDD more often than not, and it's easier to save them to a secondary partition and make a backup on the external in case of an OS malfunction (I'd hate to lose my files by keeping them on the same partition with the OS if/when it goes down).

 

well, there is something actively wrong with partitioning and keepnig os/programs and user data separate. as stated, it's just putting up walls in your living room for no reason (if none is given).

what if your programs suddenly need more space? you need to move that wall. what if your user data suddenly (even just temporarily) need more space? you, again, need to move that wall.

it gives no benefits, but can annoy like hell. so why do it in the first place?

yes, my stuff is always constructive. but it's always against what people like: it's about changing people, not getting the setup they want at start and patting them on the shoulder "oh you're so smart, you know partitions".

just don't do it. that is an important advice, and a lot of people have to learn it. a lot of smart people in here, too. which is why there are always those fancy, stupid advices like "you just have to know how much space you need for your apps/your data, then draw the line accordingly". hint: you don't know over the next years where that line has to be drawn. no one does know the future.
thus: why draw a line at all. why not let the system use the ordinary way to do boundaries/groupings? they're called FOLDERS.

partitions only make sense in multiboot environments, as they're needed there (if one can't go virtualisation ways). other than that, they should be a thing of the (distant) past.

 

not true, if you have a proper backup. you won't lose any file.

and btw, if the os goes down, your secondary partition can go down just as well. there's no savety on having a secondary partition. and chance of the os going down is VERY low anyways nowadays.

mostly, this argument is just something people tell to themselves to not have to change behaviour, and feeling good about it. i am on single partitions since years, get my files back from backup if needed with ease, it all just works. there is nothing more complex about it. actually, there is LESS complexity.

 

Hey I finally found a use for the ignore list, it works great!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/profile.php?do=editlist

 

So is it false that if a virus or the OS should fall down then a partition will 'keep safe' the important data? I'm asking because this is the reason I heard so many years ago and that is why I still do it.

Other than that, yes I understand the analogy of the wall blocking both spaces.

Thanks.

 

Not very helpful, you never know what you can learn from the others.

 

Who isn't helpful? Me? You?

I have tried to help out the OP, and he said thanks, what's your problem?
I don't deserve your criticism. I respect other peoples point of view.

 

This explanation hardly qualifies as "actively" wrong. It's subjective, at best.

What happened to the slowdown that happens when OS/program files co-mingle with data when the platter is 80%+ full and the heads have to move all over the platter just to load up the files to open IE or whatever?

It's not like putting a wall up in the living room. It's like putting wall up in the living room to hide that enormous pile of junk that's falling all over the place and getting in the way. Music files and photos have no place being on the outside of the platter, displacing OS/program files further to the inside as they're fragmented and relocated. It leads to a slopply mess and slowdowns as the HDD fills up.

 

I don't agree entirely.
A 'proper backup' is exactly what most regular consumers DON'T use.
And the situation depends on 'how' the OS partition 'goes down'.
This kind of measure is mostly to prevent problems with potential virus infections that could bring down the OS, corrupt system files (or other files on the same partition).

Keep in mind that most regular consumers don't use an external drive for example or have a sufficiently large backup module of some kind to backup their data like the rest of us, and if they find themselves in a situation such as the one I described, they almost always end up losing their files.

Of course, one can retrieve the files through other methods in such events (provided of course the methods in question would be effective).

I personally do not use this argument in an attempt to 'not change'.
For my uses, I find it preferable to keep my files on a second partition and then back them up onto the external drive.
I grew accustomed to using the C partition for OS and programs/some game installs only.

 

Exactly. This is the single biggest reason why I use separate partitions when installing Windows on my friends computers, it's all precaution:
- The time it takes to move the user folders to a second partition: 1 minute?
By doing this I have done everything I can to make the next reinstall easier, if needed.

What's the alternative? Well this is the worst case scenario for me:
- The time it takes to save all personal files from a completely borked all-in-one-C: Windows install with malware all over it: x hours?
Tough choice, huh?

Dividing a HDD into partitions isn't a problem for me since the HDDs have enough storage space these days.
On a 750 GB HDD I can put some extra space into C: just to be sure that it won't get full, and so far it have never happened because I have no need to make the HDD completely full.

The situation was totally different back in the days when you had a 80 GB HDD, or even much less, the chance that one of the partitions would get full was pretty big.
Also, if you're playing a lot of games, or use a lot of storage space daily in your work it can be hard to figure out how much space you need.

Another reason for two partitions is of course system image. I want a system image of the install, not the personal files.
Personal files goes into scheduled backups. Even though some of my friends won't make regular backups,
I can still make a system image that will make things a lot easier if they ever need a reinstall.

This is based on my needs, I know exactly what I need. YMMW.

 

By the use of the ignore list? Yeah I got your point...

In any case I didn't mean to be rude or offend, it's just that adding/promoting ignore lists is hardly respectful. And that is my point of view.

And going back to the topic: Thanks for the explanation (yours and the others) about the partitions, it is good to revisit topics about good practices and find it is still a good one

 

Im planning to reinstall windows 7 and partition it into 2:

- 1 (I heard C: is the better name) for program files and OS.

- 2nd one for Data and all my data, everything else basically.

So.

My question is whether my "users" folder will be automatically installed on C: if that is where I install windows? I do use the "my documents" and other folders. If so, what are some solutions you guys have used?


Also, are there any benefits to partitioning like this (keeping os + program files SEPARATE from Personal Data, photos...etc.) ?

Thanks so much!

 

Yes, users forlder will be on C:, unless you actively do something about it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...gramdata-folder-separate-drive-partition.html

See last page about benefits.