?C with program files & Data? vs. ?C for program files & D for Data?

Hi frens,

I got a Acer 1810T…. It comes with a single hdd partition called C:

I was wondering if it was a better idea to create a separate partition D for data and keep only Program files on C.

1. When I got a Acer 5760 earlier it came with a C & D from factory settings and I remember one time when my hdd crashed and I had to restore it to factory settings then all the data on C was deleted but the Data I had on D was preserved.

2. However since this laptop has only come with a C drive from factory settings then even if I do create a D drive for data and if one day my data crashes and I do a factory restore then the laptop will delete both C & D and to back to original setting with just a C Drive…. Am I correct ???

or will the factory restore only delete C and keep my Data intact in D….? Or will it delete the D partition and go back to original factory setting of only C ?

3. I’m really confused on this…. Do you guys recommend I keep everything on C or should I make a partition and keep data on D ?

4. What are the benefits of keep only “C with program files & Data” vs Benefits of keeping “C for program files & D for Data” ?

5. I have a 320GB hdd. If I do create a D drive for data then how much is the optimum drive size I should keep in C drive for windows 7 64bit & all installed programs to work smoothly ??

Thanks… ;-)

 

1)If you shrink C and make D and factory restore it only C will be overwritten.

2)Recommend create a D to store your Data Backup

3)I recommend 80GB (81440MB to get a nice looking 80.0GB displayed) for C:\ usually you don't go past 80.0GB on Program Files unless you have tons of games installed on it.

 

thanks for your answers...

A. how do i "shrink" C ?

B. Isn't 80gb seem to big ? i aint gonna install any games.... i was thinking more like 50 gb ? how does that sound ?

when i open Disk management it shows 12.00 gb healthy( recovery partiotion ) acer c: 285.99 gb and system reserved 100 mb.

what is this healthy revovery partition and system reserved ?

thanks

 

Right click the C drive in disk management , and select "shrink" to shrink the drive. But you can't shrink the C drive more than the allowable limit.
Recovery partition is the restore partition by Acer, which restores your laptop back to factory state.
System reserved partition is created by Windows 7, and can be used to repair a corrupt install.

 

The healthy recovery partition is where all the data is store to do a factory reset on your computer. Wipe this and you wouldn't be able to restore the machine should you wish to (unless you have seperate windows disks).

The 100mb system reserved partition is what windows uses to boot, if you wipe it, you will have big issues trying to boot windows.

To shrink C: to make another partition, all you need to do is go into disk management, right click on C:, the select shrink volume, you will then be able to select the size you want and create another partition.

 

guys thanks for the explainations...

though i still have one unanswered query....

is it better to have

A. single drive C for both Program files and Data

or

2. C for program files and D for Data ?

Which option is better and why ....?!?

Thanks.

 

Scroll up.

 

I have C: and D:, if you have to reinstall windows, having all your data (music documents, video etc etc), this will be safe being on the D:, whereas if you have it all on one, you will have to back it all up which could take time, with the risk of forgetting some stuff and losing the lot.

1 other way, is to get an external hdd.

 

I have only one huge C partition and backup of personal data in an external HD. It's all personal prefrence.
If you reinstall Windows quite frequently, then have two partitions.

 

I have my Windows install and data on C:\, I then have another hard drive D:\, which I backup all my data to.

 

That's what I suggest.

You need your data backed up to an external drive anyway.

Nothing wrong with partitions, but IMO they're not worth the bother in most cases. Since partitions don't protect against some problems (such as hard drive failure), you need your data backed up to an external drive anyways... so I say keep it simple and keep everything on one partition.

True.

 

The third option is to forget about the external HDD method. If you ever have to reinstall Windows, you have the option of choosing a "Custom Install" without wiping your partition. Setup moves your old Windows, Users, Program Files, and Program Data folders into a folder called Windows.old. Then it proceeds to install a fresh copy of Windows. Keep your old data and still have the option of reinstalling Windows.

 

thanks to all for there inputs...

i ve decided to go for a separate D drive for data.

I have a question. i want to shrink the C drive to exact 50gb.

1. Would this be enough for windows 7 64bit ?

When i open Shrink this is the info that shows up...

Total size before shrink in mb: 292855

Size of available shrik space in mb: 132972

Enter the amount os space to shrink in mb: Blank

Total size after shrink in mb : Blank


I want to shrink it so that it makes the C drive 50 GB. and then the rest i can make D.

However it wont let me fill in more than 132972 to fill in the "Enter the amount of space to shrink to MB"

if i fill in that amount then i get a "Total size after shrink in MB at 159883. which would be 159 gb for the c drive which i want to be a 50gb.

1. How do i get around this ?

Thanks.

 

Defrag the drive to move all the data to the front part of the disk.
Or you can use EASUS Partition Master (Free Version)

 

No matter how you do it you should always backup your files. If your HDD crashes and you have to replace it your data is gone unless you have it backed up. In some cases it may be possible to recover but it will be expensive.

Use one partition or more but backup your data to an external drive either way.

EDIT:

I personally don't like to partition my drive. I always end up with one drive that is too small. I just keep one partition and backup my data.

 

Possibility of someone screwing up C:\ > Possibility of Harddisk Failure.

 

Even if someone screws up C drive, the data should be still there.

 

Yes but it is a drag to mount it from other OS Linux/Windows then copy over then back it up, then wipe then copy back compared to if you have separate partition you simply copy (daily backup) and wipe then copy back.

 

Backup to separate external drive... both problems solved. Restore old drive or replace = no problems.

 

pagefile.sys and hibernate.sys are unmovable, therefore the shrinking limit. get Partition Wizard boot cd for free and do it with it. in either case do a backup before do this.
I prefer c: and d:, my c: is 48 GB and I have about 30 GB free space on it.