Windows Vista Disk Size

I set up my 200gb disk with 40gb allocated for my OS and programs, and left the remaining 144gb as a new partition where I keep misc files. My C drive says I only have about 8gb left for storage space now and I was wondering if I should shrink the new partition and expand the C drive?

 

This is why I recommend using only 1 partition. You don't gain much with 2 partitions, and you often run into a problem like this.

 

Well I use my C drive for just installed programs and OS, where as I use my D drive downloaded files and such. I was under the impression that if I did it this way it would make my OS and computer functions faster rather then having to compete with an ever changing and fragging from the constant dowloading and moving/deleting files.

 

The problem with running two partitions is that the %userdata% folder get ridiculously huge. For one, this is where Outlook stores all its data by default. also, make sure the page file isn't on the C drive. 32 GB sounds kinda big. Mine without outlook is about 25GB~.

If you ever run into trouble with your vista installation, try deleting your profile and creating a new one, rather than resorting to reformatting.

edit:

The OS and programs are both on the same disks so two partitions really doesn't speed it up all that much. It IS useful for organization but doesn't speed up your computer. Like if you want to speed up Office, you can just keep it open all the time (like yours truely) since you ave the RAM for it. I actually keep Word, Outlook, about 30 tabs on firefox, Media Player, VMware, and remote desktop constantly open. Really speeds up my productivity as I just flip back and forth without stopping to think, "should I close this now? Will I use this later?"

 

how do I change the page file location?

 

Right click on My Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Performance -> Settings -> Advanced -> Virtual Memory -> Change ->

 

it says that the settings are automatic, should I change it, if so can you explain/teach me how to fix it ?

 

Agreed. 2 partitions does not help much in performance. For fragmentation, your OS files never move, so they don't get fragmented any more if they share the partition with data.

For me, instead of a separate partition, a Folder works just as well for organizational purposes.

 

You have 4gb of RAM, just turn it off completely. I did, not really much of a risk (read the Vista Tips & Tweaks sticky).

I am now in the 2 partition camp. Orev, I respect your opinion, but I really think that having the OS on one partition is so much easier to deal with. I have mapped ALL of my data to the second partition, including Outlook (.pst, I am on Exchange for business) and when a problem arises (yes, I play around with "stuff") it takes very little time and effort to do an OS image restore instead of an entire drive restore. And Vista will let you change the partition sizes, so I don't really see any downside. Obviously, YMMV and to each his/her own, etc.

 

Sometimes having two partitions is useful. I have Vista Ultimate and I am a fan of the Complete PC Backup tool. I use it to backup my entire C partition, containing the OS and all my programs, to my D partition. This allows me to recover to a working Vista Ultimate with all my programs and settings if any program/system file gets borked. Of course viruses, spyware, and hardware failure make this method useless, but it's great when you install a program and it ends up causing crashes or you only have the trial of a program, but you need to use it for a couple more days to finish up a college project. Mind you, I have an external with a backup of all my files and I have a couple DVD's with a copy of all my work done each semester.

My two dollars worth. I do accept checks.

 

I keep a back up image on my external, and reallly never store data for long on my internal, but I couldnt get a smaller HDD when I ordered my system so I was playing around with it after I debloated I figured why not throw a partiton on there. Everyone said 25-30 gb would be plenty for Vista but I was worrying about running out of room. I dont really know how much I should shrink the partiton for D drive down to?!

 

That's a question you will have to probably answer yourself. I partitioned my 160 into a 40gb for OS and the rest for data (8gbs is the Sony Recovery). 40 is really too much, I could easily go to 30gb but I made sure I had plenty. I'll probably never come close to using the 85gb I still have free on the data partition, so 40gb was cool for me.

(I am personally waiting on SSD's to come down a bit in price - a 64gb would be perfect for me)

 

If you run out of room, there are tools out there to increase your partition size. I don't know of any that are free though. I do know there is one that comes with the Acronis Boot disk.

 

Yes, but in case you need a full system reinstal, it`s better to have the programs on one partition and everything else in another place, since before a system reinstall, it`s best to have a format.
Also,if for some reason your OS partition gets screwed , this way you won`t lose everything.

 

If you run out of room, there are tools out there to increase your partition size. I don't know of any that are free though. I do know there is one that comes with the Acronis Boot disk.

I'm not in the 2 partition camp myself. This assumes you do a lot of reformatting. I myself have only reformatted this computer once in the past 6 months. I don't plan on reformatting computers around here more than once every six months, unless it's the test server.

For computers I plan on reformatting more than once every six months

I did something similiar in XP, but some games did not like the fact the "Local settings" folder was moved. Obviously, Vista's virtual file system is much more robust, making a true remapping of all your local profile data a reality.

I would like to know what documentation you consulted to make this happen.

 

It's bad advice to turn off the pagefile. I do not want to get into the reason again -- you can search and find discussions about it. The bottom line is that no one should turn it off, but if you do you should be an advanced user who understands the theory behind how virtual memory systems work and that disabling the pagefile severely cripples the memory system.

Anecdotes that say, "It works for me", or "I've never seen a problem" are irrelevant.

True, but the specter of "you might need a full reinstall" is vastly overblown and overplayed. If such an event happens once every 6 months, then you should have no problem backing up to an external disk first. If it happens more than every 6 months, you seriously need to re-evaluate your computer usage habits, or learn about VMware.

 

I read a lot in the forums (OK, mainly the Sony FZ Clean Install Guide in the Sony forum) when I was doing a clean install on my FZ. In Vista, if you go into properties of the primary folders (Documents, Pictures, Music, etc.), there is a location tab. All you have to do is type in the location you want to move to and Vista will map the folders and content.

 

OK, I'll agree that turning pagefile off is extreme and I'll probably turn it back on, but I am still on the 2 partition bandwagon. The fact that you don't agree is, well, "irrelevant". (Sorry, couldn't resist! )

 

OS tend to follow Murphy`s law, they only break when you have a very important project or personal document on it
The 2+ partition is also easier for handling stuff.I have on my desktop 3 partitions : 1 for OS, 1 for games and 1 for movies and music and such.

 

Yeah, I know it's faster to do a Registry edit. But I didn't know if moving the folders, particularly %UserData% introduced any bugs like in XP. I might as well just test it myself. Particularly I'm curious if moving the %UserData% folder will break any programs. I assume well written programs will just use the variable. But you never know....

 

So far I have had zero problems - iTunes maps, Quickbooks maps, my Outlook pst files map, etc. I have not found any "bugs" yet after 3 weeks. If you move something and the native app does not find the data file at first, you only have to go look for it the first time (had to do this with QB and Outlook pst). I had yet another problem with software yesterday (I am screwing around with "stuff") and I re-loaded my OS image from 3 days ago and was back to a "clean" working image in about 30 minutes (also accounting for the time it takes to reload my Outlook Exchange ost file).

 

That's great. I've gotta do some more research and make this happen.