clean install of xp help

should be recieving my laptop in the next few days and its coming without an os. will install xp from an old disk.

the questions i have are: what file system should i use? and should i create a partition? i dont really understand what the file systems are, nor do i know what the point in partitions is but lots of people seem to have them.

thx for reading and hopefully helping me out.

 

Hi sam,

1) Your two main options for file systems are NTFS or FAT32. I'll advise you to go for the the NTFS (New Technology File System) because of improved performance, reliability as well as security.

2) I would also recommend you create TWO (2) partitions: one for installing Windows and all your programs and the other for backing up important files and documents. You usually do not need nore than two partitions.

Hope this helps & good luck with your new laptop.

 

partitions are simply sections of the same hard drive. In my computer, the partitons will come up as different drives. It is highly recommended that you install XP and all programs on the same partition.

If you unsure about partitions, don't choose any.

 

thx for your help . a few more questions though,
i will be adding new programs and files all the time so how do i know how big to make the partitions? because i will be installing a lot of programs, but also have a lot of music to store on only 80gb. to make a whole partition for backing up files seems like it will take up too much space. also, can partitions improve performance of my laptop?

 

You usually would not need more than 20GB for your Windows partition; but it all depends on how much and what type of programs you would be installing. I would not go beyond 40GB for the Windows partition, though.

I think 40GB-60GB should be enough for your music files.

 

Here's a rough breakdown:
WinXP - ~1.5GB
MS Office Pro 2003 - ~400MB
MS Visual Studio Pro - ~2GB
Adobe Photoshop - ~320MB
Typical game - ~5GB
Total - ~9.5 GB

Those are just a couple of common large apps. Most programs are much smaller. You'll also want to allow for ~2GB for the Windows Page File, a couple of GB for temporary files, space for your Windows 'profile' (settings, app data, etc...), which could be a couple of GB in some scenarios (your 'My Documents folder is also part of this), as well as a couple of GB for your misc. apps. So, as others have said, depending on what you're installing, 20-40GB should be sufficient for the Windows partition.

Then you need to examine what type of data you're dealing with and make sure you have somewhere to put it, either on the Windows partition or somewhere else. Generally, seperate partitions aren't as much of a performace benefit as they once were, but it's nice to be able to blow away your OS and apps if you need to while leaving all your data on a seperate partition.

 

I would go with at least 15gb for XP. I have 33 gb set for my XP partition, and I'm only using about 8gb. I'm not a gamer, but I have a habit of installing alot of software so that is why I have so much. On my spare I have 24gb with about 5gb being used - mainly all music.

For every user it is different. If you are more into music and creating documents, then you'll want more on your spare partition. I would look at your music library and see how big it is. Then you can decide how big your spare partition needs to be.

 

well...samw1se, you seem very confused about partitions. Just don't create any partitions. I don't have any.

And no, I don't believe partitions can improve the performance of your laptop.

 

I don't see why he shouldn't create partitions. Partitions are actually very useful.

A partition is basically another C:\ drive except it doesn't have XP on it. You'll be able to see your spare partition in my computer, and you can do anything you want to it--create folders, store documents, music.

It helps organize your laptop since you don't have everything on the XP partition. Also, in the event that XP fails, you'll be thankful that you have a spare partition. Any documents that I create, I save them on my spare partition. If you download any software from the internet, you can store the .exe file on your spare partition, so you'll have a copy of it in case you uninstall it.

Its not so much about improving performance, although there have been studies to show that it does. It is more of a security feature. It is like having an external HDD without the hardware.

 

thx everyone for helpful comments. i just added up hdd space needed for games i currently play on my pc and it comes to 22gb!! i think if i put aside 35gb for windows and other programs that should be fine, maybe stop me installing so much stuff!!

also, how do i choose which bit of the partition has xp on it, or is this explained in the partitioning process? and once its all set up, xp and all program files go on one part, and all documents, music etc on the other? have i got the right idea?

 

Just remember that if you keep your data on a seperate partition, especially if it's NTFS, to back up your System State every now and again onto a seperate disk. Also, if you use Windows Encryption, be sure you have a copy of your Encryption Key stored away somewhere. Otherwise, it may be very difficult to access that data should you need to do a clean install of the OS.

Edit - during the Windows Setup you'll be prompted to create the Partitions and select which one Windows is installed on.

 

thx for the help lmychajluk

 

hmm...but if you have a virus for example..won't the virus spread into all the different parts of the hard drive, not just one partition SG? (If the virus is not contained).

as for choosing the partitions, the windows XP setup should guide you through that. If you're unsure, read SG's excellent reformatting XP guide. There is a link at the bottom of her signature.

 

Re filesystem
FAT32 is actualy faster than NTFS (just less bells and whistles), but if you have a lot of small files and go for only one partition you space usage may be less than optimal (huge cluster size).

NTFS has more options in terms of security (but most are only really useful with XP Pro). And only NTFS can handle 4Gb+ files (e.g. copying a full DVD to disk), which FAT32 cannot handle.

Re partitions
(at the risk of creating a religious argument on this)
1 partition is probably best for performance, though some advocate keepig the pagefile on a separate FAT partition (even with NTFS). But if you have 2Gb of memory pagefile doesn't probably matter at all.

I prefer a system partition and a data partition (even moving stuff like My Douments and email archives to the data partition). The reason is one wrod BACKUP.
Once I have a stable system partition I iamge the partition ans save ti to an external USB HD (or a set of DVDs). I don't bother to do any further backups of the system partition (unless there are major changes).
Setting back a disk image with Acronis (my favorite, but there are others doing also very well) takes less than 15 minutes, which is a lot better than recovering from a fresh install including all the settings etc..

Data partition is backed up daily (to USB HD when at home, to system partition (incrementally) when on the road. But that reflects my needs.

Sizes
Keep 5 to 20 % space for defragmentation of a partition.
(5%=perfectdisk; about 15% for Windows own defrag)
Add something for the pagefile and add your memory size for the hibernation file (if you intend to use one).
As mentioned somewhere between 20Gb and 40Gb will probably do for the system partition, butit all depends on the bloatof your software. Development kits including documentation and design software can take quite some space, as illustrated by lmychajluk
If you have a partition manager you can easily change this.
There are a some free and shareware ones whihc are quite good so for a one off job it doesn't need to cost you anything (e.g. www.terabyteunlimited.com has both partitioning and imaging softs).

hth

Drio

 

I honestly don't see why he should create more than one partition. Back in the 'day' people used to create partitions to lower the min. amount of space that a file would take as that could be quite a bit with a large drive using FAT 16.

With NTFS the need to do so for that reason is basicly gone. While you can get into modifying the size of partitions after they are made now using NTFS, why create a 'sorting container' that is generally fixed in size.

If you are wanting to sort things why not create a folder called OS, and another called 'other stuff' Just don't put a huge amount of stuff in a single folder, as that in itself is bad.

Just an example, my roommate, running low on space on his 2 decade old computer has 3-4 partitions. Now he wants to install this cool new game that fully uses the awesome power of his 486DX2 66 but alas, he doesn't have enough space left on any single partition. Now he gets to play the move stuff around on partitions game to make space.

In addition your page file is stuck to a single partition I believe, so unless you know very well into the future (to the extent you'll upgrade your drive) how much virtual memory you are going to need then you'll either have wasted space sitting in a partition, or you'll run out of room for that page file.

As for the arguement of creating one for important files and documents. Just create a folder in the root called 'Backup". The only reason I would see to do that on a different partition was in case the main partition failed, I.E. MFT went poof or was corrupted, but these days windows CHKDSK can basicly recreate an entire MFT if that happens. So I don't see keeping it safe from the rest of the drive as a reason either.

On the other side, I believe windows encryption can be done by partition. Against that though is that if your drive does fail and you can't load windows, you'll have quite an issue trying to get around the encryption if you need data from an encrypted area.

to Lil Mayz: Partitions will increase performance, in the way of files taking up less space, but with how effcient NFTS the benefit is very very minimal.

So honestly take a moment and ask yourself, what is the reason for wanting partitions in the first place. If you can't find a good enough reason, you might want to save the HDD space adding game and just leave it as one.

Heh, now to step down from my soap box. This has just been my little fight against one of my pet peeves: Partition Monsters.

 

wow what detailed response. thx a lot daetlus.

 

You can encrypt a folder, or a file, but I'm not sure if you can encrypt a whole disk... You probably wouldn't want to, anyway, since it adds a little overhead to the I/O process that you don't need when accessing things like executables. You only really need your data encrypted.

If you do encrypt your data, be sure to back up your keys somewhere. See MS Article #241201.

 

So the ONLY criterion is backup requirements.
Using lmychajluk's example: If you have 2 partitions you just whack back your system image and you are up and running again. A bit difficult if it's an all-in-one situation.

And maybe multiboot requirements (e.g.if Windows and Linux need to use the same data)

the trouble with doing it with folders (OS and data) is that there is still too much software around expecting the standard folder structure (\Program Files, \Windows, \Windows\System32, etc.) sometimes even hardcoded into the apps.

And it's not a space issue (apart from the FAt32 cluster size problem). another NTFS partition will just require a few bytes for a partition header (forgot the correct term). MFT etc. is the same. So more partitions doesn't significantly reduce your available HD space

But it is a bit like religion: if you want to mess up your mind you go for one or other dogma, otherwise you make the sensible decisions yourself.


Actually I like "soapboxing", at least it shows some passion!

Cheers

Drio

 

ok this has really gone way beyond my understanding of computing now. i am getting more and more confused now and i am starting to wonder if i should bother because it all sounds too complicated.

but my all means discuss the subject amongst yourselves and i will take what i can from it.

 

Well, there you go - if it's over your head, having multiple partitions may be more work & trouble than it's worth for you. Go with the KISS principle and stick with a single partition.

 

I'm not a partitions monster. I agree that partitions aren't for everyone, but some people do find them useful. I don't see the point of having everything on 1 partition, yet i don't agree that you need to have 3 or 4 partitions either. I think that 2 partitions - 1 for xp, 1 for spare is enough.

I only suggest it because I know the feeling of having XP completely die to the point where i can't log in under safe mode. Plus, i'm a reformat freak. I like to have a clean laptop and general format once every 6-8 months, so yes it is a hassle to have to back up all of your files to discs. Then you have to put everything back on there.

 

yes i have also windows die on me a number of times. usually system restore works, but my pc is now screwed to the point where system restore doesnt work. so sg, when you reformat, you only reformat one of the partitions is that what you are saying?