I am getting ready to set up a new drive tonight. Yes, I only have 1. Please refrain from telling how dumb I am, but my budget was busted and I could only get one. Maybe in the near future, I'll get another and do it 'right' but as of now... I have one 250GB drive. So....

I was planning on following the scheme as laid out here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] n#t1737771

I am confused on one thing... how exactly do I partition the HD before I install the OS? Does partition magic work in DOS? I'm sure I'm just looking at it wrong... but when do you partition the drive?

Thanks in advance!

If it is XP you will have the option before you install. After you accept the EULA (F8) it should display the HDD info and you can create the partition there. Make 2 partitions and format the larger OS one with NTFS and install Windows. After you have installed windows you can go into Disk Management (right click My Computer > Manage) and setup the second partition with FAT32 like in the link.

But in all honesty I have my doubts if this will actually speed up the system. If it is 2 separate disks yes, but the drive will be running the OS from one partition and then have to switch to a different partition on a different file system to write scratch disk info. Just my 2 but worth a try nonetheless.

Good Luck

Sorry, I should have stated in the OP... I am will be running VISTA 64 Home Premium.

Partition Magic will run under Windows so you can set up your partition(s) after Windows is installed and also you can resize them. It will also map a drive if you change the drive letter, which can be important if you change the Optical drive letter. You really need the smaller partition for the OS/programs and the larger for your data. 50GB should be more than enough for your programs and the rest for your data. If this is first effort at partitions, suggest you keep it simple, 2 to start with. If you have Partition Magic, you can add or change sizes as you use the system and figure out what works best for you. The main reason to partition is to keep your data off the OS/program partition so when you have to do an install you don't have to worry about backing up your data.

Did you read Jack's post in that link? What do you think of what he has to say? Too much for a n00b?

Certainly setting up a Fat32 for the swap file makes sense. I always just put my programs and OS on the same partition, which is why I suggested the size I did and like to keep about 25% to 30% free, which is probably overkill, but certainly could put them on a separate partition and create a 4th for data. Regardless you'll have to reinstall the programs if you reinstall Windows. The main reason to create multi data partitions is to make it easier to organize your stuff. The reason I suggested keeping it simple as well as getting Partition Magic is generally you'll make a lot of changes, e.g., resize, create or delete partitions, until you figure out what works best for you. Glad you posted that link, had been looking for it for the Swap File partition