Placing the Page/Swap file on a Separate Partition

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

"firewire" <firewire@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:78AD9482-A512-453E-B433-58AD6D61B12A@microsoft.com...
i
> I'm preparing to partition my new hard drive and have done a
> fair amount of
> research to that end and I'm having trouble reaching a
> consensus as to
> whether it is even advisable to partition.


First a word on the terminology: partitioning is the act of
creating *one or more* partitions on the drive. Since you have to
have to have at least one partition to use the drive,
partitioning is required; it's isn't optional.

So presumably your question has to do with whether to have *more*
than one partition.


> Some believe that XP was designed
> to be on one partition to make the most of its optimization
> features and that
> dividing it up over multi partitions defeats that purpose.


Doesn't matter. You should partition in the way that works best
for you. There isn't necessarily one way to do this that's best
for everyone.


> Some think that
> placing the page/swap file on a separate partition will slow it
> down because
> the hard drive heads will have to swing constantly between the
> system
> partition and the swap file partition.


That's correct. Don't do this. there are many good reasons for
having multiple partitions, but having a separate one for the
swap file isn't one of them.


> Finally, there are differing opinions
> on which portion of the hard drive is fastest: the inner or
> outer track. Any
> light/information you can shed on these issues will be
> appreciated. Thanks
> for your help.


My personal view is that thinking about how to partition should
be done in conjunction with thinking about how to do backups.
Depending on your backup strategy, some partitioning schemes may
be better for you than others.

For more information, post back with more information about your
thoughts on why you might want to have mutiple partitions, and
how you would plan to use them.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Hi,

If you've done a fair amount of research, then opinions here shouldn't carry
much weight.

The basics of this are simple, though virtual memory as a discussion can be
quite complicated. The mechanics of the machinery have certain limitations,
chief among these is the rate at which the head can travel (there is no way
that it can travel as fast as the electrical impulses representing the
binary language of 1's and 0's). If you place heavily used data in separated
locations, you will increase the amount of movement necessary. This has two
things to keep in mind: 1) Increased movement will reduce overall life of
the component and 2) regardless of how fast anything else is, the movement
of data is limited by the slowest part, and in this case it will be the
drive head seeking data. If you page heavily, and the paging file is
separated from the core system files, then the system will be
correspondingly slower. If you have lots of ram, your paging will likely be
minimal and this will not be a factor.

Inside/Outside? No question, the outer edge is faster. Think of it this way:
If you have two circles, one is two inches (inner) in diameter, the other
five inches (outer). Both rotate at the same rate. In any single rotation,
the actual velocity (in/sec) of the outer circle *must* be faster, as it has
to pass all five inches past the same point in the same time as the two inch
circle does. The actual rate at which tracks are passed on the outer edge is
faster, as a five inch track on the outer edge only requires the time of one
rotation, versus the inner edge which requires two and one-half rotations.
Therefore, the outer edge is faster as the actual rate at which data can be
stored and read is larger on the outer edge.

If you want to place the paging file on a different volume, place it on the
first partition of a second physical drive, and not on another
volume/partition on the same drive. Otherwise, keep it on the volume housing
the system files.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"firewire" <firewire@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:78AD9482-A512-453E-B433-58AD6D61B12A@microsoft.com...
> Hi
> I'm preparing to partition my new hard drive and have done a fair amount
> of
> research to that end and I'm having trouble reaching a consensus as to
> whether it is even advisable to partition. Some believe that XP was
> designed
> to be on one partition to make the most of its optimization features and
> that
> dividing it up over multi partitions defeats that purpose. Some think that
> placing the page/swap file on a separate partition will slow it down
> because
> the hard drive heads will have to swing constantly between the system
> partition and the swap file partition. Finally, there are differing
> opinions
> on which portion of the hard drive is fastest: the inner or outer track.
> Any
> light/information you can shed on these issues will be appreciated. Thanks
> for your help.
>

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Hi
Thanks for your information. All the information including the research is
opinion; some more informed than others. When one partitions a hard drive is
it a given that the first primary active partition designated will be on the
outer edge? Thanks.


"Rick "Nutcase" Rogers" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> If you've done a fair amount of research, then opinions here shouldn't carry
> much weight.
>
> The basics of this are simple, though virtual memory as a discussion can be
> quite complicated. The mechanics of the machinery have certain limitations,
> chief among these is the rate at which the head can travel (there is no way
> that it can travel as fast as the electrical impulses representing the
> binary language of 1's and 0's). If you place heavily used data in separated
> locations, you will increase the amount of movement necessary. This has two
> things to keep in mind: 1) Increased movement will reduce overall life of
> the component and 2) regardless of how fast anything else is, the movement
> of data is limited by the slowest part, and in this case it will be the
> drive head seeking data. If you page heavily, and the paging file is
> separated from the core system files, then the system will be
> correspondingly slower. If you have lots of ram, your paging will likely be
> minimal and this will not be a factor.
>
> Inside/Outside? No question, the outer edge is faster. Think of it this way:
> If you have two circles, one is two inches (inner) in diameter, the other
> five inches (outer). Both rotate at the same rate. In any single rotation,
> the actual velocity (in/sec) of the outer circle *must* be faster, as it has
> to pass all five inches past the same point in the same time as the two inch
> circle does. The actual rate at which tracks are passed on the outer edge is
> faster, as a five inch track on the outer edge only requires the time of one
> rotation, versus the inner edge which requires two and one-half rotations.
> Therefore, the outer edge is faster as the actual rate at which data can be
> stored and read is larger on the outer edge.
>
> If you want to place the paging file on a different volume, place it on the
> first partition of a second physical drive, and not on another
> volume/partition on the same drive. Otherwise, keep it on the volume housing
> the system files.
>
> --
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
> Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
> www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
>
> "firewire" <firewire@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:78AD9482-A512-453E-B433-58AD6D61B12A@microsoft.com...
> > Hi
> > I'm preparing to partition my new hard drive and have done a fair amount
> > of
> > research to that end and I'm having trouble reaching a consensus as to
> > whether it is even advisable to partition. Some believe that XP was
> > designed
> > to be on one partition to make the most of its optimization features and
> > that
> > dividing it up over multi partitions defeats that purpose. Some think that
> > placing the page/swap file on a separate partition will slow it down
> > because
> > the hard drive heads will have to swing constantly between the system
> > partition and the swap file partition. Finally, there are differing
> > opinions
> > on which portion of the hard drive is fastest: the inner or outer track.
> > Any
> > light/information you can shed on these issues will be appreciated. Thanks
> > for your help.
> >
>
>
>