Partition HD

[Guest]

I'm getting a new 20 GB Hard drive and a friend says that I will have to partition it out. Do I have to do this? Or can I just leave it as one big 20 gig HD. If I have to do this
then how do it do it. I know how to fdisk and format. Thanks.

 

[Spdy_Gonzales]

You don't have to partition if you don't want to.

But, my preference would be to create a 3G partition for windows and programs and use the remainder of the drive for data. The advantage is that if you have to reinstall windows you can do a clean reinstall without having to worry about your data in the other partition. It also dosen't take as long to defrag the boot drive, which you should do at least once a week.

I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

you dont really have to...
ive got a 40gig non partitioned... no problems so far,
and wont have to worry about running out of room on any partition...
with todays modern computers & drives, unless your a diehard addict, you can survive by not partitioning.
also saves the hassle of what to install where...
then again, i do run an efficient system. no extraneious garbage for me!

just have to remember to defrag occasionally. once a week i think is a tad excessive, unless your installing/removing/moving lots of stuff.


This behavior must not continue! Feel the BURNING STARE of my HAMSTER... and change your ways!

 

[btvillarin]

Technically, you do have to partition your hard drive.

First, you'll need a book disk (not the Windows one, because it creates a RAM drive). <A HREF="http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/1999/1025.htm" target="_new">Click here</A> for that article (I've been using the same one for over a year...)

Then, use FDISK to create one single primary partition. Just use your whole drive. After rebooting with the same disk, format c: and your drive is ready to have the OS installed.

The reason why I would agree with the earlier post on having more than one partition is because if Windows gets screwed up, your data is safe on the other partition.

I don't feel like going into more detail, but post back if you want more (I check the boards often).