How much storage does holding an OS and a single user account take up?

[jamspls]

Assuming the OS is Windows 10, how much space would it take up?

Also, if that SSD were to die in a few years time, would I have to buy another OS, or would the OS be stored in the BIOS, or something else?

These are probably dumb questions but I'm such a noob at tech stuff

 

[USAFRet]

Assuming the OS is Windows 10, how much space would it take up?

Also, if that SSD were to die in a few years time, would I have to buy another OS, or would the OS be stored in the BIOS, or something else?

These are probably dumb questions but I'm such a noob at tech stuff

For a Windows OS drive, you want a minimum 120GB drive...a 250GB is very much preferable.
How much space it takes up is only a small aprt of what you need it for.

In today's market, a 250GB SSD is what you need.

The SSD will not 'die in a few years'.
No, the OS iss not stored in the BIOS. It lives on the motherboard.

 

[Lightening02]

According to Microsoft's website, Windows 10 takes up 20 GB, so along with user account info it'll be bit larger than that.

Your OS will be stored on the SSD. If the SSD dies, so will the OS and everything on the drive. You should be able to reinstall it with the same key, however.

 

[USAFRet]

According to Microsoft's website, Windows 10 takes up 20 GB, so along with user account info it'll be bit larger than that.

Your OS will be stored on the SSD. If the SSD dies, so will the OS and everything on the drive.

Yes, 20GB is the bare initial install.
Now go ahead and run all the updates. Then come back in 6 months.

Win 7 says the same thing - 20GB.
A Win 7 Home install with all the current Updates runs about 45GB. Just for the OS.

 

[Colif]

Most SSD today will still work long after they stop being used simply as people expect more space, and the new drives are becoming bigger and cheaper to buy. SSD is so much faster, why use hdd for anything?

I don't see point in only having win 10 on ssd and running everything else off the slow hdd, you losing half the benefit of the ssd then. Why have OS fast and everything else slow. I have seen people move desktop itself to hdd... that is just shooting self in the foot to save very little space. SSD will soon be as big as HDD so maybe that habit will die off. I install everything on C that would need to be reinstalled anyway if Win 10 were to die. Anything that survive a win 10 death goes onto storage. So yes, I run steam games off HDD but only as they are large files and I don't see point in filling ssd with files I hardly ever use.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Right now my Windows 10 installation takes exactly 50 gb of storage, and I have A LOT of different programs installed.

 

[Colif]

Right now my Windows 10 installation takes exactly 50 gb of storage, and I have A LOT of different programs installed.

C drive has 56gb used here, 187gb free, but of that windows itself is only 19.4gb. Page file is 16gb max and some of that is a mini hiberfil.sys only with enough space to run fast boot. Not sure what rest is. I have plenty to spare so I don't have to worry about it. I survived on my last PC for 9 years with only 600gb, so having 2.2tb now means I will never feel cramped. Space isn't a problem at all.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Colif, you are absolutely correct t. I was thinking of the "entire" system, not just Windows.

 

[Colif]

Colif, you are absolutely correct t. I was thinking of the "entire" system, not just Windows.

i wasn't correcting, I was agreeing. I knew what you meant. Win 10 folder will grown in next few years but I doubt it will eat 50gb unless they add heaps of features.

 

[USAFRet]

The issue is...what is the reasoning behind the OPs question?
To determine what size SSD to get?

OK, the OS may take 30GB or so. Possibly leading a person to go get a 32 or 64GB drive, thinking that is plenty, or is a good deal because it is 'cheaper'.
No, it is not.

So, jamspls...what is the background of this question?
Because my recommendation is a 240/250GB SSD.

 

[Colif]

not arguing with that, I would aim higher still so you can put everything on ssd and only use HDD for storage of files that don't need to be uber fast. So music and documents, almost everything else benefits from speed.

 

[USAFRet]

not arguing with that, I would aim higher still so you can put everything on ssd and only use HDD for storage of files that don't need to be uber fast. So music and documents, almost everything else benefits from speed.

Right. But too many people think that because the OS only takes 20GB (or 30 or 40), then a 32 or 64GB is plenty.
They fail to realize it is never 'just the OS'. Nor should it be.

 

[jamspls]

I'm planning on getting a good quality SSD to hold my OS and (maybe) a few other things. I'd like the faster bootup that comes with using an SSD.

Do all programs 'run' and open faster on an SSD, or simply just 'open' faster?
If an SSD improves gaming experience, like loading screens etc. then that's cool, but other than that, all I want is a nicer startup speed.

 

[jamspls]

I'm planning on getting a good quality SSD to hold my OS and (maybe) a few other things. I'd like the faster bootup that comes with using an SSD.

Do all programs 'run' and open faster on an SSD, or simply just 'open' faster?
If an SSD improves gaming experience, like loading screens etc. then that's cool, but other than that, all I want is a nicer startup speed.

 

[USAFRet]

Whatever lives on the SSD runs faster.
Applications open faster, files open and save faster, game levels open faster.

For instance...a moderately complex Excel file.
On my work PC (HDD) it is maybe 4-5 secs to open
The same file on my home PC (SSD) takes maybe 0.5 sec. Application and file both living on an SSD.

A program, once opened, lives mostly in RAM. Manipulating a file, OTOH, involves a lot of drive IO. Hence the benefit of the SSD.

 

[Colif]

Once you use an ssd, you can't go back. No little freezes when your PC asks for data and hdd has to wake up. Instant reaction times. Having an ssd spoils you, you expect everything to be instant and when you have to use a PC with a hdd, its just so slow. Coming from what was a reasonably fast hdd for its day (Velociraptor) to a ssd was mind blowing. If I had known how much faster they were, I would have got one years before. They can make a slow PC seem fast, and a fast PC look better.

Making a new PC without a SSD is shooting yourself in the foot. And yet I see lots of them on here, high speed CPU & great GPU tied to a hdd that is only barely keeping up.