reformat a partitioned drive?

[da rock]

my 60 gb harddrive is split into 2 partitions.i'd like to reformat
drv.c,but don't want to lose some of the files (game files etc.)that
are on c drv. can i simply move the files to my virtual drv ,burn em
on a cd or what?looking for the best way to do this.

 

[Dick Johnson]

Save files

I would burn them to CD's and then reformat. You will blank the drive and the files will be gone. I do this a lot and burn the entire folder with all files enclosed to CD's or an ORB/Jaz disk. That way when I restore them, the whole folder structure is complete.

 

[Perris Calderon]

As everybody who knows me knows, I would save the files off the box, then reformat into one volume...microsoft urges and and I agree, you suffer performance by partitioning...xp will not optimize file location, and seek times...unless you are manually placing your files in the optimum place in the first place, like "two " doesthis...which is excellant, however if you don't know how to do this, you will have a slower computer.

My opinion with xp, is that it only makes sence to partition if you are reformatting often...thenit'll save some time, but that's it.

As my contemporarys now do, I set up virtual partitions simply by naming umbrella folders with sub folders...If you'd like to follow the white papers that demonstrate my opinions, let me know, I'll find the links

 

[Perris Calderon]

I agree, catch, multiple drives is the best choice.

Now, if he insists on partitioning his single drive, he should put the apps on the same partition as the os...this'll get him the best seek times with partitions

 

[da rock]

hadn't thought about the 2nd harddrive option,but it sounds like a
idea!

 

[da rock]

ok ,say i install a 2nd drv, how do i go about setting both drvs up? i'd need to format both drvs ,but install xp on only one,correct?

 

[Landrvr]

Well normally I would say just put all your files on a second partition. If you were only going to format your C:\ partition the second D:\ partition would be just fine (assuming you didn't do something wrong by accident). Although I am quickly chaging my mind on how I view storing data in general.

This last Thursday when I woke up and turned my computer on, one of my RAID-0 harddrives decided it didn't want to go on and comitted suicide by jumping right outta the box! I had all my files, games, etc, etc, etc... stored on it. Since it was a RAID-0 setup the other HDD it was linked to also became useless. In all, I lost 120GB of data in the blink of an eye! OUCH!

Well fortunately I had an image of my C:\ at another location, but I've still lost about 110GB of data. From now on, if you're ever going to do something with your harddrive I would recommend a 'hard' backup somewhere. Put it on a CD, a Jazz drive, DVD or whatever... so long as you can get it back in the event of a total diaster. It may never happen to you, but if it did you would sure be patting yourself on the back. I'm going to go out this weekend and get a better backup medium.

 

[Perris Calderon]

Originally posted by Landrvr


This last Thursday when I woke up and turned my computer on, one of my RAID-0 harddrives decided it didn't want to go on and committed suicide by jumping right outta the box! I had all my files, games, etc, etc, etc... stored on it. Since it was a RAID-0 setup the other HDD it was linked to also became useless. In all, I lost 120GB of data in the blink of an eye! OUCH!

this is of course the main reason you always need to back up of the box...using partitions as a backup is a tightrope...and, as I always say, if you have only one drive, you are suffering performance with a partioned instalation...but since for you, multiple drives is an option...that's the fastest OS you can build

 

[Landrvr]

Well I could have setup the RAID for backup purposes; although I opted for the speed. Since I essentially hooked up both HDD's together instead of setting one of the HDD's as a "backup" image drive; when it died I was left DOA.

I still think RAID is a great idea, although from now on I'm definately going to backup my ENTIRE system!

As for what Dealer keeps on saying (I've seen that more than once ) I don't know if it would actually speed the system up enough so that it would be noticable... although since I haven't tried it yet I really can't say. Maybe when I get this whole thing sorted out I'll give it a shot and see what happens.

I've been looking into the price on having the drive professionally recovered, but that's a whole other story!

 

[Perris Calderon]

Originally posted by Landrvr
=



As for what Dealer keeps on saying (I've seen that more than once ) I don't know if it would actually speed the system up enough so that it would be noticable... although since I haven't tried it yet I really can't say. Maybe when I get this whole thing sorted out I'll give it a shot and see what happens.

ha...I don't know either...but think about this...ms URGES manufacturers to install on a single partition for each drive...they URGE, plus, ms went well out of their way to set up file optimization in xp, which xp cannot do as well with partitions....why would they do that, unless they were certain the effect would be noticeable?...I'm telling you, my box is much faster then the day I bought it, and everyone I know says they notice the same.

the following paragraf is a direct qoute from a microsoft whitepaper;

..."Microsoft strongly encourages system manufacturers to manufacture single NTFS volumes on all systems where a 32-bit version of Windows XP is preinstalled, using the tools described in this article..."


this paragraph comes from this article


now they say this, because file optimization is not as effective with paartitions, as the link will describe, if you care to read it.

plus, like I keep saying, I'm never going to trust a partion as my backup, and setting up virtual partitions gives you the same convienience as physical partitions...

Now I know people like Dirk reformat every month or so, but that's a choice they make, because they like to play so much with their unit...(I play with my unit, and then I fall asleep, immediately after)

If your plan is constant reformats, I agree, the convienience of partitions is huge...plus, you system will never get a chance to optimize, so you loose nothing for your convienience.

but those of us that run as long as possible on one install, we will get nothing out of partitions, save a slower os.

As I keep saying though, who knows if the speed differance is noticeable...I sure don't, but ms, insists it'll be faster, and doesn't accept benchmarks unless the system is formated without partitions when it's a single drive

I'm still trying to figure out the love affair experts have with partitions...this is more a tradition now, it's surey not functional in my eyes....their is nothing anyone can do, or does do with a physical partition that I can't do with my virtual partitions...except the convienence in a reformat...hey, I haven't reformatted since my first install...this thing is running like a top

 

[Landrvr]

Heh, this conversation seems like it could go on and on.... I'm not disputing the idea that MS has with a single partition, nor the idea that they have setup XP to do file optimization... although if you really look at what that feature does (placing files in certain places of the HDD) then the results are going to be varied. As in; if I installed XP and let it "settle in" on a 40GB 5400 RPM drive on a single partition I may indeed notice a speed difference over time, although if I did the same thing to an ultra wide SCSI harddrive that spins at 10,000 RPM my difference in speed is likely to be diminished.

The only thing this feature of MS' does is speed up retreval time on frequently used files. If your retreval time is already 'top-notch' (as in the SCSI) drive the effects are not as likely to be noticed. Of course your processor, Mobo., RAM, & vid. card are all other factors that will weigh in on this as well.

As for MS "urging" people to only install XP on a single partitioned drive... well MS "urges" that we do a lot of things, including bow down to Bill G. as our fore-father and GOD from now on. I think MS has made some great products, but at the same time I'm sure they have 'other' reasons for suggesting some of the things they do.

The thing I enjoy about having seperate partitons is that it keeps all my Data seperated. If in the event that I do something to my installation (which I often do) I can start fresh w/ a clean install much easier. If I had everything on one partition it would be a much larger process to do a clean install as copying everything else back to that drive would take a considerable amount of time.

Not to steal your thunder or anything dealer, I'm just playing the devils advocate now!

 

[engel59]

I use an External USB 2.0 7200RPM 40GB Hard Drive and a USB 2.0 PCI Card. I use a Backup/Duplicate program called Retrospect Express 5.6 to keep a copy of my photos, documents, downloads, music, and a backup copy of my email on the external drive. My Windows XP drive is NTFS and my external drive is FAT32. This method works great for me.

USB 2.0 is 480 Mb/sec, Fire-Wire is 400.

 

[Perris Calderon]

Originally posted by Landrvr
Heh, this conversation seems like it could go on and on....

Not to steal your thunder or anything dealer, I'm just playing the devils advocate now!

here's the funny thing...everything you just posted, I agree with...if you know how to optimize your files, then u don't need XP to do it...we are definitely agreeing here, especially, as I said in your case, tha you reformat all the time...optimization for you is actually counterproductive, as it'll if you allowed it, you would have to reload the whole box every time you reinstalled...I'm not one sided on this...contrary...I think each person should run their box as fits...my only issue is when an expert tells you it's best to partition...it's not best to partition...

As far as playing the devils buddy...I can do that too...as I always consider both sides.

here's an example...every program you install will slow down your computer some...does that mean you shouldn't install programs?...of course not

same thing with partitions...if it serves a purpose for you, of cource...do it...but that purpose is not the purpose most people believe, as most people believe it speeds performance...the reverse is true