Split or not to split C-partition in Windows 7
I got a new Dell win7 computer with a single 640 GB SATA drive.
My question is whether it is a good idea to split the big drive into two smaller partitions (i.e., Windows 7 and data partitions) or not.
With WinXP computers in the past, I find that the size of 50-60 GB space is enough for accomodating WinXP partition. That's how I have been partitioning c-drive into 60 GB WinXP partition and the rest as data partition. Since then, I did not encounter any problem with those partitions. With a small WinXP size, I find a lot quicker for making both backup and restore with ATI (Acronis True Image).
But with Win7 OS and SATA drive, I have no idea whether splitting c-drive into two partitions is good idea or not7. In other forum, somebody mentioned that the use of split partitions caused more problems than with a single partitioned drive. If I use both Win7 OS and data in the same 640 GB harddrive, backing up and restore with ATI would be very difficult because of its huge size. What is your suggestion? Thank you.
And you can do the Data with different software that keeps the data in its native format. Two popular programs for this are Microsoft's Sync Toy and Karen's Replicator.
I have been using folderclone to synchronize data files for the last two years. I cannot leave my office without FolderClone. It's super for cynchronizing files/folders between flashdrive and harddisk. My life is very much depending on FolderClone.
I would setup a separate Windows 7 partition and data partition. I dislike having data on the OS partition. Also, as already stated, it allows the Windows partition to remain small, which allows for faster backups and restores.
Does your new Dell have multiple partitions on it already? For example, does it have a diagnostic partition and a recovery partition?
MudCrab,
I am the same guy whom you helped in the past.
Nothing happened since then.
Now I got a new Win7 machine (Dell XPS 8000 through Costco) and trying to optimize the computer. The comuter came with a 200 mb (?)-recovery partition (in 640 GB HD).
So I am trying to create 60 mb OS partition. But the latest version of DD v. 10 is not compatible with Win7 but build 2160 is accepted by Win7. But it does not split the 550 GB C-drive. That's where my problem started.