Sloppy installer
I like to keep my drives somewhat organized. I expect programs to stay WITHIN their own folder tree the location which I set. Games go in their own folder with in the Games folder, etc. With my new system I chose to put the os on it's own partition as recommended by many. Because C: is ONLY for the OS, it should not need to be large. NO OTHER PROGRAM SHOULD PUT FILES ON C: UNLESS I SAY TO INSTALL THERE. Yet with each new version of windows and new programs, this gets harder. Now with W7 64bit there is both a "Program files" and a "Program files (x86)" on C: for programs to dump crap in with out permission.
Accronis is one of these companies who chose not to follow the install wishes of their customers. I selected E:\Util\ has the place for it to install it folder tree. And it did dump a bunch of stuff there. BUT, There is also now a:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Acronis\TrueImageHome (5.13MB)
C:\ProgramData\Acronis\TrueImageHome (4.38MB)
C:\Users\All Users\Acronis\TrueImageHome (4.28MB)
C:\Users\Vorg\AppData\Roaming\Acronis (40KB)
C:\Users\Vorg\AppData\Local\Temp\Acronis Advanced Reporter\TrueImageHome (0B) - Even empty folders clog your computer over time.
and likely more I haven't found. All that crap stuffed on C: that was supposed to be OS ONLY!!!
C:\Users\Vorg\AppData\Local\Temp\ now has over 4GB from programs that don't cleanup when done and the computer is only a couple weeks old. I've only installed a few programs.
People who write such sloppy code are NOT programmers, they are hacks.
This is not just Acronis. HP (printer) and Realtek (onboard sound) have put stuff in both "Program files" and "Program files (x86)"
a) Its my understanding that the "C:\User" tree is windows environment variable and windows created both teh "vorg" and "all users" folders. Acronis simply put its stuff in the folder tree already designed for it.
b) drivers sure seem to dance a fine line between what is a os and what is application program. anything which controls when and how disk writes are to occur (acronis), or how to use a printer, or how to use a sound card all on first blush are OS activity infact all windows itself already comes preloaded with a bunch of drivers for sound cards and printers your install simply added to them.
c) with regard to 4g of temp files not cleaning up. if this is what is occuring then I really agree with you. I have not checked my own system to confirm. I think in xp the folder tree for what you mentioned is
C:\Documents and Settings\[yourname]\Local Settings\Temp
if this above folder name is correct then this location is also controlled by a windows environment.
You should try using a Mac ... now there's an OS that takes away ALL control from you. LOL.
Here is a document describing some of the windows variables that control what device/folder various elements flow. Some of the folders you mention in your post are also mentioned in this doc. I have never tried to do what you are attempting, the split I have always made was not at OS from app but rather the dividing line which can be roughly stated as "stuff I create" versus "stuff I install". "stuff I create" are files I actively know about and are the fruits of my labor. "stuff I install" are files I don't really know about and were created on my behalf as a means to produce the "stuff I create".
With this line both apps/os are on one device but all the documents/datafiles/jpeg/mpegs that I create get stored on the data device. The data device is the fruits of my labor the other device is simply needed as means to produce the fruit.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749104(WS.10).aspx
This is getting off topic for this forum, but I decided to move everything to C:. I have 4 programs I'm not sure about how to move.
The first being acronis. I was going to moving when they do the update since it sounds like basicly a reinstall. But it looks like it may be a bit before that update is out.
Also 2 programs from Mozilla, Firefox and Thunderbird. I posted on mozilla boards and a couple other places but got no responce. Searching for how to move these programs brings up how to move the data to another computer. I want to move these programs to C: with minimal reinstalling and fuss. I think they already have there data in C:.
I bought BF2142 from the EA online store. It also installed some kind of manager on E: Want to move both to C:
Some programs can just be moved, some have an INI that needs adjusting and some require a reg change.
Timothy:
Get freeware Mozbackup, it can create backups of the Mozilla programs, and you can restore to other places, such as a C: drive. I moved T-bird from a XP pc to a new Win 7 pc in a few minutes.
Fungus
Thanks, that'll make it 2 down, 2 to go.