partitioning a hard drive

[trajillo]

hey im building a new computer and everything is blank including the HDD. Now before i install the new OS i want to partition the 1X500GB HDD into
5% for OS
25% For Programs
70% For Games and Multimedia

how do i do this before i install any OS?

thanks

[optimus_prime]

both linux and windows installation disks come with partition managers that you can use during installation.

i personally think you shouldn't split os and programs into different partitions, just make one for os+programs and second for data.

[DooMeD68]

would have been easier to get a cheap 200 gb hard drive for your os and programs - then a secondary 500gb hard drive for everything else !
saves the problems if the singular hard drive has problems in the future !

[ilw]

both linux and windows installation disks come with partition managers that you can use during installation.

i personally think you shouldn't split os and programs into different partitions, just make one for os+programs and second for data.

agree, and would add that with a 500GB drive you'll only need 10% for OS & programmes

[trajillo]

how do i use the managers on the installation disks?

[optimus_prime]

what os are you installing?

[trajillo]

vista

[harrycary]

I'm not sure about Vista but with XP you can choose to partition your drive for installation to any size you want.

I have 2 drives, a 120Gb and a 300Gb drive.

I installed XP on a 30Gb partition of the 120GB drive. You don't need that much space but it left me room to add plenty of programs.

The second partion on the 120GB drive is used for storage as well as the entire 300Gb drive.

It's nice to have Windows & programs installed on a partition apart from your data files 'cause maintenance(anti-virus, spyware scans, etc.) is easier and substantially faster.

Like I said above, I'm not familiar with Vista and its installation but separating your O/S from your data files should be doable and i highly recommend it.

In the future I intend on using a 10,000Rpm drive for my O/S(it will boot in mere seconds!) and separate drives for all my data storage.

good luck.

[optimus_prime]

vista

can't help you word by word with vista, didn't install much of that.

when you start setup, just read carefully. at one time it will ask you where to install and than you can use advanced option to set up your partitions.