Partion For Programs.. Super Speed!

I was wondering.. is it possible to make a seperate partion for "most" or "all" of your software and have windows run on the C:\ only?
I beilieve this would REALLY speed up the performance because when you are working with windows and stuff.. all those programs wont have to be scanned through all the time and you will probably have things open up much faster. Has anyone tried this? I just might... :rolleyes:

i got an 80gb hd

My Setup:

Windows could have like a 3gb partion.
Software/Programs will have a 37gb partion
My Documents(My shared folder is allways on this, etc) will have a 37gb partion
and Backup Windows XP o/s will have 3gb.


Pretty cool huh?
I think programs' registry settings will just link to the other partion and stuff. right?

well, partitioning can increase performance in some ways, but maintaining files and mapping out what files have to go where can become irritating, i read something a while back about the paging file becoming an issue with too many partitions, i think its always good to go with a os partition, and a partition for everything else

basically to save you the hassle i dont think the performance will increase in a noticable way mate :D

I have done it before, but I didn't notice any real difference in speed. I have even had two OS's that were on different partitions using the exact same Program Files without having any problems.

Yes it is possible!! :D
Some progs run better when you put them on the same partition as windows though.
The setup your talking about works because I did it!
Only windows and a few choice progs went on my C drive such as Norton, Opera,Firewall.
On my second hard drive I ran almost all my progs and am about to do the same as I just bought a new comp yesterday.
Also I had my second drive partitioned, and put the progs in their own partition.
It worked really well.
Do you have a second drive?
Or
Are you just gonna use one drive?
I'm not sure if it will speed things up, but theoretically it should.

a 2nd drive for program files would speed things up the most i bet.

Btw, this would probably help keep a virus that got past (allmighty) Norton Antivirus 2003 Pro (latest updates) to not spread on your whole hd.

yeah but it would still probably infect your windows partition and if that goes, then u'll still have to format the whole thing. cos the programs won't have registry entries and will have to be reinstalled. in my experience the best thing to do is separate Windows and programs on one partition and data (my docs, pictures, movies etc) as well as downloaded programs (ie the installers) on the other. That way reformatting is easy and u hardly ever lose anything important

This only works if those partitions are on separate harddisks.

Having them on the same harddisk doesn't speed things up.

ah ok,
btw paul.. better hotass icon hehe ;)

My partitioning scheme is like this:
C: is for Windows & Program Files
D: is for Games
E: is Data, Downloads, MP3's, Movies, etc...

C&D are one 20GB physical drive
E is a seperate 60GB physical drive

If you really want a performance boost, just byy 1GB of RAM and turn off the swap file.
;)

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If you really want a performance boost, just byy 1GB of RAM and turn off the swap file.

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having an amount of ram that doesnt require a swap file is theoretically correct, and 1GB would be that, but its not a very good idea to do it, dont turn of the swap file, some programs still use it despite excess ram

Well, firstly, i'd give Windows at least 5 GB if it was to go onto a separate partition... i mean, with Windows XP Pro you just can't do with less than that... plus you'll have the swap file.

Also, it would probably be a better idea to keep programs that work with Windows stuff on the same partition as Windows because that would give the program the option to immediately place the file somewhere else. However, in that case you'll need to defragment more often.

Basically, i suggest leaving Windows + program files on one partition, say, 15 GB, and defragment when you have nothing better to do.

Quote:

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Btw, this would probably help keep a virus that got past (allmighty) Norton Antivirus 2003 Pro (latest updates) to not spread on your whole hd.

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Yeah I got a virus once (while norton was accidently turned off) that infected .exe files (hllp handy or something) and it found it's way to my second HDD.

I was able to delete the exe's that were infected (what a nightmare) with it and I think that maybe, just maybe the second drive slowed it down some.
But I'm not sure if that assumption is theoretically correct.

Seperate HDs/partitions do not equal disconnected computers, people. Think about it... Can you copy a file from one HD/partition to another without hassle? Yes. Can you run a program that can access another HD/partition without hassle? Yes. Can the OS itself access all HDs/partitions without hassle? Yes.

So, what makes you think a virus would be any different?

It's not so much the format of your partitions that would protect you from a virus, it's the directory names and drive letters themselves that will stop a poorly written virus. If you don't have a C:\windows or D:\windows directory , then a virus that attaches or installs itself specifically to those folders or directories can't execute. Even if you can't physically change the partition letter, at least change the default "windows" to something more creative. All windows OS's that I'm familiar with allow this. You have the opion t install, just stop and look at it. Try c:\BOB or c:\windos , it really doesn't matter to windows. If you get sloppy and someone accesses your computer, it's going to be a lot harder to guess the windows directory name this way.

on my system i have an 18.5gig physical drive, slipt it into two, took 15gigs for downloads music, my documents etc and the rest is windows and program files.
yeah, and as paul said, you would only notice the performance if they were on seperate physical drives, not partitions.