Windows 7: Operating system apps data only partition

What is the pros and cons of having a partition solely for your o/s? As I am considering this at the moment I thought I would get some input.

For years, I use different partitions and/or drives for:

OS1 Vista
OS2 2008 (multiboot) Will be Windos 7 in the future
Programs
Docs
Backup
Swap,internetfiles and temp

and more for downloads and so on.....

And I make a backup(image) only for the OS partitions, which are 30 GB!

That's my way, maybe many don't like it, but never had much problems!

Pros

1) separate DATA from OS so you can wipe OS partition as many times as you like without losing data

2) partition can be much smaller than the entire disk -- so you could make a USB rbootable escue USB with your OS on it as well. No point in using an entire 1TB disk for say Windows 7 when you only need 25 - 30 GB.

3) If you multi-boot you'll have to have a separate partition for your OS as
well.

4) system backup and restore becomes simple - even cloning disks if you install new disks into your machine.

Cons

1) NONE (IMO at least).


With the number of builds coming out I haven't had to worry about my DATA at all.


(Note - it's the same idea on Linux systems -- if you put your data on a separate /home partition you don't have to re-format that if you re-install the OS again or even install another Linux distro. you can sharre the /home across all your distros.)




Cheers
jimbo

There is one downside to partitioning everything. It takes slightly longer for the drive to get everything together. However if you keep an organised disk and defrag every now and then, there's not really any noticeable hit.

I seriously think Microsoft should make this part of the install, specify an "OS" drive and a "Data" drive when you're at the "Select drive you wish to install to" screen.

CON:

Remembering to always point the installer in the right direction

Con: When a partition gets filled (e.g. downloads) and there is still plenty of space in another partition, you begin to spread your files all over the harddisk.

Thanks everybody I am now going to do my operating system only partition install.

I do it for the thrill.

Nothing more nail bite enduncing than wondering if you picked the right partition to format while doing a fresh install.

I feel like THRILLHO everytime I install.

I read tips&tricks for Windows 7 and decide to reinstall it and make two partititons, small for OS - 18Gb (I read somewhere that 16gb is recommended), and other for docs, programs etc..but some programs (like 3dmark) doesn't give option to choose drive, so be careful with space. I recommend min. 40-50Gb for "OS drive".