Hard Drive Partitioning

Hey, first off, I would like to apologize if this is not in the right part of the forum.

Anyhow, I was on the forum a while back and noticed a picture a person posted which showed they had a specific hard drive for "Music", "Movies", etc. I asked the person about this and they told me that they had "partitioned" their hard drive to achieve this. So, I currently want to do the same, make a specific hard drive for music and movies, but would like to know if there is actually any point? What are some advantages / are there any disadvantages? I want to do it for easy access, but as it is I only have to click "User" to gain access to them, and with the drives partitioned I would just have to click "Computer", so it's not much difference, I sorta just like the idea. So, are there any advantages, such as maybe it making it easier to back up files / making computer run smoother or anything like that, because I really like the idea of specific drives for those specific things, but it's not worth the effort unless maybe there are other benefits.

Let me know, any help is greatly appreciated.

partitioning is very quick and simple, either using windows' built-in tools, or using third-party software.

it's a good idea to keep your operating system and data files on separate partitions.

if your windows goes bad, gets infected by virus or is otherwise generally broken, you can safely reformat your c: drive and reinstall 7 without worrying about losing any photos, music etc.

mickey megabyte said:

partitioning is very quick and simple, either using windows' built-in tools, or using third-party software.

thank you for the link, very helpful

mickey megabyte said:

if your windows goes bad, gets infected by virus or is otherwise generally broken, you can safely reformat your c: drive and reinstall 7 without worrying about losing any photos, music etc.

how does this work, when you reformat a hard drive doesn't it erase everything on it? I have tried to learn a bit about partitioning and it's benefits and all, but find it difficult to understand any things I've found as they have all been a bit complex for me and make constant use of terms I don't understand. In any case, I think I will partition, especially with that link you just gave me, but could you let me know if it means that the things placed into those "partitions?" are safe from damage and such for whatever reason? I mainly just want it to be really really easy to back up my music / not lose it.

edit: also, I am currently trying to do it and am stuck on something. Is it possible to partition the Crive, because that is the only one I have

Opi8 Have you thought of investing in an external drive on a USB line? You can decant your music, movies & OS image backups if required. You can pick up a decent 1/2 Tb external for around 50 quid or approx $80.00. A very worthwhile investment indeed!

Ich said:

Opi8 Have you thought of investing in an external drive on a USB line? You can decant your music, movies & OS image backups if required. You can pick up a decent 1/2 Tb external for around 50 quid or approx $80.00. A very worthwhile investment indeed!

Yes, a nearby store has a Tb External hard drive for about $100-$110, I am going to buy it, but need to get a job first because I don't want my parents to have to pay for it, or I might wait until christmas. Should I just wait until I get this / No point in doing it now if I'm gonna get a new hard drive to do it on?

Yeah, play it canny & wait till Christmas!

Opi8 said:

...

how does this work, when you reformat a hard drive doesn't it erase everything on it? I have tried to learn a bit about partitioning and it's benefits and all, but find it difficult to understand any things I've found as they have all been a bit complex for me and make constant use of terms I don't understand. ...

in simple terms, when you partition a drive, your computer 'thinks' you have two (or more) different drives - c:, d: e:...etc

the idea is that you install windows and your programs on c:, then save all your documents on d:.

in the future you can format (wipe) c: if you need to, but d: (and all your files) will remain untouched.

note that this isn't a backup, it's only the one copy. you really need to backup to a different drive to be really safe.

hope this explains it. :)

You can link your User files to data partition(s) anywhere on your computer. Then your data is protected safely apart from the OS/Programs partition, which makes that more compact to image. In case of irreparable Win7, you can reimage to the OS/Programs partition and your data is current and waiting in its "vault."

Wolfgang's Data Partition video tutorial linked earlier explains how. Here is the written version: User Folders - Change Default Location

Thank you all, each of you have been very helpful. I am likely going to wait until I get my external hard drive, and "partition" it so it looks like my "User" folder, basically so it has a drive specific for pictures, music, movies, and documents. Does that seem like a better idea than partitioning my C:, which is only about 180gb (and will fill up very quickly, I have only just reformatted and I'm already down to 50gb free space)? If so, (and I should probably watch that linked video before asking this...), will it be possible to have my user folder on my external hard drive? I want to find a really good way to organize my drives / folders once I get my external drive, any tips?