Windows 7: Partitioning Drive for Optimum Performance

Can this be done the same exact way it was in XP?
I had partition just for my Temp/TMP which i think was fat32 (everything else ntfs)
I had a partition just for my program files
user files had its own partition (documents ,p ictures, desktop)
games had their own partition
and windows had its own partition

do i set this up exactly as i would with xp? was it temp that i wanted formatted as ...fat32 (fat32 right?)?

should i make the OS (c fat32 too? so it doesnt need to be defragged


i cant find the step by step guide i seen on to do this so if u can find one let me know please. i can partition fine but there was steps like, going into environment variables (i THINK that was it) to change your TEMP folder
but i wont know exactly what to put (i think DRIVELETTER:\Temp\ was it)




thanks everyone.

im on win 7 btw, obviously.

wow, no one? id really rather not experiment myself ;/ i really need to get this system adjusted though
switched to win 7 from xp and giving it a week or so to decide if i should keep it or not.

Well, in Windows 7 you have to be all NTFS. FAT32 will not work, especially for the system. It may be OK for some data, but I would not do it.
I would not make all those partitions. Tthere is nothing to be gained in terms of performance. If you want better performance from the disk, get a SSD.
With that said, I would, however, make a seperate data partition. For the integrety of your data, I always recommend keeping your user data in a separate partition - separate from the operating system. That has the advantage that your data is safe in case the operating system goes on the blink and is not accessible. You can then either reinstall the system without having to worry about your data, or access it with e.g. a Linux CD and move it to an external drive. See this video tutorial I made for the purpose.

PS: there is no way I would ever touch XP after 1 year of Windows 7

So if you move all your data to a separate drive (partition), would you then have to change all the default locations that all the programs look to for storing data? Also, would iTunes work any longer since it would not be able to find the library?

eh idk. im not feeling it too much. "froze" up on me 2-3 times when i overworked it
had to install "pidgin" twice
and its only been two days

does everyone else think thats a bad idea too? the partitions

everything having its own partition avoids defragging and with the ..temp? or pagefile? or whatever being on a drive of its own (and fat32) it can function more quickly.

its similar if not exactly this:

Planning Your Partitions "planning your partitions"

are u saying windows 7 is different than XP and THATS why it shouldnt need it? because otherewise i think i agree everything having its own partition (or at least the cache or w/e its called that the pc accesses constantly) having its own partition would speed stuff up a bit.

I don't see the benefits from a performance standpoint of using all of the partitions. If you were using separate physical hard drives...there would be some performance increase...but not with different partitions on the same physical disk.

I too suggest having a data partition that is separate. As others have said, this allows easy reinstall or reimage of the C drive without having to worry about your data or back it up elsewhere to reinstall if the need arises.

Windows 7 for me has been solid as a rock, from the Beta to RC1 to the actual release. I've used the 64-bit version at home and at work and the 32-bit version on my laptop and all have been solid. I'm simply unable to "overwork" my hardware.

No, not if you do it as explained in my video. If you move them via Properties > Location tab, the system will change the path automatically.

As I said ( and I think pparks saying the same thing), making all those partitions is completely counterproductive. A seperate data partition makes sense, the rest does not. If you really want to boost your disk performance, get an SSD.

whs,
I have a 1 TB HDD, how large would you recommend making the OS partition (with room for application installs and all).