C partition splitted from user account

[zongosaiba]

Hi All,

Just wanted to have some opinions as far as the benefits of having the c partition (system partition) spitted from user account (Documents, Movies etc...)
I have been reading posts but cant make out the benefits. My set up when I installed win7 ultimate was the let the system take the entirety of the drive.

Kind Regards

zongosaiba

 

[edwar]

That is perfectly fine.

The main reason for moving the User Files off the OS partition is if you have a small drive, like a SSD, as the Boot drive and to keep all user files, Movies, Document, Music, Photos, in the normal User file areas you will fill that drive very fast.

Personally I don't use the standard User file locations. I do use the Documents folder but I have that directed to another drive in my system. As to music, images and the like I place them on other drives then the system boot drive. I do that manually as I really don't care for how MS sets up how and where the default locations for these type file are.

 

[zongosaiba]

edwar,
thanks for your reply
wouldn't it be easier to have a separate partition for all the system files in case of a fresh install of your system ?
what i am trying to get at is if you want to reinstall your system (win 7) clean. If you do have a backup of the separate system partition, you can use it to quickly install a fresh system and with the backed up partition import it back to the new system and you have your old system with a fresh install.
The way i do it now does not allow me to function that way. I only create disk image.

 

[zongosaiba]

on a side note, i am making a reference from a book i just bought:"troubleshooting windows 7 inside out" from Mike Hasley where he strongly suggest to have that separate partition.
I strongly advise this book to anyone and especially newbies like me

 

[edwar]

IMHO no it would not. A fresh install would Re-Create all those system file locations. Then it would be up to you to Move all of them to your previous install location. If it is on the same physical drive as the OS then what good is that if the drive fails. Everything would be gone.

Best thing to do is use a drive imaging program to make an image of the system drive and then if needed restore that image.

I have 2 partitions on my BOOT SSD drive. C partition for the OS and a D partition for programs and Some personal files, Like the Documents folder which I renamed My Documents to keep it simple when Syncing from my XP PCs.
I then have other physical drives in the system that I store my music, images and whatever on. I also have full backups of all those files on external drives and on other computers I own.

I then create an Image of the BOOT SSD so if I have any problems with the system I restore that image to the SSD and I am back up and running in less then 15 minutes.

A backup system and Redundancy of personal files is the only way to make sure you do not lose all your data. If you don't have a good backup plan and multiple copies of your most important files you will at some point Lose all of them. No matter where or how they are stored on your main system.

That is a well known Fact.

 

[edwar]

on a side note, i am making a reference from a book i just bought:"troubleshooting windows 7 inside out" from Mike Hasley where he strongly suggest to have that separate partition.
I strongly advise this book to anyone and especially newbies like me

I have always used separate partitions and multiple Physical drive in my systems. Even on my newest notebook I took the DVD drive out and put in a second physical drive.

Partitions add nothing to overall safety of not losing all your data. IMHO partitions are only good for separating where and how you store your data and how easy it is to get to that data. Like having a filing cabinet with multiple drawers (Multiple Partitions) instead of One Big Long drawer (One Partition). And or having multiple filing cabinet (Physical Drives) with multiple drawers (Partitions on those drives).

 

[whs]

Here are my reasons for a seperate data partition:

1. It makes the C partition small. That way it fits on a small SSD and is fast to image and restore.

2. I can backup/image the OS and the data independently. When I have a lot of system updates, I image the OS. When I have a lot of data updates, I backup the data. That usually does not occur at the same time.

3. The data is a lot safer. Should the system crash and one has to (or wants to) reinstall from scratch, I don't have to worry about my data. That applies especially to people who do not image.

 

[LittleJay]

I have separate drives for the OS and data, with backups for both on separate drives. After having one HDD failure, which caused me to lose some valuable data, I now am a firm believer in having multiple backups on separate drives.

 

[gregrocker]

I would not move the User folders to the data partition as it causes unexpected issues, but instead copy them there then rightlclick each to add it to the related Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums.

Once your files on data partition show up in each library location, you can delete the C User folder content.

 

[zongosaiba]

Guys, Thank you so much for your replies. I makes it a lot clearer now for me. Thank you for taking the time. I will attempt to create another partition and separate both. I have done all the necessary backups of files, created a disk image and a restore cd in case i screw up everything Kind Regards,

 

[zongosaiba]

guys, again thank you for taking the time reading my stupid posts and answering my questions. This is much appreciated. I now have two partitions. One system and one Data. Everything is working great. One small question Some software still need the system files to get installed and some can be installed on a different partition. Is this correct ? If i am correct, wouldn't my c partition still increase over time ? In my small mind, I thought the system partition would be locked down zongosaiba

 

[gregrocker]

When you open a library it will show anything that has been written to that folder in C (Documents, Downloads, etc) so you can just drag them to the data drive then and there. That's how I keep C User folders pruned.

You can also then investigate what wrote the file there and change it in it's program prefs (e.g. Firefox Downloads location) to write to the data drive folder instead. This way you'll get almost nothing being written to C.

 

[edwar]

One small question Some software still need the system files to get installed and some can be installed on a different partition. Is this correct ? If i am correct, wouldn't my c partition still increase over time ? In my small mind, I thought the system partition would be locked down zongosaiba

No you can install all programs to the second partition. Any program that Must be installed on the "System" partition (C:\) is poorly written.

But yes most all program will also install some files in your UserName area on the System partition. Nothing you can do about that. So Yes over time the System partition (C:\) will grow to a point. Once you have install all the software you need the C drive should not fill up with other files.

It is good to run Disk Cleanup every now and then.

I also move the Temp file location of the system partition. I'm running an SSD as my System partition so I try to keep as much stuff off that drive.

 

[gregrocker]

If you're creating the data partition to keep your image lean, then I would still install Programs to C since they write Registry Keys which integrate themselves into the OS so should remain a part of it until Uninstalled. If you reimage with programs on another partition you can have problems.

 

[zongosaiba]

thanks guys, I have decided to let programs installed on c. That means letting that c partition grow, then so be it. the c partition is 52 g and it is 100 g in size. i have 47 g left on that partition. Anything being installed on that laptop is on a need to have basis which is almost no predictable software that i foresee for a while. I already have all i need to run the way i want. As "gregrocker" said, i would have issue if I image the c drive with some software installed on the data partition (F). As far as the c drive, i can image it now and reinstall it on another drive or partition and i would have all the software i need configured the way i want it. Then i can just run a backup software for the data partition on external drive to backup that same partition. On that partition i have movies, musics etc.... One small question: I did not move the Desktop folder in the data partition. I read that windows may cause issues if the Desktop is moved. Is this correct ? Did you move your desktop from c to another partition ? If yes, did you have issues at all ? I did move everything else though. Kind Regards,