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Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !! (Read 11596 times)
xNtrlbrnkillax
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Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Oct 20th, 2004 at 11:07pm
 
Hi All, Just some questions i hope you guys and gals might give some suggestions on. ( I will say right now sorry for the long read ).

I have read multiple info from radified,etc. and i must say it is very informative. But i am still looking for a little help!

I currently have a 80 gig harddrive (Not partitioned) running WinXP in my system setup is as follows:
IDE Channels:
Primary Master - Boot drive
Primary Slave - DVD Burner
Secondary Master - CD Burner
Secondary Slave - DVD Rom

I just purchased another 80 gig harddrive and what i want to do is basically erase (reformat) my original harddrive and start fresh with both and reinstall WinXP. (Note: I purchased a Ultra ATA contoller card as i want to keep all drives i currently have installed).

I am a noob so forgive me if my questions sound confusing, lol. (This will be for a single system "Win XP" install)

1. How should i set up with Both 80 gig harddrives and my current drives. Another words which 1 should i connect to the controller card?
2. Do i install the second harddrive and then reformatte the first drive? And go from there as far as adding partions, etc? Or reformat my original harddrive first befroe adding the second?

Partioning help:
With 2 harddisks i know i only need 1 primary partion for booting and the rest can be extended/Logical partions. What i am looking for is some opinions on partioning strategies for OPTIMAL performace. ( My needs will be MP3's,ripping(a good amount), Lossless Audio(a fair amount), Games(Not much), Video capture & editing(a good amount), Jpegs,Photos(a good amount) backups(Norton Ghost),downloads, etc.

I am mainly looking for NTFS but i heard it might be a good idea to keep 1 small Fat32 partion (Let me know).

((((Also 1 important step is where should i locate my Page/Swap File for best performance and When And How To Do That!!!))))

So if there is anyone is willing to help please respond with some partioning strategies for both drives along with gigs for each partion. I want to try and do this correct the first time, lol.

If i forgot any info that may help please let me know.

 
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #1 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 2:20am
 
xNtrlbrnkillax

Read more here:

http://aumha.org/a/parts.htm

and here:

http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

Keep it simple.
 

No question is stupid...but, possibly the answers are  Wink !
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #2 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 6:52am
 
xNtrlbrnkillax,
I agree with NightOwl's recommendation to keep it simple.

I/we don't know how much is currently on the "old" harddisk but since You have bought another 80-giger ...... Lips Sealed ...... it can't be much in the light of what You want in the future. For what You listed, it seems a bit on the small side.

If You have data on the "old" harddisk that You want to save, then I would make the "new" harddisk the "primary" (see below). Take out the "old" and install the "new".

Install XP and during the initial stages create and format the system partition ( C: ), some 10-15GB will be adequate for most users but that's Your decision.

When XP has been installed, I would go to DiskManagement and start by moving the drive letters for the opticals ( D: E: F: ) higher up in the alphabet, such as W: X: Y:. Otherwise, the driveletters for the other harddisk partitions will come after the opticals.
Create an extended partition of the rest of the space and split it in a number of logicals. I wouldn't split it at all but two may suit Your needs. Again, it's Your decision.

After formating the logicals, shut down and connect the "old" harddisk as "secondary" (see below). Upon restart, XP will detect and install the hardware and a restart may be necessary. The old Operating System will not be seen by the new and You can copy over whatever data You wish to the new harddisk.

When finished, go back to DiskManagement and delete the partition on the "old" harddisk and make an extended partition of it all. Split into logicals according to Your needs. You can make the front partition at least 3xRAM and place the pagefile there and make it fixed in size at that size. With 512MB RAM it would become 1.5GB. That is done in System Properties > Advanced > Performance > Advanced - Virtual memory. It is recommended to leave a small pagefile on the system partition, to be able to hold a small dump if the thing should crash. I don't remember exactly how much ...... Undecided ...... 50-100 MB.

I don't know which Your backup strategy is but if You plan on using Ghost, then I would recommend to not mix the harddisks with the opticals since that would slow down creating and restoring images to a crawl.

Someone else will have to chip in with information on which device to put where but I would try:

- the harddisks on the new Ultra ATA controller card, if two channels, I'd make each a master alone on the respective channel.

- DVD burner on IDE0 master, CD burner on IDE1 master, DVD-ROM on IDE1 slave. That would make sense to me if there is a wish to copy DVD's.

Now, I prepare to be told that I'm wrong ...... Wink ...... !

Christer
 

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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #3 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 10:20am
 
NightOwl -

   Thank you for posting the links. I stumbled across them last night but my eyes were bugging after awile. I will read more on it today. Also i will take your word on it and keep it simple.

  Thank you, 


Christer -

   I do not have much now on my current HD at the moment, all music, pics and video have been saved/made to disks. Programs,favorites, etc. also been saved to disks for easier install. As far as the new 80 giger, i could'nt pass up the deal.

  I Know 2 - 80 gigers are not an extreme amount and video would take most of that up. I only plan on editing the video and transfering to dvd, (home/family movies, etc.). However i will probably take your advice and take out the old and install the new first as you described.

  In reference to making a partition on the second HD for the page file ( once the new 1 is installed ). I am starting to understand the concept of making that partition, "but" any advice on how to make sure i keep a small partition on the 1st (system HD) for safety reasons? Should that be located on the same partition as Winxp is installed? or a seperate partion?

  Also, my back up strategy will be Ghost.

  Thank you,

    Smiley
 
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #4 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 11:42am
 
Don't you guys find the aumha guide a little dated? I mean, he talks about using Windows 95 and creating 500-MB partitions .. at a time when M$ has released SP2 to Windows XP and disk manufacturers are releasing 400-GB drives.

In my Partitioning Strategies, I try to stress that partitioning is a personal thing .. that there is no right or wrong way to partition your drive .. that it only matters what works best for you, the user.

Nevertheless, I admire anyone who takes the time to post helpful info online, because I know how much work is involved. And I know hw much effort is required to keep such info current.
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #5 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 12:07pm
 
xNtrlbrnkillax,

Quote:
In reference to making a partition on the second HD for the page file ( once the new 1 is installed ). I am starting to understand the concept of making that partition, "but" any advice on how to make sure i keep a small partition on the 1st (system HD) for safety reasons? Should that be located on the same partition as Winxp is installed? or a seperate partion?

You don't need a separate partition on the "primary" harddisk for the small pagefile. It is actually better off on C:, especially if You make it a fixed size. Any other location would make it slower.

In the place where I directed You, reduce the size of the pagefile on C: to 50-100 MB. Create a new one on E: (if that will be the first partition on the "secondary") and make it fixed at 3xRAM. I hope that someone provides a second opinion on this since I myself have never bothered to do it.

I don't know which editing software You are using but some, like Photoshop, needs a scratchfile (its own pagefile) and it is recommended to NOT have it on the same drive as the pagefile. If that's Your scenario ...... ??? ...... maybe You are better off leaving the pagefile on the "primary" and create the scratchfile on the "secondary".

Quote:
Also, my back up strategy will be Ghost.

Then, a dedicated partition, of the (at least) same size as the system partition, on the "secondary" is recommended. You won't have to burn to CD's/DVD's and it's much quicker.

Rad,

Quote:
Don't you guys find the aumha guide a little dated?

I haven't been there but there are a lot of "debris" on the web. As You point out, a lot of work has been put in but when the interest or time to keep it up-to-date peter out ...... Lips Sealed ...... it would be better to remove it.

Christer
 

Old chinese proverb:
If I hear - I forget, If I see - I remember, If I do - I understand
 
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xNtrlbrnkillax
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #6 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 12:28pm
 
Christer -

  Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. I do not know exactly how i am going to approach this yet! I am still reading and jotting down notes and then i guess i will make a layout of how i want to do this and attempt it. Hopefully everything goes good.

I appreciate all the help!

  Thanks again,  Smiley
 
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #7 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 2:35pm
 
Radministrator

Quote:
Don't you guys find the aumha guide a little dated? I mean, he talks about using Windows 95 and creating 500-MB partitions ..


Rad..

Did you check out those links above?  If the last time you looked, the only information on the 'aumha' website was info about Win95, you should look again.

http://aumha.org/win5/index.htm

http://aumha.org/win5/a/longhorn.htm

He's careful to date his articles and places notes at the beginning if he thinks the information is dated, hasn't taken the time to update it, but states that he thinks the info is still relevant.

Carefull whose kettle you call black  Grin --there are some areas in the Rad Guides that are looking a little dated--reflecting the reality when it was Ghost 2002, and common HDD's were more like 40-80 GB's, and usually only one partition, or maybe two.
 

No question is stupid...but, possibly the answers are  Wink !
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #8 - Oct 21st, 2004 at 2:37pm
 
xNtrlbrnkillax,
You're welcome ...... Smiley ...... let us know how it worked out!

Christer
 

Old chinese proverb:
If I hear - I forget, If I see - I remember, If I do - I understand
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #9 - Oct 23rd, 2004 at 1:33pm
 
Quote:
Carefull whose kettle you call black -- there are some areas in the Rad Guides that are looking a little dated


I certainly concur. It's a full time job keeping the guides up to date. Which is why forums are so powerful, because they are realtime.

Rad the kettle man  Tongue
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #10 - Oct 23rd, 2004 at 10:07pm
 
Christer -

  So far so good.The only real problem i had so far was trying to get the drivers installed for the controller card. Finally solved that problem  Smiley .

I installed the new HD, WinXP and a few others - such as updates,services packs and firewall. I then installed the other HD (original) and everything went smooth. Now i have a question, hoping you can help me out.

Can i move the Programs and MP3's over to the new drive? If so, do i just click on them and ( Move to ) ?  Instead of installing them all over again. I figured i should find out before formatting the old drive.

Thanks,
Smiley
 
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #11 - Oct 24th, 2004 at 1:41pm
 
xNtrlbrnkillax,

Quote:
Can i move the Programs and MP3's over to the new drive? If so, do i just click on them and ( Move to ) ?  Instead of installing them all over again. I figured i should find out before formatting the old drive.


You can't move programs in Windows Explorer. The installation doesn't install only in the specific program folders but there are files in the Windows folder and even if You located all files ...... Shocked ...... there is the registry to edit.

Much quicker and better to reinstall ...... Wink ...... !

About MP3's ...... Embarrassed ...... well, I don't know anything about those critters! What are they ...... Undecided ...... ?

I have a hunch that they are music files to be played with something but ...... ??? ......

Christer
 

Old chinese proverb:
If I hear - I forget, If I see - I remember, If I do - I understand
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #12 - Oct 24th, 2004 at 2:30pm
 
Christer wrote on Oct 24th, 2004 at 1:41pm:
xNtrlbrnkillax,


You can't move programs in Windows Explorer. The installation doesn't install only in the specific program folders but there are files in the Windows folder and even if You located all files ...... Shocked ...... there is the registry to edit.

Much quicker and better to reinstall ...... Wink ...... !

About MP3's ...... Embarrassed ...... well, I don't know anything about those critters! What are they ...... Undecided ...... ?

I have a hunch that they are music files to be played with something but ...... ??? ......

Christer



  About the programs - Just wanted to make sure before i reformat that drive.. I will just reinstall them like you said.  Smiley

  About the MP3s - Yes they are compressed music files. They can be played using Win Media Player, Winamp, etc.

I transfered them over and they seem to work great.

Thanks again for all the help,  Smiley
 
 
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Re: Help w/ installing 2 HDs & Partitioning !!
Reply #13 - Oct 24th, 2004 at 4:08pm
 
xNtrlbrnkillax,
You're welcome ...... Smiley ...... !

Christer
 

Old chinese proverb:
If I hear - I forget, If I see - I remember, If I do - I understand
 
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