How Much Space?!? PLZ HELP QUICKLY

[Paul]

I frequently goof around with my computer. This time it
wasn't my fault that my computer is messed. So now, I'm
gonna split my 80gig drive into three partitions (to make
it eaisier to do a clean install of windows if i need to
again. C for Windows - F for programs - G for User
Files. Is it alright to do this, and can i simply tell
Windows that the My Documuments, Program Files, Etc. are
on a different partition. So basically, I'm asking, is
there any thing i should be cautious of, and if so, how
do I fix it? BTW, IF I wanted to use ALL of the
components of Windows, how much space should I use, I was
thinking around 5 gigs.

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP-Windows Shell/User\)]

No problem with what you want to do. If you move My Documents to another
drive, the system should see it, I keep mine on a separate drive. As to
size, figure XP will take about 1.5GB and figure you want to leave room for
the pagefile (XP swapfile) to grow to about that size if necessary. Then
consider the size of anything else might want to store on that drive as well
as whether or not you plan to use the hibernate function as that requires a
lot of space.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend

"Paul" > wrote in message
...
> I frequently goof around with my computer. This time it
> wasn't my fault that my computer is messed. So now, I'm
> gonna split my 80gig drive into three partitions (to make
> it eaisier to do a clean install of windows if i need to
> again. C for Windows - F for programs - G for User
> Files. Is it alright to do this, and can i simply tell
> Windows that the My Documuments, Program Files, Etc. are
> on a different partition. So basically, I'm asking, is
> there any thing i should be cautious of, and if so, how
> do I fix it? BTW, IF I wanted to use ALL of the
> components of Windows, how much space should I use, I was
> thinking around 5 gigs.
>

[Patrick Sargent]

For starters you should have no problem doing just what you want, that's how
my system is set up. However, give Windows a little more space, remember
you have cached files, virtual memory, and others I don't need to list that
Windows will want a little space for.....it's better to have and not need,
then to need and not have.......
"Paul" > wrote in message
...
> I frequently goof around with my computer. This time it
> wasn't my fault that my computer is messed. So now, I'm
> gonna split my 80gig drive into three partitions (to make
> it eaisier to do a clean install of windows if i need to
> again. C for Windows - F for programs - G for User
> Files. Is it alright to do this, and can i simply tell
> Windows that the My Documuments, Program Files, Etc. are
> on a different partition. So basically, I'm asking, is
> there any thing i should be cautious of, and if so, how
> do I fix it? BTW, IF I wanted to use ALL of the
> components of Windows, how much space should I use, I was
> thinking around 5 gigs.
>

[Sharon F]

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 13:27:44 -0700, "Paul" > wrote:

>I frequently goof around with my computer. This time it
>wasn't my fault that my computer is messed. So now, I'm
>gonna split my 80gig drive into three partitions (to make
>it eaisier to do a clean install of windows if i need to
>again. C for Windows - F for programs - G for User
>Files. Is it alright to do this, and can i simply tell
>Windows that the My Documuments, Program Files, Etc. are
>on a different partition. So basically, I'm asking, is
>there any thing i should be cautious of, and if so, how
>do I fix it? BTW, IF I wanted to use ALL of the
>components of Windows, how much space should I use, I was
>thinking around 5 gigs.

Sounds fine. Personally, I would recommend at least 10GB for the XP
partition. Five would be adequate but would not allow much room for the
inevitable growth that eventually happens on that drive.

Be aware that you can redirect My Documents, My Music and My whatever
but XP will still place the rest of the user account info on the Windows
drive under Documents and Settings. You can install all new programs
over to D:\Program Files easily enough but C:\Program Files will still
exist and contain an assortment of the small programs XP installs along
with Windows. The Program Files\Common Files folder will be on C: as
well.

Also, using the menus within eacy program you can redirect Outlook
Express' message store and Internet Explorer's browser cache. Check
other programs that store user data in a central location for similar
menus and settings.

Sharon F
MS MVP [Shell/User]