New member with question about boot disk partition

A

asautt

New Member
Been lurking for a bit, just signed up. Built the system in my profile. I am learning Vista so will probably have lots of questions.

I originally loaded Vista 64 on a 65GB OZ SSD. Seemed to be quickly filling up without any major software load, so decided to put the OS on my 500GB drive. Put the page file on the SSD, and user folders on the 1TB data drive. I saw a couple of posts here saying that the OS will work better/faster on a smaller partition. What size partition would you recommend for Vista 64 on the 500GB drive?

Thanks
Alan
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    My Build/#1
    CPU
    Intel Corei7 920
    Motherboard
    ASUS P6T
    Memory
    6 GB Corsair Dominator oc1600
    Graphics card(s)
    (2) EVGA GTX260 SLI
    Sound Card
    on board Soundmax HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VX2236wm,VX2035wm,
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1500
    Hard Drives
    OCZ CORE_SSD 64 GB (Boot:System Drive) Segate SATA 500 (Programs/Page File/RestorePoints) Segate SATA 1 TB (Data Drive) 2 Fujitsu 75 GB SAS on MARVELL Raid VD 0 SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000W
    Case
    CoolerMaster CosmosS
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    air
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    Logitec wireless
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    Microsoft Wireless Laser 500
    Internet Speed
    ?
Well you are going to need around 20 gigs. I am not sure what vista itself requires, but it is good to have a little buffer for stuff. With a 500 gig hard drive, i would even give it 50, just because you can. If you want to experiment with the partition size, then have at it, just be sure to post the results so we can all learn.

~Lordbob
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5QC
    Memory
    2x2GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9500GT 1Gb
    Sound Card
    Mobo
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 206bw
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SP2514N ATA 250Gb 7200RPM Samsung [Model] 1Tb 7200RPM SATA2
    PSU
    Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W
    Mouse
    Razer Lachesis
    Keyboard
    Razer Tarantula
    Internet Speed
    not fast enough
Thanks Bob. A bit surprised with your answer as the 65GB drive was over 35%used with only the OS, drivers, OpenOffice, and a few utilities loaded. That's why I decided it wasn't enough to use as the C:/ drive. May have overreacted to how quickly it appeared to be filling up. Will try shrinking the volume to about 50-60 and see how it looks as I start to load more software.
Alan
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    My Build/#1
    CPU
    Intel Corei7 920
    Motherboard
    ASUS P6T
    Memory
    6 GB Corsair Dominator oc1600
    Graphics card(s)
    (2) EVGA GTX260 SLI
    Sound Card
    on board Soundmax HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VX2236wm,VX2035wm,
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1500
    Hard Drives
    OCZ CORE_SSD 64 GB (Boot:System Drive) Segate SATA 500 (Programs/Page File/RestorePoints) Segate SATA 1 TB (Data Drive) 2 Fujitsu 75 GB SAS on MARVELL Raid VD 0 SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000W
    Case
    CoolerMaster CosmosS
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    Logitec wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Laser 500
    Internet Speed
    ?
You're forgetting System Restore - which by default is enabled for the system drive. If you were to clear out older SR points you'd get a good bit of that space back.

By default SR is set to use 12% of the drive. Since the drive is 64GB, meaning roughly about 61 GB true capacity, then you're going to get SR using over 7 GB of space at any given moment when it gets full. And installing a lot of apps on a new system is *precisely* how a new HD always fills up.

FWIW, I never make my partitions larger than 60 GB for Vista system partitions - I install a lot of crap and usually have more than 25 GB free at any given moment. I do have a caveat though - I always install all games to a separate drive (so that they are not hampered by UAC). In addition, all of my Special folders are also moved to a separate drive.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System) Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree) 2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
OK, maybe I should revert back to plan A. I orginally had the 65GB ssd for the C:/ drive. Was going to use the 500GB for programs and OS backups, the 1TB hd for data storage, and the RAID 0 for HD video rendering (rendered video archived to a "safer" media). Put the relocatable user folders on the data drive and the page file maybe on 500GB drive. I know there are some programs that are only happy on the system drive, don't know exactly which ones though.

Don't plan on a lot of software. OpenOffice, IE, gotta have AOL and Yahoo messenger for the wife :rolleyes:, Sony Vegas Pro for video editing, a photo editor. Not much of a gamer ... will probably dust off FlightSimX now that I have a machine that will run it and FS1 (a model aircraft filght sim) would be about the extent of the games. Other than that just a few little thing like Rosetta Stone, home and hobby inventory apps, and your normal utilities.

Any advice on how to set this system up to best utilize the drives and other resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Alan
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    My Build/#1
    CPU
    Intel Corei7 920
    Motherboard
    ASUS P6T
    Memory
    6 GB Corsair Dominator oc1600
    Graphics card(s)
    (2) EVGA GTX260 SLI
    Sound Card
    on board Soundmax HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VX2236wm,VX2035wm,
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1500
    Hard Drives
    OCZ CORE_SSD 64 GB (Boot:System Drive) Segate SATA 500 (Programs/Page File/RestorePoints) Segate SATA 1 TB (Data Drive) 2 Fujitsu 75 GB SAS on MARVELL Raid VD 0 SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000W
    Case
    CoolerMaster CosmosS
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    Logitec wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Laser 500
    Internet Speed
    ?
asautt said:
Been lurking for a bit, just signed up. Built the system in my profile. I am learning Vista so will probably have lots of questions.

I originally loaded Vista 64 on a 65GB OZ SSD. Seemed to be quickly filling up without any major software load, so decided to put the OS on my 500GB drive. Put the page file on the SSD, and user folders on the 1TB data drive. I saw a couple of posts here saying that the OS will work better/faster on a smaller partition. What size partition would you recommend for Vista 64 on the 500GB drive?

Thanks
Alan
Click to expand...

I have my Vista x64 Ultimate installed onto an 80GB Seagate, along with programs and games.

Most of my user folders are redirected to other hard disks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
    Motherboard
    ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi
    Memory
    2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SAHARA 21"
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80GB Seagate (I) 2 x 120GB Seagate (I/S) 2 x 200GB Seagate (I/S) 2 x 250GB Seagate (I/S)
    PSU
    800W
    Case
    Thermaltake Tai-Chi
    Cooling
    Tai-Chi Water Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    Genius
    Internet Speed
    384kbps
    Other Info
    Currently dual booting between Vista x64 Ultimate Windows 7 BETA x64
asautt said:
OK, maybe I should revert back to plan A. I orginally had the 65GB ssd for the C:/ drive. Was going to use the 500GB for programs and OS backups, the 1TB hd for data storage, and the RAID 0 for HD video rendering (rendered video archived to a "safer" media). Put the relocatable user folders on the data drive and the page file maybe on 500GB drive. I know there are some programs that are only happy on the system drive, don't know exactly which ones though.

Don't plan on a lot of software. OpenOffice, IE, gotta have AOL and Yahoo messenger for the wife :rolleyes:, Sony Vegas Pro for video editing, a photo editor. Not much of a gamer ... will probably dust off FlightSimX now that I have a machine that will run it and FS1 (a model aircraft filght sim) would be about the extent of the games. Other than that just a few little thing like Rosetta Stone, home and hobby inventory apps, and your normal utilities.

Any advice on how to set this system up to best utilize the drives and other resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Alan
Click to expand...

Your original plan already sounds optimal to me. The OS and apps on the SSD is going to be by far the most advantageous.

Dzomlija said:
asautt said:
Been lurking for a bit, just signed up. Built the system in my profile. I am learning Vista so will probably have lots of questions.

I originally loaded Vista 64 on a 65GB OZ SSD. Seemed to be quickly filling up without any major software load, so decided to put the OS on my 500GB drive. Put the page file on the SSD, and user folders on the 1TB data drive. I saw a couple of posts here saying that the OS will work better/faster on a smaller partition. What size partition would you recommend for Vista 64 on the 500GB drive?

Thanks
Alan
Click to expand...

I have my Vista x64 Ultimate installed onto an 80GB Seagate, along with programs and games.

Most of my user folders are redirected to other hard disks.
Click to expand...

Some of mine are - I don't move all the User tree, nor the Program Files tree - only the movable special folders, like Desktop, Contacts, Documents, etc.

Then again, those are the bulk of my stuff - because these same folders have made it with me since back in Windows 2000, altogether those 8 or so special folders contain well over 300 GB of stuff....
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System) Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree) 2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
Well, back to plan A it is then. I sure did like the speed of loading and logging in off that SSD when I had it set up that way. Just have to keep the restore points under control I guess.
Tue/Wed is my "weekend" so will have time to get all in order before loading this thing up from scratch for the third (or fourth) time.

Alan
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    My Build/#1
    CPU
    Intel Corei7 920
    Motherboard
    ASUS P6T
    Memory
    6 GB Corsair Dominator oc1600
    Graphics card(s)
    (2) EVGA GTX260 SLI
    Sound Card
    on board Soundmax HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VX2236wm,VX2035wm,
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1500
    Hard Drives
    OCZ CORE_SSD 64 GB (Boot:System Drive) Segate SATA 500 (Programs/Page File/RestorePoints) Segate SATA 1 TB (Data Drive) 2 Fujitsu 75 GB SAS on MARVELL Raid VD 0 SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000W
    Case
    CoolerMaster CosmosS
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    Logitec wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Laser 500
    Internet Speed
    ?
Sorry we couldn't get your problem completely solved, though it sounds like we did get it fixed.

~Lordbob
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5QC
    Memory
    2x2GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9500GT 1Gb
    Sound Card
    Mobo
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 206bw
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SP2514N ATA 250Gb 7200RPM Samsung [Model] 1Tb 7200RPM SATA2
    PSU
    Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W
    Mouse
    Razer Lachesis
    Keyboard
    Razer Tarantula
    Internet Speed
    not fast enough
Nothing to be sorry about Bob, wasn't really a problem.....just trying to figure out how to best utilize the resources I have. And I think we have accomplished that, at least equal to the point where I am on the learning curve. I was worried that Vista was too big to run on a 65GB drive. It looks like it can be done with good management. Look forward to learning a lot more :geek:.

Alan
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    My Build/#1
    CPU
    Intel Corei7 920
    Motherboard
    ASUS P6T
    Memory
    6 GB Corsair Dominator oc1600
    Graphics card(s)
    (2) EVGA GTX260 SLI
    Sound Card
    on board Soundmax HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VX2236wm,VX2035wm,
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1500
    Hard Drives
    OCZ CORE_SSD 64 GB (Boot:System Drive) Segate SATA 500 (Programs/Page File/RestorePoints) Segate SATA 1 TB (Data Drive) 2 Fujitsu 75 GB SAS on MARVELL Raid VD 0 SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000W
    Case
    CoolerMaster CosmosS
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    Logitec wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Laser 500
    Internet Speed
    ?
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