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Advice on how to organise files...

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ddlooping   02-13-2002 at 11:13:42 PM

Hi,

I just purchased a new system with 2 hard-drives.
XP is installed on the 40Gb one (my primary), and my other is a 60Gb one; both of them 7200rps.

I've never had a system with 2 hdds before and would appreciate any advice you could give me on how to organise files, apps,..., on them, for maximum efficiency and speed.

I'm a webdesigner amd use mainly Textpad, Dreamweaver, Flash, PHPDev and CorelDraw/Photopaint. I also surf the web regularly.

Thanks in advance,

ddlooping :)

"All that is not given is lost!"

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Arrow   02-13-2002 at 11:43:29 PM
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I'd probably convert them to NTFS, then use 15 or 20GB chunks for each partition.

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/canada/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048" target="_new">http://www.ncix.com/canada/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048</A></b>

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ddlooping   02-14-2002 at 12:34:29 AM
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Thanks Rob.

Could you be more specific as to where to put files, apps, pics?
Is it better to group programs with their associated files (ie, Textpad/Dreamweaver with .HTML, .PHP files; Flash with .FLA, .SWF files....) on the same hdd?
Or is it better to have programs on one hdd, and asociated files on the other?
What is the best possible organisation when multi-tasking?

Both the drives are NTFS.

ddlooping :)

"All that is not given is lost!"

Reply to ddlooping
camieabz   02-14-2002 at 01:52:32 AM
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You might want to partition the hard drive and then spread some of your stuff around. I have W98SE on C:, W2K on D:, Apps on E:, Games on G:, Spare H: (for allocating as necessary), and Backup images on I:

This might seem a bit much for you, I don't know. One thing to watch. If you have programs installed on seperate partitions, be careful about creating new partitions in between existing ones, cause the drive letters change, and unless you use Partition Magic's Drive Mapper or similar, your registry setting won't match your drives.

:cool: <b><font color=blue>The Cisco Kid</font color=blue></b> :cool:

Reply to camieabz
Spdy_Gonzales   02-14-2002 at 02:32:38 AM
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The location of the data files associated with programs does not affect the operation of the programs.

Based on the work you will be doing, I would think that a setup that facilitates backing up data would be primary. I would organize data files in sub-folders under one folder (such as 'My Documents' but perhaps with a more 'mature' title).

I would have two partitions on each drive. The first drive would have one partition for the operating system and programs (probably 3GB or 5GB max, depending on needs of programs), and the other partition would be for data files.

The second HDD would also have two partitions: one for a backup image of the operating system and programs, and the other for backup of the data files.

"If it weren't for the last minute, alot of things wouldn't get done"

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ddlooping   02-14-2002 at 03:07:52 AM
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You both suggest partioning my drives.
I hate to admit it but I don't know in what ways partioning hdds improves a system. :/
Spdy_Gonzales, your idea of using the 2nd hdd as basically a back-up of the 1st one is a good one, but I was thinking of using CD-RWs for backing up my files; what would be the pros&cons of each solutions?
As to installing XP on the 2nd drive too, any advantages in doing that? If yes, wouldn't that pause a registration problem as you are required to activate XP?

In any cases, thanks for the advice you've already gave me. :)

ddlooping :)

"All that is not given is lost!"

Reply to ddlooping
Spdy_Gonzales   02-14-2002 at 10:29:24 PM
- 0 +

The intention was to make an 'image' copy of the operating system and programs using software such as Norton Ghost or Drive2drive. If you ever have a problem starting windows you can use the image file to recreate your operating system, etc.

The reason for separate partitions for the operating system and data files is that the operating system generally requires frequent defragmentation, whereas data files do not. When you only have one partition the defrag process takes much longer, or so it seems to me, because the system is relocating the data files even when that is not necessary. Remember, I said that's the way it seems to me.

CD-RW's is a good way to back up files which will not be changing, such as MP3's. But I find it is much more convenient to use another HD for backing up...no media to insert in drives, labeling etc...but the greatest benefit is that it is so damn much faster.

"If it weren't for the last minute, alot of things wouldn't get done"

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ddlooping   02-14-2002 at 10:41:21 PM
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Thanks again for your suggestions, they do make sense. :)

ddlooping :)

"All that is not given is lost!"

Reply to ddlooping
btvillarin   02-15-2002 at 04:16:35 AM
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I'd just like to agree with <b>Spdy</b>. But, about the backing up...I'm not sure if I'd trust a hard drive for important files. I know it might be more convienent, but it'd still be so much better to back it up to CDRs. If you're not a hard-core user, once a week might be good enough for you for your data.

In my situation, I have one hard drive primarily for Windows XP (one partition). Then, a second larger one for the paging file and data (split into two partitions). The paging file is the first partition, so it's in the front of the drive, while the data is all the rest. Plus, I have Diskeeper set to run automatically with Frag Guard and Set It And Forget It.

<b>About organizing files:</b>
On my data partition, I have folders separated like "Documents", "Downloads", "Programs", "Drivers", "Website", "Music", etc. If you partition into a lot of drives, you might need to resize if you run out of space. This way, there's less hassle and worry of running out of space.

<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/btvillarin" target="_new">My Website</A>-<b>reorganized</b> & updated everyday

Reply to btvillarin
Spdy_Gonzales   02-15-2002 at 05:12:51 AM
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I understand what you are saying. I must admit that even though I like the convenience of backing up to another HD on a daily basis, I also frequently backup data files which have changed or are new, and which I really don't want to lose, onto CD-RW's and Zip disks. Let me put it this way: it is such a convenience to backup to another HD that one is not inclined to postpone doing a daily backup.

"If it weren't for the last minute, alot of things wouldn't get done"

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mbetea   02-15-2002 at 08:37:54 AM
- 0 +

a designer that can't organize :eek: .
hehe, no worries. you have to set it up whatever is comfortable for you. everyone is different. me i put win2000 on it's own 10gig partition, just the OS. friends of mine will just slap the OS all their apps and any data files on one big drive and run with it. it's what works for you so you can be productive. my setup is i have a 40gb with 2 partitions (10gb for OS and the rest for apps). then i have 3x60gb drives in raid0, i just keep it as one big drive. right now i have a cruddy old 10gb drive i use for backups, but it hardly does the job. soon i will grab an external firewire 80gb for backups.

[insert philosophical statement here]

Reply to mbetea
sjonnie   02-15-2002 at 08:41:58 PM
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Putting your operating system on one partition is very important. The reason for this is that this is the most likely drive to fail because it will experience the most I/Os. Putting programs in a separate partition is possible, but nonsense because if your OS fails to the extent that you need to reinstall, you will probably want to reformat and reinstall all the apps as well.
This I would reccommend. Put your 60G to hd0 (the 60Gb will be faster than the 40Gb) and your 40Gb to hd1. Parition hd0 into one ~30G partition for WinXP and apps and temp files and one ~29G partition.
Partition hd1 into 2. Make the 1st partition a swap space, say 2x your memory or about 1G. Specify this in your windows setup. This will give you the fastest swap space option. Make the 2nd partition ~29G, the same size as partition 2 on hd0. This you can make an active disk and mirror with partition 2 from hd1. This will give you good data saftey and faster data reads. The advantage of this over CDRWs is that your data is immeadiately backed up, your CDRW is only as good as the last time you burnt the CD. Your second harddrive is best for data because if your OS crashes and corrupts the disk file allocation table, your data will still be safe on hd1.

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ddlooping   02-15-2002 at 09:18:10 PM
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btvillarin, thanks for your suggestion but what the hell is a pagin file? :D



ddlooping :)

"All that is not given is lost!"

Reply to ddlooping
ddlooping   02-15-2002 at 09:23:47 PM
- 0 +

sjonnie, I already have XP and a few programs on the 40Gb drive. To do what you suggest I would have to re-format the 2 drives and reinstall the lot on the 60Gb one, no?
If that's the case I'm not sure I want to go through with that. :/
Also, what program would you suggest I use to partition my drives? (ease of use and price are the 2 most important criteria for me)
Thanks for all your advice and suggestions, guys. ;)
(even though some of them went right above my layman's head)

ddlooping :)

"All that is not given is lost!"

Reply to ddlooping
btvillarin   02-15-2002 at 09:30:54 PM
- 0 +

The only reason why I'm a little more paranoid than before is because that when my <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/btvillarin/Articles/hddilema.htm" target="_new">75GXP finally failed</A>, and my WD hard drive looked like it might follow, I've started to back up more frequently. I guess that's what an experience does to you...

I do have to agree with <b>sjonnie</b> how the programs and the OS should all be on one partition. If you have to reinstall the OS, you can't just shortcut them to your Start Menu (at least not most of them), right?

Anyways, I hope this was all enough for <b>ddlooping</b> to understand.

Here's a fairly long and informative article from Fred Langa about backups: <A HREF="http://www.langa.com/backups/backups.htm" target="_new">Fast, Easy Backups for Win98/ME/NT/2K/XP</A>

<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/btvillarin" target="_new">My Website</A>-<b>reorganized</b> & updated everyday

Reply to btvillarin
sjonnie   02-21-2002 at 09:48:14 PM
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Hi ddlooping,
there is away around your problem, Norton Ghost. Using this you can make an image of your system partition containng the system and all the installed program files you wish to use. Simply save this image to the disk you are going to swap <b>from</b>. Then swap your harddisks and format the new master disk using the WindowsXP installer. Reboot to XPcommand and run ghost to put your system back on your new harddisk. Tadaaa. Saves alot of hassle.

A paging file is where you computer writes information it can no longer keep in physical RAM (because its full). If you run any aps in XP you need >256Mb of RAM or your paging file will always busy. In any event, you shouldn't turn off your paging file unless you are confident you have enough RAM, (>1Gb).
You can specify the location and size of the paging file in XP in Control Panel/Performance and Maintenance/System/Advanced/Performace/Advanced/Virtual Memory. There you will see your hard drives. Put your virtual memory on the 1st partition of hd1 (hd0 is your master, hd1 the slave). Incidentally, make sure if you make a dedicated drive for virtual memory that you turn system restore off for this drive. You can find that in Control Panel/Performance and Maintenance/System/System Restore. Select the drive you want and turn the restore to 0%.

Reply to sjonnie
ddlooping   02-21-2002 at 10:36:20 PM
- 0 +

Thanks sjonnie, I'll try all that :)

ddlooping :)

"All that is not given is lost!"

Reply to ddlooping
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