Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
> On 02/22/10 05:08 pm, Daave wrote:
>
>>> All I have on C: is the OS itself and apps that refused to install
>>> to D:, which is my Apps drive. All my downloaded stuff is on E:,
>>> backups on X:.
>>
>> In the event that you wind up performing a Clean Install, make sure
>> C: is at least 50GB. Also, it is important to have the OS and all the
>> applications on C:. Almost all of your programs will have
>> preferences, associated registry keys, etc. on the C: partition, so
>> you might as well keep it all together. And should you wish to
>> create images of C: for disaster recovery purposes (highly
>> recommended), you will be all set. 
>
> I've been caught too many times by programs that save data in the
> program directory. If that's on C: and I have to reinstall the OS --
> including reformatting C: -- I've often lost data as well.
I shall repeat:
And should you wish to create images of C: for disaster recovery
purposes (highly recommended), you will be all set.
This means you would have a little time machine of sorts. Nothing will
ever be lost again (okay, 99.9% chance). And you will be able to restore
the exact configuration of everything on your partition(s).
> In one
> case I installed a new version of a program without uninstalling the
> old one; unbeknown to me the new version was using the data file
> originally created by the earlier version; then when I uninstalled
> the old version the data file disappeared too.
>
> Even now I have programs that -- even though installed on D: -- insist
> on storing configuration and data files in C:\Documents and
> Settings\\Application Data\\ rather than
> in the application's own directory (or a subdirectory thereof) or in
> the folder I have defined as "My Documents" (not on C.
And that is why I suggested you make sure *all* the programs are
installed to C:, rather than to two partitions. If you install a program
to D: but Windows insists on placing its Application Data on C:, you
wind up with a confusing mess. Simply use C: for the OS and all the
apps. Easy as pie.
Also, My Documents (no matter which partition it points to) should be
used for data only -- data that stands alone; not the stuff associated
with the OS and its updates and installed programs or their associated
"Application Data." I mean all your documents, spreadsheets, e-mails,
photos, videos, etc. Actually, *installation files* for programs may
reside in a folder in My Documents as well.
>> D: can be for *all* your data. You may have a "downloaded stuff"
>> folder on it if you wish.
>>
>> I would not have a backup partition on the same drive (if the hard
>> drive is toast, you will have also lost your backup!). An external
>> hard drive should be used for this purpose.
>
> X: is a separate hard disk.
This is a good. Better, of course, is if this separate hard disk is
external to the PC.