Other Should I partition my new HDD?

[WaveDemon]

I'm installing windows 7 on a 2tb hard drive. Should I partition for speed or ease of reinstalling windows at a later date? If I have a partition for just the OS and programs what is a normal partition size?

I also have a 1.8 tb drive for backing up my media files so there will be no need for that this new 2 tb drive.

 

[WaveDemon]

Here is how I'm leaning for now, I'll set aside an os + program partition (100 - 200 gb?) so that I can clone it to a SSD in the future without having to go through what I am now. Who knows SSD's my be super cheap and huge by the time I'm ready for one anyway making this all irrelevant.

 

[MADMAT]

I run a 64GB SSD for Windows, Office 2010, Battlefield 3......and 2x2TB drives for data. I would do it that way now..... you will never look back!!!!


If not...you can partition any way you like but I would run one partition and skip any cloning. It will be cake to re-install windows anytime on anything...just keep a CD of your drivers (and Chrome and CCleaner if you want) and that is all. Cloning or imaging is not a good way to go IMO. It doesn't always work...hell it hardly ever works!!... (actually it works nice if you are using it in a corporate environment with dozens or hundreds of the exact same machine) especially when going from your current 2TB SATA hard drive over to a SSD of whatever size it will be.


Reloading Win 7 or 8 on a SSD is super super fast so I wouldn't put 2 seconds of worry in to that part of it...

 

[MADMAT]

I almost always go newegg but I like this deal today...

http://www.microcenter.com/product/...te_Drive_(SSD)_with_SandForce_2281_Controller

 

[Matt_E]

2TB eh?

Heh, I just got an i7 laptop that came with a 1TB. I tore that out before I even turned the laptop on and put a 256GB SSD in there. LOVE IT. Absolutely silent and nice & fast.
Pretty much using it only for Matlab programming and other engineering stuff.

I need to get an external enclosure for the 1TB and use it for media storage for the xbox.

 

[thrasher204]

never partition it for recovery run separate drives, if the drive goes bad you lose everything. i definitely recommend an SSD for the main OS and hdds for storage. i run a Samsung 840 series SSD for my OS and 2 2tb drives for the rest of my data.