recommended partition size(s) for 20 gb hdd

[USArmySGT]

this is my first posting here at sysopt. I have a 20 gb hdd in my laptop and i wanted to know what partion size(s) would give the best performance. i dont plan on dual booting, and really it doesnt matter if i have everything on one partition...where-as some people like to have their "storage" area on a seperate partition.
thanks
SGT R

[SEALTEAMTHREE]

For a 20 GB drive, you really don't need to partition it unless you're going to using NTFS (If you have windows NT/2000/XP) and want to be able to share files with people who use FAT 32 (NTFS and FAT 32 are File Allocation Tables, which determines how the drive stores data).

[Psycho Logical]

You can click these references for some ideas:

Partitioning, Partition Sizes and Drive Lettering
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/part.htm

FAT Partition Efficiency: Slack
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partSlack-c.html

Relationship of Partition Size and Cluster Size
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partCluster-c.html

Using Partitioning with Hard Disks Over 2 GB
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partOver2GB-c.html

Using Partitioning to Reduce Slack
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partReduceSlack-c.html

Partition Size Tradeoff
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partTradeoff-c.html

Do More Partitions Keep the Disk "Organized"?
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partOrganized-c.html

PS -- Welcome & Thanks to you and all our armed service personnel.

[Rugor]

Personally I'd go with two partitions on that Hard drive if it's the only one you've got. I'd put the OS on C:\ and your data files on D:\. That way if you do have to reinstall your OS you can reformat without worrying about your music, pictures or other data.

[Rugor]

Also this will give a minor performance boost because your OS partition will be in the outer part of the platters allowing for better transfer rates.

[USArmySGT]

Thanks for the help i guess i will go with 2 partitions and take it from there. thanks again.
SGT R

[Psycho Logical]

You waste some space with partitions larger than 8GB.

[DragoonEl]

Rugor
Personally I'd go with two partitions on that Hard drive if it's the only one you've got. I'd put the OS on C:\ and your data files on D:\. That way if you do have to reinstall your OS you can reformat without worrying about your music, pictures or other data.

I agree with Rugor for doing so. I too do the same thing, and not worrying about backing up when things happen.

But when you partiton you will lose some harddisk space due to overheads. And the more you partition, the more you lose.

[RayH]

A 4 or 5 GB partition for Windows and APPLICATIONS should be sufficent. Put games and files on D:\. Also if you partition, you can use Ghost or Drive Image 5.0 and store the C image on D! I've restored my computer in a matter of a few minutes this way!