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So I previously purchased a computer and it came with 2 partitions. Well actually more like 4 in this order from outer track to inner track: one is a hidden recovery partition, one is Windows - C, one is Data D, and one is another hidden recovery partition. Now this brought the topic back up and I mulled it over again. I was interested in what you guys think because there are many different facets to this question and it would be good to get a topic going for less computer savvy members. We can attack it with anything from backup, fragmentation, segregation, speed, wear or whatever else you can think of. So partitioning yay or nay?

 

I have done so in the past, good for dual booting or even triple booting etc. Windows / Linux / OSX at one time or another have all shared the same hdd. No partitions on my current hdd, sample libraries are stored on external drives, and I now use Virtualbox or USB pen drives to play with Linux and OSX, and most Linux distros will run quite happily from a cd. I really hate it when manufacturers include secret partitions for backup/recovery, and do not supply a cd/dvd for that purpose. When the drive goes pop then the backup partition is totally useless. So My answer at this time is NO. May change again in the future though.

 

i used to in the old days but with disks being so cheap its just less bother to buy extra drives, externally or internally.

 

I agree with SirSillySausage

only thing I would do different,can not remember the name of the
program, but it will partition the drive so you can put the partition
starting on the outer edge, to increase read speeds,do not know
if it would matter on the newer drives with high density platters

this seems to be a good read on the subject

http://partition.radified.com/

 

hello,

this here me seems to remember (which is actually not much to say but even so) to having read about ntfs disk partitioning (sorry, it happened some while, like ages, ago)... *yes*
the article clearly stated that because of the file storage database sizes on, say, the half or one or two terabytes sized disks, partitioning is better for (somewhat) faster access... *yes*
with linux, osx, formatted disks, it is more of user, usage, preference (the approaches of the file systems possibly used by such systems seems, to put it mildly, loads healthier, from all possible usage aspects)... *yes*
still, for me, there is one task, the one of searching for information on the same topic for ssd storage units (having plans in the future for trying to use these for more than as system disks, it will be certainly unavoidable, even if with the present hardware situation, it is easy to be postponed)... *yes*
have had only one system (one of those approved by certain company, custom built by another) with hidden recovery partition, as my first task (also as breach of contract, loss of guarancy), have modified it by reformatting, reinstalling everything, to my great contentment (also to their great disapprovement)... *yes*
as stated before me, because of multibooting needs, there is no more use for partitioning (then again, it seems to be more defined by the main operating system used on, with, the disk in question)... *yes*
the whole thing is, at least for me, seems to be continuously evolving, changing, with operating systems, with storage hardware, as contributing or defining factors, but most certainly, these are the best times for questions... *yes*

all right, gum beating mode off, all the best, keep up with the questioning of everything...

later edit, what korgrog mentioned, could be done without any program helping with the task, at least under the experience version of all windows releases, with the added complication of the later usage of disk manager for the forced renaming of partitions (then if used as some outer disk drive, repeating the process from the operating system in question... phew... the weight of those times)... *yes*

all the best, will shut up (promise)...

 

I was hoping for more responses before I gave my own evaluation of the subject. I'll give it a little more time. Looking for specific discussion on some key areas such as those that I listed. Let me give you an example: because of how hard discs work the outer track will always be the fastest so partitioning ensures that your OS will always be responsive and located in this key area. nadirtozenith gave this response, I'm just developing on it because I've put thought into it before.

 

hello, audiolovers,

trying to be more elaborate on partitioning the hard disk drive so that the operating system could be placed on the outer, meaning faster, part, nearing the edge, of the platter... *yes*

- under our above already mentioned experience version of all windows releases, in disk manager (or from prompt window, fdisk), define the size for the intended, for example, e: drive, then the intended d: drive, then the intended system drive, hopefully c: drive (use the 1024 multiplier for exact sizes)
- this will result in...
drive c: in the place of the intended drive e:
drive d: in the place of drive d:
drive e: in the place of drive c:
- never mind, there is the possibility of defining no letter for all the drives as the first step then giving them their letter as originally conceived
- define your new drive c: as system drive (boot drive)
voila, that is all (well, all the partitions need yet the formatting step)... *yes*

---8<---snip---
later edit, this here self of mine has fucked this up somewhat, because the operating system uses drive d: as the default optical drive... *yes*
so, first, one can define the optical drive as drive z: or whatever (then in the system registry redefine all installation sources as such), so all will be well (not some really real fuck up in truth)... *yes*
---8<---snip---

this here me has done this only under our so loved (or so hotly despised) experience version of all those microsoft beauties... *yes*
the method has (at least) one drawback, namely that all other systems, operating systems, will think that the drive letters are in backwards order (because the order of their creation is what seems to count), so if one later has to use the disk drive partitioned this way as an outer drive or with new operating system or with new clean install, the process of re-lettering the logical drives from disk manager must be repeated... *yes*
network connections seem to use the system registry for defining the letters for drives, so there is no problem with the approach... *yes*

well, after re-reading, all of the above seems, at least for me, as being more in the way of step by step instructions, more understandable...

being, as always, the court jester of the emperor of utopia, this here self of mine thanks you for yer kind attention, tries to wish you all the best (with more or less success)...