i need advice on formatting & partitioning

[danhasmail]

hi all,
i'm currently useing:
Win Xp Pro SP2
Asus P4c 800e deluxe
P4 2.4c MHz cpu
1 Gb Corsair ram ( 2 - 512 in dual channel slots)
ati Radeon 9500 AGP 128 DDR
20 Gb Maxtor ide HDD

i was useing a 80 Gb Maxtor sata HDD. i had to take it out for a reason that doesn't matter here.
i want to put it back in now and was wondering ????
A.) what size partitions should i make? last time i had it 40 & 40. i had OS and programs i used alot on c: and stuff i didn't use much on d: but i don't know what the best way to do it is.
B.) what file system is best, fat 32 or NTFS? i was thinking NTFS
C.)should i format and partition useing win 98 start-up disk, or win xp on the HDD i'm useing now, or the MaxBlast 4 disk i downloaded from Maxtor website? or does it matter?
D.) and finally, i have a win xp pro. upgrade disk. it won't load from dos so i have to load it from windows. i have a full copy of win xp home and win 98se, should i use one of them first (and which one is best) or keep the HDD im useing now in and put the 80 HDD in as a 2nd drive and load it from the windows i'm useing now??

any feedback and info anyone can send me will be greatly appreciated.
you can post it here or e-mail me at danhasmail@yahoo.com or both so others can see your feedback also.
thank you in advance
danny

[Sir Mandrake]

A.) what size partitions should i make? last time i had it 40 & 40. i had OS and programs i used alot on c: and stuff i didn't use much on d: but i don't know what the best way to do it is.

How you partition a drive is just a matter of preference. Theres no wrong or right way to partition a drive. The only time you would be forced to partition a drive would be to overcome drive size limitations on older machines. My prefrence is to use 100% of the drives capacity as a single partiton, but theres no harm in splitting up a drive.

B.) what file system is best, fat 32 or NTFS? i was thinking NTFS

For windows NT, 2000 and XP - Always use NTFS

C.)should i format and partition useing win 98 start-up disk, or win xp on the HDD i'm useing now, or the MaxBlast 4 disk i downloaded from Maxtor website? or does it matter?


You can use windows storage manager to partition and format your drive. However, if you use maxblast it will be quicker, but you can use either method. It is not recommended to use Dos FDisk & Format unless you are installing win98.


D.) and finally, i have a win xp pro. upgrade disk. it won't load from dos so i have to load it from windows. i have a full copy of win xp home and win 98se, should i use one of them first (and which one is best) or keep the HDD im useing now in and put the 80 HDD in as a 2nd drive and load it from the windows i'm useing now??


As with any windows upgrade product, its going to want verification that you own a full copy of windows. Try installing the upgrade on a clean drive. It will probably ask you to instert the CD of a qualifiying product such as Windows 2000 pro, or winxp Home. If it doesnt, then install WIn Xp Home - (dont worry about patching) then install the upgrade on top. You should be set to go then.

Hope this helps, Good luck! :thumbsup: