SSD Partition Plan

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by Larry Paul, Jun 29, 2018.

  1. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    I'm buying a new laptop with a 512 GB SSD and a 1 TB hard drive. I was wondering if the following partition plan is good or not.

    SSD 512 GB - 50 GB - OS >400 GB - Games

    hard disk 1 TB - Archive and OS Disk Images

    My reasoning for this plan is if I ever have to refresh or reinstall the OS, my very many games and other "keeps" would not be erased; I would not have to reinstall them; and not having to restore a disk image would save time.

    Restoring a saved disk image is a good option unless they contain something you find hard to remove like an an antivirus or other system altering program.

    Good plan or not so good. Opinions please.

    Thanks.
     
  2. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Larry, you may have to re-install those games no matter what. Some games keep their "guts" (internal settings, etc.) in the OS partition... all that would be lost when the OS was refreshed.
     
  3. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    Thanks Froggy. When I attempt to play the game on Steam, it will automatically insert the needed files and references that were lost. The large major files will not have to be downloaded again. I place my Steam folder in the Game partition on my desktop. I've restored my OS several times with the above results.

    I was hoping that someone could tell me if partitioning the SSD in the manner described in my earlier post would be a good idea? I've never partitioned a SSD.

    Thanks
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2018
  4. beethoven

    beethoven Registered Member

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    Larry, are you quite sure that 50 gb is enough for your OS plus essentials? On my pc I usually need a bit more with Windows OS, office and the main programs installed. Keep in mind that MS will need some extra space (for roll back purposes) each time the OS gets updated.
     
  5. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    hey there lp
    for my money, you better allocate at least 100 gb to os partition.
     
  6. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    Okay, thanks. 100 MB OS it is. :)
     
  7. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Larry,

    My sons have a similar partitioning scheme to your proposal. 100 GB partition for the OS and the remaining SSD partition for Program Files (installed games). If your SSD Program Files partition starts to run out of space you can then install games to your HD. Each partition will need to be imaged (not data backup) if it contains Program Files. So have two partitions on the HD. One for backups/archives.

    Edit... Plan on restoring an OS image rather than reinstalling the OS. If you reinstall the OS you will have to reinstall every game and app.

    Edit... your laptop will probably already contain 4 or 5 partitions. You could let us see a screenshot of Disk Management if you would like fine tuning advice of the partitions.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2018
  8. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    Thanks Brian. Still waiting on Dell to ship it. Your sons had the same idea - great minds think alike or something like that.
     
  9. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Larry, my sons have Dells too.

    Are you familiar with Win10 installed on a GPT disk? UEFI mode.
     
  10. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    Yep. I don't use GPT because I rarely need to borrow space from other drives. I am currently using Legacy. I just checked and I am not able to use UEFI. Thought I was heh heh. I suppose the laptop will come with GPT because of the extra partitions Dell places on the OS drive. So, I don't use GPT for my desktop but it looks like I'll be using it on my laptop.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2018
  11. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Yes, Microsoft make it compulsory for Dells (and other brand names) to have Win10 installed on a GPT disk with Secure Boot enabled. I like UEFI systems.
     
  12. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    Just received an email from Dell. It said, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, your order will take longer to process and ship than previously estimated. . . . ."

    Just because they had to install a 512 GB SSD, I guess they're either shorthanded or they messed up the upgrade. Oh well, at least it's still coming - I hope. I ordered it 24 June and thought for sure it would be here by now.

    As soon as it arrives, I'll post the "drive management" picture.

    Thanks
     
  13. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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  14. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    I guess there is no fine tuning so, thanks anyway.
     
  15. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Larry, that's all I'd do. Resize Win10 to 100 GB and create a Data partition in the 360 GB of Free Space. Use DATA (D: ) for your backups.

    There is a hidden Microsoft Reserved partition between the EFI System partition and Win10 which doesn't show in Disk Management. You will note the 467 MB partition is Partition 4.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2018
  16. Larry Paul

    Larry Paul Registered Member

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    Thanks Brian. That's exactly what I did. It works great. The only thing negative with my new Alienware R4 is it weighs a ton. It may be a notebook but I can't imagine carrying it around with me. Just a heads up for anyone thinking of buying one.
     
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