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partitioning first time - checklist (cleaning, backup, tools, etc)
Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,
Along with the OS thread, which got me thinking.
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=17737.0
OS Re-install Tips?
So what about someone partitioning for the first time ?. And concerned not to be blindsided (hearing various stories of the occasional missing partition, trashed disk, MBR manipulations, and whatever). Preparing for the 1% difficulty, also learning good practices at the same time.
How is this for a checklist ?
(Much of this can apply to any low-level activity, or a general cleanup and system review.)
DECISIONS
* XP vs lower-level Partition tool
* Which partition tools to use - install and play w/o update (& burn to CD or put on USB as appropriate)
* Decide on number of partitions and sizes and their file types
* Decide on boot manager, if multi-boot is planned
* Settle on data backup (many good alternatives) and/or image (more sensitive) backup programs
OS RESTORE CDS AND UTILITIES
* Look for mfgr XP CDs and keep phone #s and serial #s handy
* NLite or other XP CD alternatives (Plan B to mfgr CD and good idea in general)
* Bart-PE type CD available and working
* Consider USB alternatives to CD, test booting if used
XP REGISTRATION (if an issue)
* Possible preemptive Microsoft contact to verify XP license
* Use registration save help pages, if appropriate
SECURITY SCANS (optional good time for enhanced scan activity)
* Your normal full scans
* Malwarebytes, A2 & more tools (follow up but avoid getting bogged down in the false positives)
LOCAL AND REMOTE BACKUP AND CONTACT POINT
* Net accounts used and comfy (e.g FileFactory, DriveHQ, Dropbox) to hold info, double-save some stuff
* Local puter for net contact when down, and can hold info - (Plan B, friends, library)
* Backup media - e.g. removable hard drive, USB
SAVE SYSTEM INFO
* Basic info -- e.g. Belarc --with XP#s -- to print/net/usb/backup
* Keep Serial #s of installed software is available at backup points, and list of installed software
SYSTEM INTEGRITY
* CHKDSK (e.g. Gparted can choke if Windows has unfixed disk errors)
* maximize PTF -- eg. SP3
CLEANUP
* Early backup and/or image before cleaning (e.g. normal daily)
* Clean disk (eg. CCleaner) temp files etc - using utilities and any additional hand work.
* Good time for any special cleanup (see note below)
* Special note - this is not a good time for "registry cleaning" (unless previously an established routine)
* When done -- empty the recycle bin
SYS/REGISTRY DEFRAG
* Defrag and compact registry, page and sys files (PageDefrag), (ERUNT before and after)
(only what is your normal practice, can be skipped entirely)
DATA BACKUP
* Setup special folder/sub to hold special backup prep areas, easy to see on backup disk
* Backup Registry w/ERUNT
* Backup current drivers (allowing one-by-one restore on an as-needed basis)
* Special backups e.g Firefox extensions FEBE, Desktop Saves
* Windows Scheduler - at least note of current status, pic of what is there (not sure of backup method)
* Final report backup logs (e.g. Belarc, SiSandra, Installed Program Printer) placed in their save folders
* Any special security and password info saved
* Review that your backup program picks up all essential files from daily app usage.
* Backup data files
IMAGE BACKUP
* Turn off System Restore if on
* Defrag (optional)
* Backup Image (2 is better than 1 - verification difficult)
* Turn on System Restore if you use it
PREPARE AND GO AND RUN
* Defrag with file placement
* Create Partitions
* Verification and test of new setup, use multiple tools to check they see system
* Install any new OS, move any data, create any recovery partitions, etc.
* Begin daily use
=================================
Some notes.
==========================================
Cleanup:
Partition time -- a good time to read and do once-in-a-blue-moon cleanup.
One example:. C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution (and the same name in the system 32 folder) is very deletable, likely by hand, perhaps turning off MS auto-update when on - or that caveat may be Vista-only. On my system it is 100 MB. Also a good time to use a good disk-tree software to see the things worth deleting and checking. Generally, I would delete l my downloaded files in temp folders for installs at this time, keeping the folder structure I set up.
Or you might have humongous log files of which you are unawares. Be sure that you see hidden files visible if you want to do a full analysis and study, and be careful. An example of a helpful article.
http://www.optimizingpc.com/optimize/deletefiles.html
Disk Cleanup: deleting unnecessary files
Oh, if you are not sure of a delete, better rename the folder, make a note, you can delete later after reboots.
=========================================
Backup
Decide between data and image per your practices, a data backup is always a helpful auxiliary, even if you image. The simplest is, space available, a non-compressed data backup where the files are fully individually viewable and tested in restore. No matter how superior imaging may be for a particular installation for speed and fullness of backup, it generally will not be as reliable and verifiable and flexible for small and specific needs as simply a straight file save and restore. (I am not sure if any image software has gotten to the point of similar flexibility when used for simple restore mode, eg. allowing a dual pane explorer mode of the files within the image.)
==========================================
Partition Choices
XP (Partition Master, Easeus etc) and lower-level partition (GParted, Linux tools Grub, etc) is a fundamental decision, they can be combined yet have nuances. Discussions on the Linux forums especially can help in preparation, and they indicate that XP tools are limited in utility. Here is a sample discussion.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=347275
Partitioning for XP/Ubuntu dual boot
==========================================
Tool Savvy for Linux Partition
Free tools mentioned as very savvy for Linux partition work :
gparted cd
livecd (with ntfstools with ntfsresize )
Apparently there are some limitations from some XP tools as to how well they will set up partitions for a Linux install.
There are also questions about primary and logical partitions, extended partitions and such. One idea that is especially interesting is a "FAT32 shared OS drive" that can hold data for multiple OS, within that partition you could set up a directory for XP-only data, a directory for Linux-only data, and a directory for shared data.
==========================================
DEFRAG DISK
And I am still researching which is the best defrag to use before partition. How much difference it makes, what settings and such. And e.g. whether a simple defrag like Auslogics will be acceptable in clearing space if the disk is only 25%-35% full.
==========================================
SYSTEM RESTORE
My understanding is that System Restore points can be a bear for drive image software.
Ergo, above -- turn off, image, turn on.
==========================================
OS HOLDS DATA EXAMPLE - HOSTS FILE
An example of changeable (user-defined) data kept in the operating system section.
The hosts file.
==============================
Your thoughts ? I'll modify the above as needed.
Shalom,
Steven Avery
cmpm:
For cleaning temp files, and more.
You can use these tools.
ATF-Cleaner-
http://www.atribune.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=25
Cleanup!-
http://www.stevengould.org/index.php?Itemid=69&id=15&option=com_content&task=view
With Cleanup! you can add folders to the cleaning job.
Like 'SoftwareDistribution/Download'. And whatever folder you want to.
After cleaning you will be prompted to log off or restart to delete some files.
40hz:
@Partitioning Tools:
The open source Partition Magic Parted Magic is one of the best general purpose disk tools available. Version 4.0 has just been released, and in keeping with tradition, each new version has gotten better.
Info & download here: http://partedmagic.com/
Partition Magic Parted Magic was designed to be a bootable front-end for a few dozen tools for dealing with hard drives. The selection of included tools is fairly extensive and covers such things as disk information, partition management, formatting, cloning, and data recovery.
Most people download this 70-odd megabyte iso to use the excellent GParted utility mentioned earlier in this thread. GParted allows you to partition and format drives with just about any filesystem you've heard of. But this CD also has quite a few other useful tools well worth getting to know. So do yourself a favor and explore everything this toolkit has to offer. GParted may be the 'crown jewel' in the lineup - but you'll be missing out on a lot if you don't at least have a look around the disk.
Once the tool of choice for all the Linux-freaks (like me ;)) it has since become a standard found in many a 'Windows-only' technician's tool kit.
You want this tool. Download it! :Thmbsup:
8)
---
For screenshots and a very good review of Parted Magic 4.0, visit Distrowatch.com
Article link: http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20090406#feature
---
<EDIT: corrected product name. Thanks to Steven Avery for pointing out my mistake below. Next time I promise I'll drink at least one cup of coffee before posting anything. :-[>
MilesAhead:
* Decide on number of partitions and sizes and their file types
--- End quote ---
If you install more than one flavor of Windows and all NTFS partitions(as in where programs are installed) are visible to each other, you may get some unpleasant interactions. Also older versions of Visual Studio used to be quite the pita when trying to run with more than one Windows. Don't know if they fixed it since the instances of VS 2008 that I have installed are on C: partition only.
Having a separate application partition can give similar hassles depending how they store their settings.
Aside from OS considerations, registry etc.. if you have a gulf between executables and data on the same physical drive you can get thrashing.
I'm not experienced with RAID but with standard type disks a good rule of thumb, where possible, is separate physical drive for OS and executables, swap, and data. That way disk seeks go concurrently on separate physical media, no thrashing. If you have sufficient memory to run with no swap, then you can follow that scheme with only 2 drives. It assumes that one drive isn't vastly faster than the other(s) of course.
Also you may find the more interactions between the various OS, the more that's likely to get broken when stuff happens. Pull out the block on the bottom, the whole pile topples. Although that's less of a concern these days with cheap external drives and disk imaging backup. Still, it's a consideration.
I did the bit before with OS separated from apps on the same drive and it was always touch and go how small to keep the OS partition to avoid thrashing when seeking to the app partition, while still allowing for Windows sneaky expansion of the system partition when you install stuff.
The other thing is how stable is your setup? Are you going to play around with installing a different flavor of the month OS? Install lots of doodad and trinket apps all the time? Or is it a dedicated setup to particular stable tasks?
For me, unless I'm going to put another OS on the disk, I just run it lean as a single partition with no swap. Keep it defragged, clean off the junk frequently. Put large junk I want to save over to external drives.
Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,
40hz, I was planning to try Parted Magic (two places above you call it "Partition Magic" .. another product) as the super-GParted, so thanks for the thread reference, I am leaning in that direction rather than an XP-begun method.
MilesAhead, I agree, I do not have any plans to have more than one OS of Windows. (One is enough.) Talking dual-boot to me means mostly XP and Linux. Similarly a lot of your thrashing concerns deal with dual-disk placmement, most XP systems come with one big disk. I agree that separating apps from OS on one drive is too much finagling for a home system, the only thing I would put on an independent drive is raw data .. like 15 Gb of email and directories of .pdf and .jpg .. that has no relationship to program files (swap file being either here or there, a minor issue, especially in a large mem puter).
I do agree that two OS sharing a data partition is not something to do lightly. However as a test for some small SQL-database-type app it could be rather fascinating.
My idea is towards stability. I have one partition now I am thinking one for Windows and apps and miscellany, one for selected Windows 100% data files (this is optional), and one for Linux. This is the purpose. If the Linux works well, it will stay, and I will use other puters for major tinkerings, like comparing three Linux versions against BSD and the Kitchen Sink.
Since it is a dedicated system, that is one reason why I decided to spell out a comprehensive step-by-step prep chef method above.
Shalom,
Steven
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