New XPHE install, Partition Advice

[flyingsolo]

I'm doing a fresh install of XPHE on 250GB drive and have read about advantages of partitioning drive to keep OS separate from Programs and Files. My question is how big to make the various partitions? How much drive space does the OS require/prefer? Give the rest to programs & files or subdivide these and again how big do I make the partitions? I'm also curious to leave some experimental space for a Linux distro.
Also, is NFTS the preferred file system or FAT32? Are there reasons for one over the other?
Many Thanks!

[Panama Red]

NTFS is preferred.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/d...and_fat32.mspx

Keep the programs on the same partition as the operating system. No advantage to putting them somewhere else cuz they are integrated in the registry.

Make the primary partition 15 - 20 Gb depending on the size and number of programs you typically install. Use Window explorer to Move your My Documents file (which will include My Pics and My Music) to a separate partiton after the os is fully installed and updated. You can Create all the partitons using the XP disk during the intial install.