Managing files

[Charles]

I have a 20G drive which I partitioned:
C:2G
d:6G
e:6G
f:6G

I partitioned like this with the idea of being able to use the drives for different applications.

c: for win98, windows files and downloads
d: for games(hardly ever use them)
e: for programs
f: napster files and pictures

My problem is my c: is full and the others have plenty of space. Biggest files on c: are: 1.My Documents with
619MB, here I have a file "office2.pxi" with an Acrobat icon that is 610MB, when I try opening it windows tells me "there was an error opening this document. File does not login with %PDF", I don't know how the file got there and I'm skeptical about deleting it. Any clue? Ideas?

2.Program files with 500MB. Here I have mostly stuff I have loaded from programs and downloaded from the net. Is this where everything I load goes to by default?

3.Win98 file with 128MB. I believe thes are cab files.

4.Windows files with 501MB. I believe this was loaded there from Win98CD.

Now the question is how can I manage to move or delete(if I don't need them)files from C:? I thought about moving Program files from c: to e: where I intend to keep my program files. I think when I have loaded programs in the past they go to c: by default so maybe I need to direct them to e: from now on. Does this makes sense? Otherwise, how else can I manage this files? Thanks.

[glc]

1. Move the .pxi file to one of the other partitions. If everything still works fine, you can consider deleting it or burning it onto a CD.

2. Yep. When you install programs, you need to watch where it wants to install them and change the path if you want them somewhere else. Any program already installed to c: needs to be uninstalled and reinstalled if you want to move it, or you need a 3rd party utility such as Powerquest Magic Mover (comes with Partition Magic).

3. You can move the cab files, but if you do, you will have to edit the registry to repoint Windows to their location.

Hkey local machine/software/microsoft/windows/current version/setup - it's the source path key.

4. Leave that alone.

I'm gonna get a blast from some people here, but this is the exact reason why I do *not* like partitioning a hard drive - and never partition unless the customer specifically asks me to. A single partition is much easier to manage without conscious effort - it's a lot easier just to manage folders. Yeah, I know it's a lot easier recovering from a problem if you have partitions, but the average user wouldn't know how to do this anyway.

[pdanni]

glc - not going to get any flack from me. I never partition either.

[Charliey]

yeah, thats the way i think.
the only thing that i make a separate partition for is the swap file, that way it never gets fragmented.

[Charles]

thanks.

[pdanni]

Charles - With drives being so cheap today, why not buy a new drive and put it in place as your master (one partition) and put your existing drive as your slave. Then load a clean copy of Windows on the new drive and reload any programs you wish to use. Then you can drag your files to the new drive. This will give you a fresh start with all your old stuff. Also, you could then format the old drive and have all the storage (probably) you will ever need.

[Charles]

Thanks, I'll consider.

[kraken]

I have succesfully moved folders and programs from one drive to another by simply moving them over and then using nortons windoctor to redetect where the files are and allowing it to repoint to the new location.

Do this only if you do not have the installation disc for your programs. This is not a guaranteed method and you must manually check that windoctor is doing the right thing.

I wont blast you either glc, partitioning drives requires a bit of thought to succesfully utilise them.

[mairving]

I am a big fan of partitioning. I always partition the drive on my systems. If I am building a computer for someone, I rarely do. The main reason is that it is less confusing and takes less explaining. So I would say if it is your hard drive, partition it. With PartitionMagic, you could convert your C: partition to about 4GB and not have to worry about it again.

I have always thought of partitioning as a house. You could build a house with only one room. Most people don't because it separates the various rooms. Same with a computer. Some people are die hard one way or the other. It is not an issue to fight about but if it were my system I would partition it.