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How should I set up my partitions?

This is my setup, I have three drives: 1. 74.55 GB IDE *can be set in RAID (Currently contains XP) 2. 232.88 GB IDE *can be set in RAID (Contains backup data) 3. 465.76 GB SATA 3 Gb/s (empty) I am looking where to set it up for the best performance. (RAID vs. all on the SATA) I am worried about is reliability. 74.55 GB has never failed 232.88 GB first one corruped Windows, got replacement 465.76 GB just got today, no idea on reliability What do you suggest for the best setup (partitions, what goes where, etc.)? I do want atleast 80 GB for XP (almost taking up that much currently) and a large solid chunk for data. *Also, I will try to install some other operating systems in the future so may need to shrink and resize certain partitions. **I have a 40 GB for temporarily putting Windows on if everything fails, but is noisy so will not be staying in my case. Also for that partition for future OSs, isn't there a way to resize a currently used partition (I believe if it is extended and not primary but not sure). Still undecided, please anyone else?

Public Comments

1. Best performance is RAID-0. If you're worried about a disk failing, then use RAID-0+1.


2. If you're going to install multiple OSes, I suggest leaving a bigger partition, especially if your main OS is windows. You can install multiple OSes on one drive and the Windows kernel loader will ask which OS you wish to boot into. Second, Depending on what you are doing, I would recommend leaving your SATA unpartitioned for data. The transfer rates of SATA drives make it ideal for storing data (especially ones that may be used or moved around a lot). The 250 GB IDE could be used to install all your programs to, so that way your OS drive (the 100 GB) would be free for only the OS.

   IMO, unless you are REALLY worried about losing your data, RAID just isn't the way to go for you.