Partitions?

[MangoSalsa]

So I have windows Vista, ive had everything running and installed and updated, all that good stuff, and while installing the SP2 package, my comp freezes, no big deal right? Restarted the comp, nothin....restarted again, nothing. So I put the Windows disc in to see if I can restore Windows. It doesnt show Windows on the HDD for a restore option. It shows my HDDs have all memory, all my work/downloads are gone. Luckily I dont do much more than game.

So, Ive asked before but didnt really get an answer, my questions seem simple to me.

1---Will partitions prevent something like this from happening again? I have 2 500Gb HDD and they were in Raid0.

2---HOW do I partition? I dont know how many times ive been told "just partition ur drives". I need steps.

3---What do I need to run my HDDs as in order to keep info if this happens again?

Im kinda all over the place, I just want to know the best way to setup my drives so this doesnt happen again.

Thanks in advance

 

[Muffin Man]

when you install windows, you can create a partition specificly for your windows install and programs, and you can use the rest of your space in another partiton to store your documents, music, photos, etc.

for the first partiton which would be where you can install vista, you can make it like a 60-80gb partiton. that should be enough for vista, all the updates, and programs.

the second partition can use the rest of the space and there you can store anything else like what i said above. (music, vids, etc.)

as far as preventing that from happening again..i mean, if you physically damage the hdd, then you might be in trouble as far as recovering your data.

but like if for w/e reason you should have to reinstall windows, you can reinstall a fresh copy over the original partition where vista is installed and still have your files intact in the other partition.

-thats just what i would do. raid seems like a good idea in theory, and im sure it works great for alot of ppl, but this just seems better to me. i would also just use the second hdd as more storage.

 

[baron5]

To backup you could go for a RAID 0+1/RAID10 but this requires another hdd or two(depending on what data you want to backup). This extra drive/s will also have the same DATA incase of a failure.

 

[Hefemeister]

raid0 is bad for important data. If one drive fails all data is gone. A partition will not help this.
A partition helps if you want to reinstall your OS without the need for a data backup.

Raid1 raid10 or 0+1 are nice but should not be looked at as a backup solution.

In your situation I would use one 500gb drive for OS and programs and use the second drive for data.
No raid just 2 drives. Then you can get an external hard drive to back up your 500gb data drive.

 

[Harper]

Here is an easy thing to remember when it comes down to RAID 0....
How much data do you have left when a RAID 0 fails?
ZERO.

The other thing is that RAIDing is a Redundancy Solution and not a back up solution. I would be backing up to another drive (internal or external.)

Reason being is that RAID do not protect you from virus's and delete key happy users.