Vista Tutorial - Vista set up - separate directory for user data

I have found Vista to provide a pleasurable experience but I had a set up
problem which in my opinion should be addressed.
The principle which I use is that I put all my system and program files in
drive C: and all the user data in drive D:
when setting up Vista, I went into the personal folder to move the
directories such as Documents, Pictures etc to D:. In the Personal Folder of
Vista, I found in Properties of the icons , the Move command and used it.
However what i did not know at the time was that I had to create the
destination directories i.e. D:/Documents etc before using the the Move
command in Properties. My vista Personal Folder became corrupted and the
pointers went haywire. I could not recover and had to reinstall Vista.
My suggestion is that the principle of separating user and system data
should be enshrined in the set up and applied to all MS programs as well as
Vista.
At least, there should be a note in the Move command in Properties to alert
users to set up the destination directory before using the Move command.
--
Regards
CyberJeff
PS: When I talked to my hardware OEM, he thought that I had an Outlook
problem because this is the only Personal Folder he knew about.

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On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:31:03 -0700, cyberjeff wrote:
I would hope not. It is not the standard setup and it usually
serves no purpose. It probably makes the computer somewhat
slower though.
I would like it too if the operating system protected itself
from every possible damage.

I guess though that we have to take it that computers haven't
reached that level yet. They are like cars in the early 20th
century---you had to have your tool box with you and open the
hood pretty often to keep the car going.

I hope the time will come soon when computers will be as
reliable as cars. (:-)

Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.

I do think that it serves several purposes
1 - It enables one to save data from a single source. i.e if all my user
data is on directory D: then when I back up D: it is simple instead of having
to go to several directories
2 - It does minimise disk fragmentation on C: since most of the changes due
to more user data are on D:
3 - I thought that having separate directories increased system preformance
and I am surprised that you suggest the opposite although you migh know
better and I would like you to explain why.

I agree that it is nice to have a toolbox but the use of this particular
move command is counter intuitive because when one drags and drop a folder,
if it is not present in the destination directory then it is automatically
created.

Thank you for your reply.

Regards
CyberJeff


"Hans-Georg Michna" wrote:

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:22:02 -0700, cyberjeff wrote:
You could have one data directory and put all data into
subdirectories inside it. Alternatively, backup programs can be
set up such that they back up a list of directories, such that
you don't have to enter them every time.
That's not how disk fragmentation works. A file that is not
changed does not get fragmented.

Another point is that, on a busy disk, you may want to use a
defragmenter, which solves the fragmentation problem anyway.
Have a look at http://winhlp.com/node/82 too.
Why should I suggest anything against my own conviction?

The reason why partitions can lower performance is that they
increase disk head travel. An example would be a disk split into
two large partitions that are partly empty, with the files being
in the beginning of the partition. Every time a file in the
other partition is accessed, the disk heads have to travel
across the empty space in the first partition.

The worst one can do is to put the page file (virtual memory)
into a separate partition at the end of the disk. If the page
file is actually used, this would nearly maximize the disk head
travel times.

Conversely, on a one-partition hard disk that is occasionally
defragmented, you will have all files in the beginning of the
hard disk, which minimizes disk head travel. Some defragmenters
and Windows' own prefetch mechanism move often-used files
together to minimize disk head travel.

Yet another disadvantage of partitions is that they split the
most valuable asset of your hard disk---its free space. As the
disk fills up and since you cannot determine in advance exactly
how much space you will need in each partition, one partition
will fill up first, while another will still have free space.
Then you'd have to waste your time to resize the partitions.

Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.