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On Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:29:58 +0530, pawihte wrote:

> I'm preparing a new hard disk for someone who will be using Win
> XP for some time but may want to install 7 later. As I've never
> used Win 7 either, I'm not sure how large I should make the OS
> partition.
>
> For simplicity, let's assume that the owner can be expected to
> follow my usage patterns: I always have My Documents on a non-OS
> partition, disable hibernation and System Restore, and delete
> Windows SP backup files. My pagefile is currently 3GB. For years,
> I found 10GB quite enough for XP and all the programs I normally
> install, but more recently increased that to 20GB, mostly because
> I occasionally place several GBs temporarily on the desktop. Even
> then I seldom use more than 10GB of the C: drive.
>
> So, taking those things into consideration, what do you suggest
> as the system drive size that's not likely to require resizing
> for Win 7, but without going overboard and thus unnecessarily
> reducing the space available for data in other partitions? Thanks
> in advance.

I would allow for at least 50GB for your app mix. Initial win7 64 install
is approx 12GB but will grow to almost 30 with usual office apps,
pagefile, hibernation and winsxs etc. Just about right for a 64GB SSD lol!
Your idea of a minimal OS partition is sound for reinstalls but other
partitions for backup are false security if the whole drive fails. Better
to get an external or 2nd drive. I prefer the WD blacks with the 5 yr
warranty and better build quality. I would also advise you use those to
build your own external rather than the cheap drives they usually come
with.