reinstall

[KoolDrew]

when reinstalling Windows does it matter what size you make the particion and if it does. What should I set it to?

[Darthtanion]

I generally set up a partition of 15GB for the OS and basic Office type applications and then install games on another partition. But the 15GB size allows for a workable sized swap file and enough headroom (recycle bin, restore points, etc) to make things work with no problems. It also leaves enough space for the odd program that doesn't want to be installed on another partition.

[Yawgm0th]

I usually set up a 6-10GB partition for OS and paging file, and the rest split between two other partitions:
One for apps, one for files.
This allows you to put the partitions the files aren't in FAT32, which will give a performance boost, while putting the files on an NTFS drive to be more efficient with space (among several other nice features of NTFS). You can also put some programs on that same files partition, but I prefer to leave anything that needs extra speed on FAT32.

However, you won't die or have a horrible system if you make one big partition of either file system. The partitions with different file systems are just better for speed, stability, organization, and disk usage.

[KoolDrew]

How do you amke a seperate particion though. When i reofrmat my hdd it i make a new particion and it formats it. And i usssually choose something in mb not as high as you guys told me. Why so big? I justleft mine ta the defaults

and what if i plan on having two OS's (like linux and Windows) then what would i set the particions too

[Yawgm0th]

What version of Windows are you installing? Six to ten GB is good for Windows XP because it takes up quite a bit of space if you throw in the paging file and all the updates. Closer to two GB is acceptable for older Windows versions (98 and ME in mind).

To create a new partition, you will want to go into Windows XP. Go to Start Menu\Settings\Control Panel\Administrative Tools\Computer Managment\Disk Managment or to Start\Run\diskmgmt.msc to create a new partition.

If you intend on having Linux, in addition to Windows, then create one huge FAT32 partition for Windows and programs, along with an NTFS one for files. I wouldn't give more than six or so GB to Linux, though. You can read/write to both NTFS and FAT32 with most newer Linux distrobutions, so you won't need to have seperate partitions for Linux files and programs (although Ext2 and Ext3, Linux file systems, can be preferable).

[KoolDrew]

When saving files how do i save them to a different partition though and the particion i ahve now is 27.94 gb is that fine? and why should i make a sperperate on for files and tuff

[Yawgm0th]

I already said,

This allows you to put the partitions the files aren't in FAT32, which will give a performance boost, while putting the files on an NTFS drive to be more efficient with space (among several other nice features of NTFS). You can also put some programs on that same files partition, but I prefer to leave anything that needs extra speed on FAT32.

I could explain it or post a link to a good explanation, but I'll try to save both of us the time:
NTFS is better for stability, disk usage, and security (kind of). FAT32 is better for performance (99% of the time). NTFS is good for files for lots of reasons. You can have anywhere between 10% and 200% better disk usage (meaning files take up less space on the HDD). You can encrypt files if you do not want other members in your house with their own user profiles viewing them. It can actually be faster if you have tens of thousands of files in a single folder (which you may have if you use a lot of file-sharing/peer-to-peer programs.