Besides the initial effort, what, if any, are the reasons I SHOULDN'T partition my laptop?

Question

I've always partitioned my primary drives, even my last laptop. I first make an image of the existing drive, then delete, create at least 2 drives, reformat then load the image to the first partition so that I have a separate data drive. That way virus scanning, defragging and such things can be done in separate sessions, as well as the ease in handling problems with the OS without disturbing my data files. I usually like to also have a separate multimedia partition as well. I'm open to reasons why this is no longer necessary. Scanning time is of major concern because I tend to postpone virus scanning and degragging longer to wait for a huge amount of time to monitor it. We have weird power outages here, and although I have battery backup, it only gives me a few minutes of time to safely shutdown. If something happened in the middle of the night when I'm asleep I'd be clueless on how to recover most efficiently. So, what arguments are there out there for NOT partitioning?? Thanks.

This might make a difference, my laptop drive is 120Gb. How long does it take to defrag that much! And then there is the real possibility of wanting to upgrade to Vista within a year or two, I'll have that 120 gb nicely filled and cringe at the idea of transferring it all the dvds, and I prefer clean installs. A separate OS partition would seem to expedite and OS change.

Answer 1

I can't gave you a good argument not to partition.. so,I'll post the reasons I think you should anyway. http://partition.radified.com/partitioning_2.htm After experience partitioning, defraging, and debugging in the past, it should be a breeze with the programs we have to do it now, compared to 5-10 years ago. And speeding up response times is a positive thing too. I always feel like I have a better handle on what's going on with my comp if I set it up the way I want from the start. I think it saves the life of a hard drive, in my opinion. I say if you feel like doing it, do it. I don't agree with the answers before suggesting data loss, and time involved partitioning. It doesnt take much more time to do now, than to do a full virus, and adware/spyware scan. How you want to manage your data is still a very personal thing if you spend a good bit of time on here. I hope I've helped you in making your decision, and :-) Have a great day!!

Answer 2

I years ago would partition my drives too. But with todays software you can pick which folder or file you want to scan. This does away with the need to partition for that issue. Plus if it does shutdown in the middle of the scan what does that matter?

All you need to do is scan your drive one time when you first install your virus software. If the software is any good it don't need to rescan all the time. It finds the problems when they enter your computer. And most good firewall and virus software will scan while you work. and if it shuts down it wil just do it again till it gets it done. You never know it is running other then it tells you.

Get a copy of zonealarm security suite from zonealarm.com with auto updates. I use it on my laptop and my desktop and have for the last 4 years. I have yet to have a problem with it. 49 bucks a year and it will update when you connect to the internet.

Don't waste your time changeing drives and splitting up your drive. It is time wasted.

Answer 3

Partitioning can result in loss of information depending on the health of your computer. I dont do it anymore its easier to keep everything in one place especially if you use a backup software.

Answer 4

for me, i will partition the hdd...
dun find any reasons not to do a partition