Should I create another partition for my data?

I have overkill.  The operating system is on C drive, programs I have downloaded on D drive, and my document folder is on F drive.  I also have other stuff and database on E, G, & H. 

Your HD is already partitioned for C & D.  I would think that you could take part of C and make another partition.  Remember you can designate another location for "My docs" other than C drive.

But what do I know....

:)

. The hard drive is 160G. C: is around 140G and has xp on it. I am wondering if I should split C to two partition, one is for original XP, another one is for data.

Hi RedOrange, Thats what I did, were C is my main drive, and D is for my data. Do not use your current D to store data, as an virus in there could damage your restore partition.

Second question is, if that is a good reason to do, then can I just use some software such as Partition Magic to split C: to C: with OS and D: for data? Will this change affect the dell's hidden restore partition? I want to keep dell's restore partion just in case I have to restore the whole machine.

That would be an good idea to use partition magic, but remember you can use any letter for your new partition that is not being used, but, that does not include A. If you have to restore you OS through the D Restore, then it will install it on C.

Guys, thank you all for your replies.

I only have a huge C:, I don't have D: yet. In my disk manager, it shows up there is a little partition at the very beginning. And then C:, and then the restore partition about 10G at the end. It is a mini 10, OS XP. I just want to make sure it is ok to split C: to two partitions on this machine, coz I don't want to.., after split, the system won't reboot then I will be in trouble. :emotion-7:

So, let's say, if I split C: to C: for example 30G, D: 110G, the restore partition is about 10G. If I have to do restore, will it just restore everything back to C:, won't affect anything on D: which means I still have my stuff fine on D: ?

The Dell PC Restore for XP will almost certainly be broken if you repartition the drive.   A member here (Dan Goodell)  has an extensive site on the PC Restore Partition HERE - I'll just quote part of it below (under "What if I repartitioned my hard disk?"):

Many people like to repartition their hard disks to split the main "C:" partition into more than one partition. Repartitioning will cause the DSR [Dell System Restore] process to fail because the new partition table no longer matches the reference partition table stored in the DSR partition.

The same site has a tool to repair it if you do decide to repartition, but it's not easy.

I think Robin may be referring to the D: recovery on Vista, which is a whole other animal.

To my mind, a better strategy would be to just leave the partitions alone and rely on regular external backups for your data.

So, let's say, if I split C: to C: for example 30G, D: 110G, the restore partition is about 10G. If I have to do restore, will it just restore everything back to C:, won't affect anything on D: which means I still have my stuff fine on D: ?

Hi, You can split C into another partition, and if you have to do an restore, then it will install on your C drive. However, use partition magic to setup  your partition.

Ok, glad to learn that. That is exactly what I am afraid of. I guess i will just leave it alone. :emotion-1:

Thanks guys!