I have a 2.1Gb HD with W98se on it. I lost my OS disk and just got a new 40Gb HD. Maxtor suggested to use their "MaxBlast" program for format/partition purposes. I found out it is possible to 'copy' the OS from the old HD to the new one. The thing is, I'm not familiar with the use of partitioning - with a 2.1Gb HD I guess it wasn't necessary to use it much. What I was originally going to do was use the new 40Gb HD for storage and just keep the OS on the old HD. I have a number of questions that come to mind with this situation. 1. Will the system run slower if the OS is on the smaller HD than if it was on the big one? 2. If I do use the 40G HD for storage, does it need to be partioned (beyond the usual use)? 3. Would installing or downloading programs cause any problems because the OS is on a different drive than the install destination? (I notice that sometimes small files are stored in the Windows/System folder, which would be on the smaller OS drive; different than the file's program drive.) The reason I want to keep the 40Gb as a slave/storage is because it is a much easier process. If I was to copy the OS from the smaller HD, I would have to change the jumpers on both HD twice each (as well as install/uninstall) and to copy a lot of other stuff from one to the other. If I just use the 40Gb HD as storage, I just put it in! But, again, I would really like to know if the system would run better or not, and I would like to know about the partioning of the larger HD in both situations. Thanks, Jamie

FAT32 Features FAT32 provides the following enhancements over previous implementations of the FAT file system:  FAT32 supports drives up to 2 terabytes in size. NOTE: Microsoft Windows 2000 only supports FAT32 partitions up to a size of 32 GB.  FAT32 uses space more efficiently. FAT32 uses smaller clusters (that is, 4-KB clusters for drives up to 8 GB in size), resulting in 10 to 15 percent more efficient use of disk space relative to large FAT or FAT16 drives.  FAT32 is more robust. FAT32 can relocate the root folder and use the backup copy of the file allocation table instead of the default copy. In addition, the boot record on FAT32 drives is expanded to include a backup copy of critical data structures. Therefore, FAT32 drives are less susceptible to a single point of failure than existing FAT16 drives.  FAT32 is more flexible. The root folder on a FAT32 drive is an ordinary cluster chain, so it can be located anywhere on the drive. The previous limitations on the number of root folder entries no longer exist. In addition, file allocation table mirroring can be disabled, allowing a copy of the file allocation table other than the first one to be active. These features allow for dynamic resizing of FAT32 partitions. Note, however, that although the FAT32 design allows for this capability, it will not be implemented by Microsoft in the initial release. By default, FAT32 partitions less than 8GB in size use a 4kb cluster. FAT32 partitions between 8- and 16-GB use an 8kb cluster. Partitions between 16- and 32-GB get 16kb clusters, etc. You see the pattern. This info is contained in the manual that comes with Windows [the one nobody reads]. For further info, visit this site: `http://partition.radified.com/partitioning.htm

Thanks "OtheHill". Useful info on FAT32 - but - did you read my message? James

>1. No it won't; the CPU can use only one disk at a time, and the Operating System on the dedicated smaller disk will not slow you down, except make sure the disk runs at least 7200. Real older ones sometimes run slower. >2. One Large partition is all you need IF you are only going to use the disk for storage. >3. I'm not sure about what you mean by downloading, but you can download a file to any folder you want. A virus cannot function on a library-only disk because there is no operating system to exploit. Actually, what you want to do is a tactic many use to protect their systems. If you get a virus and it trashes your OS, your data files are protected. In fact, many get their system set up just the way they want, then burn an image of it to a CD. If they get a virus, they don't bother killing it, they just reimage the OS which returns the entire disk back to normal,and they are done!

James, I read yours, did you read the info I sent to you, and the website on partitioning?