Ello,

As there is no "Other Crap Go Here" part of the forum I'm going to post this here.

Anyway, I need to format my computer soon as the space that's on it isn't being used very well. I want to formatt my 500gb as this;

20gb - Windows XP
20Gb x 4 for other OS's
Example;
20gb - Window XP
20gb - Gentoo
20gb - OSX (If I ever get it to work).
20gb x 2 - Blank for other.
400Gb - My docs (I do alot of video now, not well but I do it)

Would that at all work? I just wouldn't mind learning other OS's as "I know windows XP" is going to get to the point where it just isn't going to cut it. So having a wider skill set would be handy. So would my genius plan work?

On an entirely different topic that I'm throwing in now for the hell of it. Is alot meant to be spelt with two L's or one? Seems wrong with two to me.

Ta folks.

That should work, but the data would then need to be FAT32 to be useable by all operating systems... Which limits you to less than 4GB for data files (DVD ISO images, HD films etc. would be a problem.

To be honest, these days I'd make a single large partition (or an OS partition and data partition and install the virtual operating systems as virtual machines. It is much more practical. I tried multi-boot for a while, but found I was always in the wrong operating system for the task I was about to perform, so save everything, reboot, do task, realise I need the other OS again, save, reboot ad infinitum. Virtual Machines are much better, especially for testing. Install your main OS (the one you are likely to use the most), then set up VMs for the rest.

I use either Vista or OS X as my host OSes (I have a Windows machine and an iMac) and then I have XP and Linux as guest OSes under that.

I really wouldn't bother with OS X on a Windows PC. If you want to try it, get a second hand Mac. If you really want to try it on a generic PC, got the EFix module and buy the hardware that is supported. Installing it on a generic PC without 100% compatible parts is just an exercise in frustration.

I am pretty sure there is a limit to how many partitions one drive can have under windows, I think 3 is the number. So your XP might be little bit freaked out, don't know about linux but I guess they are going to be ok with it...

Hmm, I'll make a partition for Virtual computer drives then.

Currently they are sort of scattered about somewhat.

Cheers Big_D

VMWare gives you a couple of options too.

Each machine can have it's own drive partition, or it can have a massive image file which it uses for it's drive.

Giving each machine it's own partition might be a good idea. I do it on my Mac, and that way I can either boot into Windows, or run it through VMWare which is cool and very very handy. Dunno how easy this is to setup on a PC though.

Using virtual drives is a better use of space. You don't need to set aside any space, so it will only use what it needs, so if an install needs 2GB space, it will take 2GB or less actual HD space, if you then need to put in another 10GB, it will expand as needed. (This might depend on the VM software you are using.)

Linux support for NTFS is pretty stable now, so best stick with NTFS for most of it and EXT3 or EXT4 for Gentoo and install NFTS-3G to access the docs on the NTFS partition.

VM's are a better option, as everyone else says. I'm using VirtualBox 3 on my Raincoat and it does the job and it is free. VMWare Server is pretty good on Windows though and it was also free last time I looked.

Yeah but who cares?

Drives are cheap!!

True

Bought a 1.5TB hard drive for drive images and media storage for £75 on Saturday

Depends what you call cheap...Even a 50 quid drive is beyond a lot of people as a justifiable upgrade price.

Speaking as someone with a wife and three kids, I couldn't agree more.

I think you're talking about primary partitions and you can have a maximum of four on a disk. You can sub-partition the primary partitions to get around the limit.