[gongzero]

I'm looking for ideas on how to partition the HTPC's hard drive. I've got a 160GB SATA drive on order, and that will be the only drive in the computer, handling all tasks until it's worth my while to build a media server.


Here's what I was thinking:


C:> 10GB -- OS (WinXP Home) + Applications

D:> 10GB -- Ghost/Backup

E:> 140GB -- Media


The E: partition will be mostly CD/DVD backups. I don't have a terribly extensive collection yet, which is why I don't feel the need for a media server yet. I figure that once I max out the 140GB, I'll build a media server, move whatever content is on the HTPC to the server, and then probably just use the freed-up space for ripping/PVR tasks.


So, how have you set up yours? Any recommendations? If you can give a little explanation as to why you've set it up the way you have, that'd be great.


Thanks!

 

[eswrite]

I went with 2 hard drives:

1) Drive 1

Partition 1=40GB OS + apps

Partition 2=120GB for SDTV recording

2) Drive 2

Single partition=200GB for HDTV recording


I wish both drives were Western Digital. As it is, the 160GB is a very noisy Maxtor, which of course wirrs away under OS/app tasks. With the 200GB Western Digital, I have to put my ear against the case to hear it during HDTV recording.

 

[Dallas777]

Angelo -


Your setup looks good if the OS ever gets corrupt. You can just use the backup OS partition and Ghost it to C: to restore it.


However, if your only drive has a catastrophic failure, you're S.O.L. as you lose everything.


I don't have much data or any HDTV archived myself, although I probably will when I re-build my old PIII 600MHz, OC'ed to 744MHz. When I do that, I'll probably mirror it to a second drive.


But now, I just use an old cheap 10GB second drive for a redundant backup of the OS.

 

[gongzero]

thanks for the replies so far!


eswrite-

about how much space does a, say, 1-hour SD program take? i'm curious to know.


Bob-

i'm not terribly worried about a catastrophic failure. i have a DVD+RW, so i'll burn the occasional copy of the backup partition for added certainty, and i have hard copies of all the media for now anyhow, so it'll just be a question of re-ripping everything back to the hard drive. eventually, i'll be moving to a media server (RAID 5, i guess?).


do the partition sizes seem big enough?


on the media side... i'll be ripping about 250 CDs (EAC/.ape) and about 20 DVD or so... should be ok, i think, for a little while.

 

[Axel]

Depending of the amount of space you use for OS and application, you could even further reduce the size of your C: drive. I have about 2.5G (incl. page file) on a 5GB partition.


Also rather than having designated partitions for back-up and large data (media) files you could just store all on one partition under different folders. This would give you more flexibility. In case you decide against I suggest to make the D: a bit larger than C:, so you can store a couple of images there, in case you need them later on.

______

Axel

 

[gongzero]

hmm, that's a really good idea, Axel. thanks!

 

[eswrite]

Quote:

about how much space does a, say, 1-hour SD program take?

I've read 9-10GB/hour, but so far, I haven't seen anything much above 8GB. And what is 10GB among friends, anyway?

 

[eruji]

Ive read several post before about setting up a seperate virtual memory partition formatted with 64K cluster size. also the partitions with video files would also benefit with a 64K cluster size.


so. when i redo a system im probably going to go with:


15 gig operating system part

2 gig virtual memory parition 64K

leftover space for storage 64K

 

[Brian Puccio]

I've got a 15k RPM SCSI boot drive that's 18GB, wnidows and my programs go on that, it's the fastest around so hopefully it should last a while. And I have a 250GB drive for mass torage. Next step will be a TB RAID 5 array and some back solution.

 

[jkaiser]

"1-hour SD program take" as in Standard Definition - normal TV?


This can vary widely depend upon what bit rate you are recording at. With the SageTV set to Best, I think it is around 3 GB per hour. Better isn't that bad at 2GB per hour. You can go all the way up to DVD max quality at 6GB per hour.


HDTV streams are 8-9 GB per hour.

 

[gongzero]

eruji-


that reminds me... i remember reading somewhere here that NTFS wasn't necessarily good for performance on an HTPC. i think FAT32 was recommended, but i could be wrong. anybody else have thoughts on this?


jkaiser-


yeah, SD = Standard Definition. aside from Discovery HD and a couple of HD movies available on PPV, there's not much HD programming up here that interests me. i don't watch any of the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) so right now i'm not really interested in HD recording.


PVR functionality will basically be used to record TV shows i don't want to miss, or the occasional PPV/VOD movie.

 

[eruji]

Quote:

i remember reading somewhere here that NTFS wasn't necessarily good for performance on an HTPC.

i havnt heard that about NTFS, however i dont think performance as far as storage is concerned is such a big deal. the reason being that the largest thing my hard drive has to keep up with is dvd video, and that maxes out at 10Mbps, and i can get 45Mbps accross a wired lan. mp3 192Kbps, etc... ( i dont know about High Def though.


anyhow ive often heard that a 5200 rpm drive is fine for storage too because its fast enough and quieter because it spins slower. Now the performance of your os partition is a different story.

 

[eswrite]

Quote:

i remember reading somewhere here that NTFS wasn't necessarily good for performance on an HTPC. i think FAT32 was recommended, but i could be wrong. anybody else have thoughts on this?

I asked about NTFS a while back, and the concensus was that it is great (robust, supports large files, etc.) for recording, but don't use it for your OS partition since it limits (or does away with) your ability to ghost/clone partitions as backups. As for me, I have everything NTFS. No problems so far with it.

 

[eruji]

Ive not had trouble ghosting my NTFS OS partition. Norton Ghost supports it.

 

[Axel]

Quote:

Originally posted by eruji Ive not had trouble ghosting my NTFS OS partition. Norton Ghost supports it.

Yep; newer versions of Ghost or DriveImage fully support NTFS.

_____

Axel

 

[gongzero]

thanks for the replies.


man, i keep forgetting to factor in the cost of software with my HTPC.

 

[Spoonfed]

I run 3 60gb Seagate barracuda V's (went them as are quiet)


1 is C: 20gb (windows/apps etc)

D: 40gb (MP3's etc)


drive 2 &3 are in Stripping Raid 0 array as E: 120gb for HDTV/SDTV recording/timeshifting etc.


D