[WinsOBoogi]

Hi all,

Just wondering how big you made your Windows partition. What seems to work the best for you guys?

I want to keep as much as possible for OS X, but I've never really used Windows (sans work), and have no idea how big to make this partition.

Thanks,
Brad

[Macola]

It really depends on how much stuff you want to install. XP Pro by itself will take about 2 GB, IIRC. I'm currently at about 6 GB with Office 2003, various anti-malware apps, Firefox, and a few other apps.

[ghporter]

Give yourself AT LEAST 5GB for Windows XP's boot partition. And be prepared to clean up the Registry now and then and delete old update uninstall files frequently. Sure, you CAN install it on a 2GB partition, but the Registry grows (while your back is turned), and after two or three updates, you'll have eaten up a lot more than that. Also remember that XP installs its swap file on the boot drive by default, so you want to have at least your memory size plus the minimum XP install space, plus room for expansion of various structures and update files.

[Tomchu]

The registry on even a terribly junked up XP installation will never be more than 80 MB, so that's not an issue.

XP does like to (stupidly) keep all of its update files, though. Delete all the hidden folders with blue labels in the WINDOWS directory after going to WU.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Tomchu

The registry on even a terribly junked up XP installation will never be more than 80 MB, so that's not an issue.

XP does like to (stupidly) keep all of its update files, though. Delete all the hidden folders with blue labels in the WINDOWS directory after going to WU.

You're right about the Registry not being that big, but it's still going to creep up in size and complexity and needs "elbow room."

And note that some of those blue folder's files may actually be in use when you go to delete them. You can usually get rid of these cleanly after a restart or two, or by starting in Safe Mode and deleting them. I rebuilt my PC's XP installation about two or three weeks ago and did all the updates needed to get it up to date. Just now I deleted over 80MB of update uninstall files from the 43 updates that were needed. Surprisingly they all deleted without a problem-a first for me!

I forgot to mention something else that XP does that is space hungry. By default, XP sets up a folder on the boot partition called "Program Files" where application files are stored. All of your apps go there, so the space needed for your Windows partition should also include plenty of space for your apps. It adds up... And even if you have multiple partitions with the destination for app files defined (through a custom installation) as being on a different partition, XP lets installers ignore that and install their stuff on C: whether you like it or not. (I hope we're all remembering why Windows in NOT the "favorite OS" for most of us... )

Unless you want some regular and boring manual Windows upkeep work, it's a good idea to provide a good-sized partition for XP to live in.

[f.lehman]

I turn off Restore and that will save a lot of space on your Hard Drive.

[kaido]

I have a 30 gig partition on a 100 gig hard drive. Minus the default 20 gig OS X installation, plus the 6 gigs from formatting the drive, that leaves about 44 gigs for OS X. I have a couple backup drives, one for Windows and one for Mac, and only keep my current project files on the main drive. Working out well so far.

[TheoCryst]

I only have 60 gigs total, so I gave it 8. It's enough for XP, Firefox, a virus scanner, Office 2007 (beta), and a few little apps/games.