ErikAlbert
New Member
Hello everybody,
I first tell a story about what I did and then we can share thoughts about it.
What do I mean with system and data ?
System = Windows + Third Party software, I need to do my job.
Data = documents, spreadsheets, photos, video,... in general any data-file from any software, including my emails and email-address-book (Thunderbird) and bookmarks (Firefox)
There is a big difference between system and data, at least to me.
If I lose my system, it's never a disaster, it's only annoying, because I always can re-install my system, manually (the hard way) or by restoring an image (the easy way, my way).
If I lose my data, it's always a disaster, because I worked very hard to get them.
Most computers have only one harddisk with one large partition, called "C", where system and data are stored together.
Disk-C is the most attacked disk by malware, because everyone has disk-C.
Long ago, my disk-C was the same and all my data was stored in several subfolders under "My documents" together with Windows and all my other softwares.
So all my precious data was stored on the most attacked disk-C and that was bothering me alot and I decided to separate my system and data.
In the beginning, I created two partitions "C" and "D" on my only harddisk, but that wasn't safe enough, because when a disk-crash (physical damage) occurs, I would lose both partitions.
Later on, I bought a second harddisk "D" to store all my data.
After that, I removed all my data from disk-C and stored it on disk-D organized in folders and subfolders.
I also wished, that every data-file, I created with a software on disk-C, was automatically stored on disk-D, to avoid any manual cut/paste from disk-C to disk-D, because that would be very annoying and time-consuming.
That was easier than I thought, because each software has folder-settings, I only needed to change them one time.
Nevertheless, I had two major problems : Firefox (bookmarks) and Thunderbird (emails + email-address-book).
I discovered on the Mozilla-website how to split Firefox and Thunderbird in two parts, which was explained in full detail, so that was easy.
Later on I discovered, that the Firefox-split was causing problems because of the add-ons, I installed.
I didn't have any problems with the Thunderbird-split, because I didn't install any add-ons on Thunderbird.
So I installed the complete Firefox back on disk-C. Then I discovered the add-on "Delicious Bookmarks",
which allowed me to store my bookmarks on the internet.
The separation of system and data was completed and working properly and the final result was :
Disk-1 with partition "C", containing Windows and all Third Party Softwares, including all software-settings.
Disk-2 with partition "D", containing all my precious data.
I discovered several advantages of this separation.
1. System doesn't change alot, once each softwares has its proper settings,
so I didn't have to do a daily backup and that saved me time.
2. Data changes all the time and requires a daily backup and I choosed "Karen's Replicator", an old-fashioned freeware, to backup any change in my data-files (not a full backup), which usually takes 5 minutes,
This also saved time and I would never lose my data, the most important files on my computer.
3. I can do anything I want with disk-C without being worried about my data.
Whatever I do with disk-C, it doesn't matter, my data is always safe.
4. Later on I discovered other advantages, but that's another story.
What do you think about separating system and data ?
Any members who did the same thing, any practical experiences or troubles ? Any objections ?
Any possible disadvantages ?
I'm interested.
I first tell a story about what I did and then we can share thoughts about it.
What do I mean with system and data ?
System = Windows + Third Party software, I need to do my job.
Data = documents, spreadsheets, photos, video,... in general any data-file from any software, including my emails and email-address-book (Thunderbird) and bookmarks (Firefox)
There is a big difference between system and data, at least to me.
If I lose my system, it's never a disaster, it's only annoying, because I always can re-install my system, manually (the hard way) or by restoring an image (the easy way, my way).
If I lose my data, it's always a disaster, because I worked very hard to get them.
Most computers have only one harddisk with one large partition, called "C", where system and data are stored together.
Disk-C is the most attacked disk by malware, because everyone has disk-C.
Long ago, my disk-C was the same and all my data was stored in several subfolders under "My documents" together with Windows and all my other softwares.
So all my precious data was stored on the most attacked disk-C and that was bothering me alot and I decided to separate my system and data.
In the beginning, I created two partitions "C" and "D" on my only harddisk, but that wasn't safe enough, because when a disk-crash (physical damage) occurs, I would lose both partitions.
Later on, I bought a second harddisk "D" to store all my data.
After that, I removed all my data from disk-C and stored it on disk-D organized in folders and subfolders.
I also wished, that every data-file, I created with a software on disk-C, was automatically stored on disk-D, to avoid any manual cut/paste from disk-C to disk-D, because that would be very annoying and time-consuming.
That was easier than I thought, because each software has folder-settings, I only needed to change them one time.
Nevertheless, I had two major problems : Firefox (bookmarks) and Thunderbird (emails + email-address-book).
I discovered on the Mozilla-website how to split Firefox and Thunderbird in two parts, which was explained in full detail, so that was easy.
Later on I discovered, that the Firefox-split was causing problems because of the add-ons, I installed.
I didn't have any problems with the Thunderbird-split, because I didn't install any add-ons on Thunderbird.
So I installed the complete Firefox back on disk-C. Then I discovered the add-on "Delicious Bookmarks",
which allowed me to store my bookmarks on the internet.
The separation of system and data was completed and working properly and the final result was :
Disk-1 with partition "C", containing Windows and all Third Party Softwares, including all software-settings.
Disk-2 with partition "D", containing all my precious data.
I discovered several advantages of this separation.
1. System doesn't change alot, once each softwares has its proper settings,
so I didn't have to do a daily backup and that saved me time.
2. Data changes all the time and requires a daily backup and I choosed "Karen's Replicator", an old-fashioned freeware, to backup any change in my data-files (not a full backup), which usually takes 5 minutes,
This also saved time and I would never lose my data, the most important files on my computer.
3. I can do anything I want with disk-C without being worried about my data.
Whatever I do with disk-C, it doesn't matter, my data is always safe.
4. Later on I discovered other advantages, but that's another story.
What do you think about separating system and data ?
Any members who did the same thing, any practical experiences or troubles ? Any objections ?
Any possible disadvantages ?
I'm interested.
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