Hello,
Currently I have a 128gb Samsung SSD for Windows 7,some programs, and some games. I also have a 1TB hard drive which is made of 3 partitions. Everything is working fine but i get confused a lot around my files and I don’t know where is where Right now I have 30gb of free space (combing all the partitions), some files I have multiple copies of, some with different names… Does partitioning affect the speed of the hard drive? Is there a way to combine all the partitions without formatting them because I have a lot of stuff on them and I don’t know want to loose it
Your questions are about basic PC management unrelated to SketchUp, so maybe shouldn’t be in this category on this forum, but anyway…
Confusion about where you have put your files and whether you have duplicates comes down to your personal workflow and habits. Partitioning vs not partitioning won’t change that. You can create just as much chaos on a single partition by carelessness creating folders and files!
Partitioning can affect OS performance managing a hard drive, but unless the active partition is nearly full you are very unlikely to be able to detect the difference.
It is possible to merge and split partitions using various utilities. There is always a risk of losing data, so you should back up all partitions before attempting this.
The SSD is a solid state drive and is usually used but not limited for the operating system.
Partition of the large drive does not affect the speed per se, but if you have to search a whole TB drive for one file that will take much loner than searching a smaller partition. The seak time fro a SDD is shorter than a Hard drive but, I do not think that it is noticeable in normal use.
Considering the 30GB free space I would think that is too small, I still have 96% free on my 120GB SSD after years of use.
Before any action you should do some reading about windows 7 drive management so you have a basic understanding of what you are have and aware what you are changing.
By default windows creates special save locations ( like my documents, my pictures, vidos etc in the same location drive where windows is installed. These folders can and should be changed so files are stored in your larger storage drives.
Windows also sets the same install path for programs so watch and chage during install so the SDD is not run out of space.
I’m moving this thread to corner bar as it is unrelated to SketchUp.
Regarding the question I don’t think partitions help you organize your files. I have 3 partitions myself, one for each OS I have and one for documents. Perhaps you’d like to separate the OS from your documents so you can reinstall/replace the OS without affecting your own files.
I would however strongly advice you to go through all your files, name them properly, sort them logically in directories and remove any duplicates (other than backup of course). The time you spend organizing your files will pay back quickly as you never have to look for a missing file again.
Moving it back out of Technical Problems (again) since that category is indeed SketchUp specific, referring to SketchUp as the product family and not the the SketchUp Make/Pro application.
USe the widows explore help, they have a very good write up and the how to use the new structure they set up in windows 7. Most folks no not know how to use, once you read that and the recommendations herein then INHO you can make a rational decision on the approach best fro you needs.
MS set up specifically to help with the use and management of large TB drives. You do not want to get in the position of searching a large TB to find files you need.
This is not a ‘technical problem’ it is a question about how to do something with a computer. It has no relevance to Sketchup in any form.
I should be moved, yet again, to the Corner Bar where all non sketchup conversations are welcome, and left there.
Right now I have 30gb of free space (combing all the partitions), some files I have multiple copies of, some with different names… Does partitioning affect the speed of the hard drive? Is there a way to combine all the partitions without formatting them because I have a lot of stuff on them and I don’t know want to loose it 