Here is what I think is the most efficient way of setting up an XP-based PC so that the future maintenance becomes quick & easy.

Partitioning the Hard Drive

First, you will need to change the file structure to the following (or similar):

  • C drive - Windows files, “Program files”, user profiles (”Documents and Settings”), drivers, etc.
  • D drive - “My Documents”, “My Pictures”, “Desktop”, “Favorites”, E-mail data files, all other documents.

If you need more partitions that’s fine, you can have as many as you want, the crucial part is to leave all of the operating system files on one drive and move all of your documents to the other drive. This way, if anything goes wrong with your system drive, you’ll be able to restore it from the saved image without even touching your documents.

Most brand new PCs come only with one partition. What you need to do first is get a piece of software that will let you resize that partition so that there is enough space to create additional partition(s). The most-known programs that do that are Acronis Disk Director and PowerQuest Partition Magic. I’ve had positive experiences with both of these packages and I can highly recommend them.

After you install one of these packages, get in, right-click the C drive, choose resize and proceed until you end up with enough of empty space so that all of your documents will fit. Then, create a new partition out of the free space. You’ll normally want to create a “logical” partition with NTFS file system. Some programs will require a restart in the command line mode to complete the operation. The recent Acronis software does that on the fly - no restart needed.

Once you’ve gotten through this part, you’ll need to move the documents. Right click your “My Documents” folder in Windows Explorer, go to “Properties” and then click “Move” to point it to a new location. That was easy. Now, open “regedit” in “Start Menu” > “Run” and go to:
HKCU > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Shell Folders
Next, move the files from Desktop, Favorites, My Pictures and My Music to new locations (most likely drive D) and update these paths in the registry. (Note: There is a similar folder called “User Shell Folders” in the registry. It is sufficient that you only update the one above.)

Update: It is also possible to move your whole user profile from the “Documents and Settings” or even the “Documents and Settings” folder to another drive. The process is more difficult and you will likely have to use the Windows “Backup” utility, which can “shadow copy” all files, even the system ones files being in use. When you think about it though, it doesn’t really make make that much sense. The goal is to be able to restore the system drive with all application settings without touching documents residing on a different drive. This process will be described in the next article.