Help with partitions

I am having trouble managing some software on my laptop. I am in a business where I need to have multiple applications that I can bring up periodically to troubleshoot issues for customers. Some of these applications are server based and they are increasing clouding my system and making it bog down. I was wondering if there is a way to set up a partition for these programs so that I can readily access these programs without slowing down my day to day performance. I am running Windows XP Pro and would like to be able to accomplish this without starting from ground zero. Any advice on how to accomplish this (if there is a better way than partitioning) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Keyser318

 

I'm not 100% clear on exactly what your needs are, but have you considered using a U3 USB flash drive? They essentially are an 'on demand' virtual CD drive and you can install any number of apps and launch them from the flash drive just like it was a hard drive or CD. You can configure it so that an auto-launch menu comes up when the drive is plugged in or accessed and it will display a list of the installed apps and ask which you want to run. Attached is shot of the 'set up' screen from a new Sandisk 8gb U3 flash drive. This should give you a good idea of what's possible with a U3 drive.

 

What my needs are is that I have a laptop with a 120 GB drive. I have applications installed on it that normally reside on a server and are used to operate hardware devices. My laptop does not serve this function but allows me to open the interface and help people over the phone. I can see what they see and then help them accordingly. The problem with the applications is that they are meant to start on start up and run in the background. Obviously that quickly consumes resources and eats up my processor. I would prefer to do this on the hard drive as these programs might not all fit on a thumb drive. However, an 8 gb drive might fit.

Thanks,

Keyser318

 

Anyone have any ideas as to whether this will help?

Thanks,

keyser318