Program Files/Docs & Settings Location Questions

I'll be reinstalling Win XP soon. I've partitioned my hard drive and put my data on D: and will be installing Windows on C:. I'm doing this in part so I can make a drive image of the fresh installation and copy it back to the system partition every 6 months or so when Windows starts slowing down, thereby avoiding having to re-install everything after a reformat.

My question regards the pros and cons of doing a custom installation so that either the Documents & Settings folder, the Program Files folder, or both are on the data partition instead of the system partition. Actually, I should rephrase that, as the pros are rather obvious - not having to backup and recover all the data in those folders if I have to/choose to reformat.

I'm wondering what the potential downsides are. For instance, if I have an app installed when I make the drive image of my system partition, update the app sometime thereafter, and then put the old drive image back on the system partition, will I run the risk of creating some type of conflict which will cause me many headaches? Are there other potential risks involved with separating Docs & Sets or Prog Files from the system files?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated...

 

I'm not entirely sure as to your questions. But I figured I would chime in because I do a similar thing. I have a 74gig drive for C: and I keep all my data on other drives so I can format if need be. I just keep a copy of my documents and settings folder on a backup drive, along with the latest versions of all the programs I regularly use.

I don't know about keeping the Program Files folder on another drive for backup because just copying that over the new folder after a format wouldn't actually install those programs. There's stuff that will need to be entered into the registry as well as other things. You could keep a copy your registry on another drive too, but then what would be the point of reformatting if it's not going to be a clean install?

 

The approach here isn't copying the Program Files folder for backup. It's installing Windows so that the Folder is installed on the data partition and all the registry entries point to that location. Then I make a drive image of the system partition after I've installed all my apps, and when that installation later slows down or gets buggy, I wipe the system partition clean and copy that fresh (albeit, several months old) installation back onto it, thereby giving me a fresh installation of Windows (I call it "Evil") which already points to the Program Files folder on the data partition. Then, all I have to do is go online and grab a few updates, and I've got, essentially, a brand new installation with out having to got through the tedious and VERY time-consuming process of re-installing every damn thing but the kitchen sink.

That's how I've had it explained to me, in any case, and it sounds quite easy and carefree. My question is, in essence, this: What devils lurk in the details?

 

I see what you're saying.. I hadn't thought about creating an image so everything's already in the registry.

It seems like you would still run into some problems. Obviously you will have installed several new things (and updates). Which may or may not be f*ed after putting the old image back on. You will have files in your programs folder not referenced in the image's registry. And there will be updated files in the programs, but old registry entries on the image. Although I'm not sure how big a problem this would pose.


An interesting question indeed..

 

Then again, you could burn the "standard" installation to a DVD and save the hard drive space. Bazza