[P1] To Partition or...!

[david]

On 5/29/03 2:31 PM, "Stephen Hywyn Jones" <Steve at hywyn.plus.com> wrote:

> I've been advised that "partitioning" is the only way to go, but given that
> ibooks now install both operating systems in the same sector as default, I'm
> hoping that their advice is based on old knowledge, and that the new ibooks
> and operating systems are less prone to crashes.
> 
> Ultimately, this is what I want to avoid, - any crashes during a performance
> (for which I'll be using the ibook) could be,.....well!
> 
> I'm also curious of something Apple Tech Support told me, -  that
> partitioning tears the disk, and slows the read/write times substantially.
> Would this be something to be concerned about?
> I'll be using my ibook 800Mhz 14" along with a firewire audio interface as
> an audio playback device, streaming 8 channels of 16bit audio for an hour
> long live set. 
> I've thought that a seperate, daisy-chained firewire drive, despite being
> another device to hook up, may be a safer option. Unless that puts a strain
> on the only firewire buss the ibook has.
> 
> I'm a little in the dark here so any help would be much appreciated!
> 
The long and short of it is simply this: There appears to be no compelling
reason to partition your hard drive for OS X. When I got my new G4 I made
the decision not to partition and later when I got a new iBook I again
didn't partition. This was after being an avid proponent of partitions. Now
I've tested OS X with a partition just for data and I've tested it giving OS
9 its own partition. In neither case did I see any speed advantages or
disadvantages.

Now having no partitions and only one drive does have one disadvantage - if
your computer won't start up you don't have another partition to select as
your boot drive. On the other hand, I've not yet needed this functionality.
My iBook goes everywhere I do and I've yet to have any problems with it.
Also, if you download lots of files and throw most away, or perform similar
tasks, you might want to consider using a disk image to reduce drive
fragmentation.

I can't speak to the issue of a partition reducing speed other than to say I
never saw such a thing. If you are doing DJ work you might want to consider
an iPod. I've seen several local DJs using them for that purpose.

david

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davidwb at spymac.com