partitioning

Hi,

I have searched and didn't really find the answer so here goes.

The only way I know to ask is by comparison:

In Linux and even windows it is sometimes recommended to partition the drive for the OS like maybe / /var /home /tmp etc.. One reason is to separate the personal files on another partition so a clean install would not affect the files.

I have not seen this on Mac OS. Does anyone do it?

Thanks

Some folks partition their hard drive but I would say they're in the minority. There really is no reason in OS X (nor Linux, by the way) to partition off the hard drive.

Linux users (I was one of them) would partition their drives into 2 or 3 partitions including one for swap. That worked well for the older distros but with the modern ones like the latest Ubuntu, it really isn't necessary.

The same for OS X. Having several partitions can actually be an inconvenience when it comes to backing up and separating program files from data files. Applications install themselves to specific locations and expect to find their data files and\or supporting folders where the program specifies. With today's large inexpensive external hard drives, there really is no need for multiple partitions.

Also note.... That Boot Camp will refuse to create a partition for Windows if the drive already has more than one partition.

Thanks for the info. Might just save myself some trouble figuring out just what size I need for each partition.

Also another question.

I see alot of talk about Boot Camp for windows. Do many people use WINE if you just want a couple windows programs. I used WINE in Linux Ubuntu and Debian for a couple things and it works pretty well. I bought a Mac to get away from windows and it kinda goes against the grain if you know what I mean

Thanks

WINE works for some programs - same as with Linux - but generally it's usually more of a headache than it's worth.

If you have Windows programs that you must run, then it's best to either use Boot Camp or run the Win programs from within a VM. VirtualBox is free and works fairly well to run most non graphic intensive Win programs.

Windows games work best when run naturally which means using Boot Camp to create a partition and then installing Windows. That's how I dual boot between Snow Leopard and Win 7.