Questions about Partitions in Win 8.1

I was recently lucky enough to win a computer in a raffle. I was excited because as a lot of you know I have a disabled son who has to use my laptop for school. I have to be careful what I put on it (Hooray for locked files!) and I had to keep XP pro because that is what he learned on and they use at school. This was my chance for my own computer and it is new. I bought our other one used. I guess I celebrated a little too early. While at school he managed to knock the old one off the table and broke it. It is now in three pieces….the monitor is one piece and the other half is in two pieces. The hard drive actually fell out and bent!
The administrator and the three teachers said since he needed a new computer, if I got him one with Win 8 on it and taught him and he was able to use it then the school could finally upgrade because if one of the kids could learn it, it meant the other kids should be able to learn it too. I told them I would have to buy another used computer so it probably would still have XP on it. (I didn’t want to be trying to teach him an OS that I can’t use yet!) They offered to pay half so I pinched my pennies until they screamed and we got him a new one with Win 8.1. I have learned some things over time here at WBB. I know we both need to have a partition. I googled how to do it and found I didn’t need software to do it. What none of the sites said was how big it needed to be. I think I am going to follow what is here:
http://www.mytechmell.com/how-to/hard-drive-partition-windows-81/ (unless of course you guys have better ideas!) What I don’t know is how much to shrink or how big to make the partitions. My computer has a 1TB hard drive and his has 750GB. Once again can you guys come to the rescue and help? Thanks!
Answer #1
Forget about installing xp onto a UFEI computer its not going to happen.
You can try installing classic shell as far as I know it has an xp skin at least you wont be running a dead os.
Answer #2
The tutorial above looks ok…I just like the way of shrinking the partition that have windows running on it..
That’s if you have Windows 8 installed to run disc management…Then again why make a partition for windows 8 while you already have it..
I rather use a copy of bootable Acronis Disk Director…Much safer in resizing your drive..
60 GB should be enough..100 GB is more than enough..
Answer #3
I would make 3 partitions. Shrink the 1st to 200GB(the OS partition) or even smaller as said and split the other 2 evenly. This keeps your personal data safe if your should to ever need to reinstall the OS. You can always resize the 2 personal partitions as needed. The free version of Easeus Partition Manager is very simply to use and works well. The 200GB on the OS partition should be enough space for future program additions. Also, I suggest you make a backup of the computer as it is right now. See how much space is used and get an appropriately sized USB drive. Discs can be used but they can get scratched and deteriorate over time. There are really no rules to follow about sizes just be sure to shrink the OS partition first. If you didn’t get any recovery discs there is probably a hidden recovery partition on the drive that might need to be moved but NOT REMOVED. Some of this might be overkill but it’s easier than looking for a copy of XP Pro 64.
PS
I hope I didn’t jinx this deal with my comment about your son and 8.1 in the other thread. Or maybe it was Deja Vu.
Answer #4
Both computers have 8.1 on them and hopefully I will be keeping both of them. I would only switch my son’s computer back to XP if he can’t learn to use Win 8.1. I would format and install Windows XP on his only if he absolutely can’t learn the new OS. The school is going to work with him as well. We plan to give him a month.
I have no idea what UFEI computer means. On the new computers the only thing I have done so far is the part where you register your name and what you want to call your computer etc. I haven’t gone past the desktop because I know I need a partition and I wanted to find out about that first. On a neighbor’s computer using a flash drive I was able to download Start8 and Startisback which Red Pyramid recommended. Not sure if I’m supposed to use both or not.
….I blame this all on you! It’s all your fault! LOL! I’ll try the Easeus but I’m a bit confused (as usual). When I was reading about Start8 and Startisback one of them said to install on a clean computer. Does that mean before I do the partitions or after?
Answer #5
Two partitions should be fine, one for the OS and the other for data. Make the OS partition as says or anywhere between 50 and 100 gigs. It all depends what the computer is going to be used for. For general use 50 should be fine but if games are being played it’s best to bump it up to ‘s suggestion of 70 to 100 gigs.
Whichever partitioning software you use make sure you allow the software to complete it’s task without interruption else you could have drastic problems. I use EASEUS Partition Master, but there are lots of safe reliable partitioning softwares out there.
For a start button I use Classic Shell which is Freeware, it’s has lots of options and is easy to use and once installed your computer can be booted straight into the desktop avoiding all those Metro tiles. The overall look on Windows 8.1 using Classic Shell is more or less the same as for Windows 7 and of course Windows 7 had the start button much like Windows XP (Windows 8/8.1 has no decent start button).
You can install your start button software any time you want and you can partition your HD any time you want, there is no need to wait for anything. So just go ahead and install/customize your computer. You only need ONE start button software.
You can get Classic Shell here (and it’s perfectly safe software):
http://www.classicshell.net/
If it doesn’t do it automatically (the default is usually automatic), don’t forget to visit Microsoft Update and get the latest updates.
Answer #6
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If I read correctly she’s trying to keep her data separate from her son’s data. Hence the need for 3 partitions.
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I would suggest getting all your partitions set and make sure everything works as it should before installing any addons or programs. One step at a time. If you have a problem you only have one thing to look for. Take 3 deep breaths and call me in the morning.
Answer #7
I don’t know the severity of his situation but for me Windows 10 could be a great replacement. UEFI is a new technology that use new computers. Windows XP doesn’t support it so you need to install with his bootloader on a protective mbr(the old technology). As far as I know the new Windows bootloader(the one that starts Windows 8.1/10) doesn’t support Windows XP so you need to install grub 2 and you will have a lot of hardware problems. Windows 10 has nearly the same XP placement for menus. Give it a shot.