new hdd greater performance

Hi,
The desktop I'm running Vista on only has a 40GB (3-4 year old) HDD in it. I've already improved the RAM and Graphics Card and seens HDDs aren't all that pricey now-a-days I'm thinking of buying a bigger one, like 160gb. I will then be able to install both XP and Vista (Partitioned).
However, would a new hard drive quieten down my system it sounds like the fan but I was wondering if the HDD can cause the processor to work more and therefore work louder? lol.
Also, about the partitioning, is a 3rd party program the best? or can windows do it for me? OR, when I install Vista,. can I choose to partition the HDD then?
cheers, -- - Nutty -

"Marc Nutty" wrote in message

Hi,
The desktop I'm running Vista on only has a 40GB (3-4 year old) HDD in it. I've already improved the RAM and Graphics Card and seens HDDs aren't all that pricey now-a-days I'm thinking of buying a bigger one, like 160gb. I will then be able to install both XP and Vista (Partitioned).
However, would a new hard drive quieten down my system it sounds like the fan but I was wondering if the HDD can cause the processor to work more and therefore work louder? lol.
Also, about the partitioning, is a 3rd party program the best? or can windows do it for me? OR, when I install Vista,. can I choose to partition the HDD then?

I can answer the partitioning question for you. You want to install XP first and get all the updates for that sorted before Vista. When you run the XP install you get to a setup screen where you are asked to agree to the terms. It then asks where you wish to install and you should have a blank space called "unpartitioned space". You will have the option to create partitions. I think you press L to create. So press L to create (or whatever button it is) and it will ask the size you wish to use for that first partition. It will probably have entered all the space of the drive. If you wish to use only half, delete those figures and put only half the drive in - something like 80000 if you have a 160Gb drive. So you create that partition and you also want another one. Do the process again, create another partition and accept the remaining space. When back at the page with both new drives listed, highlight the C drive (shoudl should have [new/raw] beside them, highlight C and choose to install XP on that partition. In formatting, select NTFS format. (dont worry about the D for now). Proceed to install XP. Once installed, ensure you have all the updates and service packs and drivers available to you. Once that is all done, check "my computer" and you should see also a D drive. At this moment it will be unformatted, so right click the D drive and select format. This is just preparing it for Vista and makes Vistas job easier. Once formatted it is ready. When you are ready to install Vista, bung in the DVD in XP desktop. Click on install and follow the prompts. Choose Custom Install and select the D drive to install. That is about it really. I hope all that made sense. I am not always ay good at descriptions.

However, would a new hard drive quieten down my system it sounds like the fan but I was wondering if the HDD can cause the processor to work more and therefore work louder? lol.

Sorry, will not make your system quieter, unless you have a noisy HDD now and buy one that is quiet.

Also, about the partitioning, is a 3rd party program the best? or can windows do it for me? OR, when I install Vista,. can I choose to partition the HDD then?

When you install XP first, set up the partition to the size you want for that installation, don't let it default to the whole drive. Then use disk management in XP to do any other partitioning you want with the free space. Do not bother formatting the Vista partition, do that when you install Vista

cheers, -- - Nutty -