Software question (maybe a stupid one?!)

[great_bear]

Wait! - I've got it! - I remember now!

Something in the last few posts has triggered a very ancient (15yr?) old memory in my head.

So - from memory (and anyone can jump in if I've got it wrong) it works like this:

Hard Disks were originally divided up like pies.

why would they make it less dense in some areas (near the edge) and more dense near the middle

Easy! - so that you know where to find the data! - Given the knowledge of how many tracks, and how many sectors-per-track, a computer can easily instruct the hard disk to jump to the exact start of a file without having to read any data first.

hard disk designers will try and fit as much data per square millimeter as possible

Yes, they do now - but that's because these days hard disks have advanced electronics built into them.

So - this begs the question - why is the picture on Wikipedia (and almost everywhere else) wrong?

Simple! - it's because (as I mentioned earlier) those advanced hard disk electronics virtualise the disk: i.e. the electronics pretend that the disk is formatted in the old (innefficient) way. From the computer's perspective, all it sees is a pie-like hard disk, and has no knowledge of the true, underlying layout of the data.*

So there's a difference between a logical format of a disk (which is what Windows does), and a low-level physical format of the disk (which is done during manufacturing).

- anyway - that's all from memory, so anyone's most welcome to correct any bits (no pun intended) that I've got wrong.

Sorry it took me so long to remember all that - but it was ~15 years ago when I knew that stuff - and it may have changed in some ways in the meantime too...

[later] *this bit might only be partially true these days...

[great_bear]

Now found some actual modern information rather than my fuzzy memories:

Zoned Bit Recording | StorageReview.com

[sgazer]

Now found some actual modern information rather than my fuzzy memories:

Zoned Bit Recording | StorageReview.com

yep, that seems to explain everything.

ps. I think I forgot to attach my defrag image yesterday, so here it is.

[daz]

This has most definitely gone OT!!!

Helen - did you get an answer??

[great_bear]

This has most definitely gone OT!!!

OK then... The definitive, on-topic-sounding answer would be this:

I was wondering whether it was possible to set up a removable drive to hold all the stuff I need for star parties and run the software from there?

Yes it is certainly possible - although were you to do so, I'd recommend that you go into Windows Admin Tools and change the settings such that the drive is guaranteed to always have the same drive letter, or the success of such an exercise is somewhat less predictable.

would it be too slow?

Depends on the drive technology. If it's a "real" hard disk connected via USB2 or FireWire you'd not notice any difference. If it's a memory stick - especially a cheap or old one - in might well be too slow to load for practical purposes - but only by testing would this be revealed.

Once the software's loaded and running, the choice of technology may or may not make a difference - it depends on how the software is designed. If it regularly needs to read (or write) data files or load/unload program libraries on the external storage, then it should come as no surprise that the drive technology does make a difference. Some software however, is loaded and run entirely in memory and in which case, once up-and-running, the drive technology makes no difference at all.

However, before putting yourself through such hoops, you need to find out whether you're solving the right problem by doing this - that's what those earlier, seemingly off-topic posts were all about. Otherwise you'd be wasting your time.

If the real issues, are simply that your internal hard disk is fragmented (very likely since almost everyone's is!), or otherwise sub-optimal in its layout - or if your PC is loading shedloads of unnecessary background processes like quick-launchers, hot-key servers and the like (also very likely - most people's PCs are heavily-polluted with such stuff), then solving these problems will allow your PC to run at full-speed again, you'd avoid the expense of an external drive, and not have to make tradeoffs about what goes where.

Hope that helps.

[Helen]

Thanks everyone. I've actually found this whole debate fascinating!

Earlier there was an offer to write a sticky about removing unnecessary software which loads in windows at start up. If that could be done I think it would be really useful. It would give me the confidence to really try and sort out my old lappy for use at star parties -it currently takes all day to fire up.

Thanks

Helen

[sgazer]

yes, sorry it went quite off topic, but I hope you managed to winkle out some useful bits Helen.

[great_bear]

Earlier there was an offer to write a sticky about removing unnecessary software which loads in windows at start up.

Sure - I'll get to work on it later this weekend, speaking of which, have a good one