‘Application Spreading’

‘Application spreading’ (I coined it, sorry if it’s corny), in my head, means that i would install certain major programs on each operating system in an attempt to curb "bulkiness". The bulkier your system the slower it will operate. I find if i go through with it, then start up times won’t bother me, as much as they do now.

Remember that I said ‘Application Spreading’ would benefit me by decreasing overall memory usage, decreasing the overall amount of time needed to boot, decrease the overall amount of space associated with redundant applications, increase the long term vitality of my operating systems, and increase my overall experience in using just plain old Windows. These are only my initial thoughts. I hope they are true.

I need to designate the things I will do on each operating system, so I know where to focus a lot my my time. For example I could use Windows 7 for casual things such as browsing, typing, blogging, or etc., use Windows Vista for my main programming, or use Windows XP for audio and art(Photoshop and Corel painter). Now that does not mean I am only restricting activities to a certain operating system, I want to figure out what I will be doing for most of my time on a certain operating system.

‘Portable’ applications does not mean they are only for USB drives, but they are certainly useful for on the go. I consider myself on the go if I am on a certain operating system and need to do something quick , so rather than reboot, I can use ‘portable’ applications to curb the need for reboot. I might not get the same functionality as bigger applications, but if I can at least do what I can with the application, then there is no need to reboot for ‘*one* application on another operating system. There are many ‘portable’ applications for download. Not to mention, Open Source applications are useful too, especially if you do not have to install it (standalone).

Some exceptions exist to the thought about less redundancy. Basically, some applications will be redundant such as anti-virus programs because they need to install critical program files and modify system configuration in order to operate. It is understandable, some antivirus programs will not work correctly on Windows 7 as evidenced here, so different antivirus solutions or anything else might exist.

Let me summarize:

• Less memory usage mainly comes from the less applications used.
• Decreased boot time and decreased hard drive space comes with lesser applications being installed.
• Increased long term vitality for the OS is something I made up, after seeing how some applications could modify and brick your OS.
• Increased overall experience of Windows is derived from the previous bullet points.

Less problems, more resources, and less waiting contribute to to a better overall experience. Don’t worry if an operating system is underused. I do not use XP as much because I use it as a quick backup in case if Vista messes up. If you want to isolate the problem stated in bullet point #3, then organize your partition tables. Read up on my post: Win 7 and partition structure. I described my current partition structure here, it works too. Any problem on one OS will not spread to another, so it is practically fail safe recovery.

Just installed Windows 7! Also rethinking my partition structure.

I just installed the Windows 7 beta. I have not installed anything major yet, but I think it will replace one of my two current operating systems or I might leave the 3 OSes on my computer and spread my applications across them.

I want my OSes to boot faster, so I think I need to install certain applications across my operating systems. I believe spreading the applications I have across my current operating systems will benefit me by decreasing memory usage, decreasing the amount of time needed to boot, decrease the amount of space associated with redundant applications, increase the long term vitality of my operating systems, and increase my overall experience in using just plain old Windows. I’ll describe ‘’application spreading’ in another post.

I need to lay out a plan, if i go with such a task, because i would reformat my system in an attempt to refresh Vista and XP. Vista is the bulkiest OS on my computer since it is my main operating system. I use XP to supplement my computer. I would also use XP in any case that i have trouble with Vista. So far, i have 1 System partition, 3 boot partitions and 1 logical partition used for my data I am pretty confused why the system partition is used as the boot drive, but hey! Whatever! My system partition is my only main primary partition, the rest are all logical. The reason why i have a “data” partition is for anything important to me would be backed up quickly and so if my OS damages, then i can restore it without affecting my important data and vice versa.

How many times has your HD started messing up and you could only get to only certain partitions? Yeah, exactly and besides, using a ‘data’ partition cuts the amount of time needed for backups and allows me to split my backup schedule. I’d like to to backup my ‘data’ partition every Friday and my operating systems every 2-3 weeks, if not every month. Disaster comes at anytime, so best be prepared.

I must say, Windows 7 is promising and I hope Microsoft does not destroy this opportunity. Win 7 is making me rethink the way I organize my files. It is probably a good or bad thing, but so far it looks like a good thing because I feel the need to buy a 2.5” 500GB internal hard drive.