Getting New Workstation. Should I partition NVME ?

Hi,
I am getting a new Dell Workstation 5820 with following specs.
Intel Xeon W-2235
2 NVME each 512 GB
Win-11 Pro on one NVME

It will come with Win-11 with no partitions.

(1) My question is should I Partition that drive & if yes how ?
(2) What precautions should I take ? Dell does not give Win-11 on any media like Flash Drive or DVD.
So should I just clone one NVME to the 2nd one as a precaution ?
(3) Does Win-11 come with Antivirus & OR Anti malware ? If yes then how good is it ?
(4) Should I install a 3rd party Antivirus ? I have been using ESET Internet security on other system.

Thank You

@sean

1. If you want to sure. Use a program like Minitool Partition Wizard (free).
2. If DELL does, they will charge for it. Use backup software like: Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Bakupper (free or paid).
3. Win 10 and Win 11 come with Microsoft Defender. It's not bad. It's also called Windows Defender.
4. That's up to you. Some people use Windows Defender, and some use 3rd party AV/firewall.



The smartest move you can do, is use backup software.
Try to keep the amount of used space on the C:\ drive small, and backups and restores will be faaasstt.

With good backups, you can "try" anything you want. If you break Windows, you can just restore from a backup.
You can even access your backups if Windows won't boot.

I can't stress this enough. There is no substitute for good backups.
Then, all other issues become secondary, and not anything to worry about.







Do NOT use Windows backup. Even Microsoft recommends 3rd party backup software.
Do NOT rely on System Restore, it doesn't work... all the time.

sean said:

(4) Should I install a 3rd party Antivirus ? I have been using ESET Internet security on other system.

Thank You

Click to expand...

I recently read an article indicating that Windows/Microsoft Defender isn't as good as what many think. I think it was a PC Mag article. This article recommended using 3rd party antivirus software. You can do a quick search to see what you think is the best for you.

(4) ~ A lot of new Dells come with McAfee digitally installed free for one year. If you wish to utilize it as a third party AV.

You should easily be able to find it in the description of the product you're purchasing.

I've never used McAfee, so cannot attest to its worthiness. I've only used Norton (good in my opinion), and now Windows Security. Exercise caution and good judgement, and Windows Security will serve you well. Or, at least, it has served me well.

Congratulations on the new machine, and good luck.


Edited ~ There will likely also be offers for extended periods of time, at a discounted rate for McAfee , if you wish. Looks on the 'specs' page of the machine you're purchasing. For more detail if interested.

@sean

On default settings, a backup will be approx. 1/2 the size of the "used space" on the Windows drive.
So...
You can keep quite a few backups on the secondary drive.
If your C:\ drive properties shows... 50 GB, then your backups will be about 25 GB.

Having a few backups is very useful.
One day you might notice a problem. So you restore from a backup made a few days before.
If the problem still exists, restore from an earlier backup, till you find "when" the problem started.
Then it will be fairly easy to figure out... what caused the problem.

I usually make a new backup right before I make any major changes. Say a new chipset driver comes out.
Make a fresh backup, THEN update the chipset driver. If that driver causes problems, you can just restore to before you installed it.

I have approx. 40GB on my C:\ drive. I can make a backup in 2:30 and restore from one in under two minutes.
And I don't even have NVMe SSDs. Just 2.5" SSDs and large HDDs.



I have a desktop PC. This is how I set up my drives. It's the OCD method.





My File Explorer is the same on Win 10 or Win 11... (well, except for the ribbon bar).








The point is, there are many ways to set up your drives. Take your time, and make a set up that you will still be happy with a couple years from now. It's much easier to set things up "now", than it is to go back and change things later.

jvickers said:

I recently read an article indicating that Windows/Microsoft Defender isn't as good as what many think. I think it was a PC Mag article. This article recommended using 3rd party antivirus software. You can do a quick search to see what you think is the best for you.

Click to expand...

You always get such articles, usually from journalists with limited knowledge, and the articles are so superficial. I take them with a pinch of salt.

There are organisations that specialise in testing av packages, and whenever I read those Defender usually come off quite well.

TBH - since MS insisted on automatic updates, the number of infected pcs has dramatically reduced - I was forever sorting out viruses from friends and family, and it always came down to updates being paused.

People are more likely to cause their own issues e.g. click link mania. The oxymoronically named "Common Sense" is a major part of protection.

cereberus said:

You always get such articles, usually from journalists with limited knowledge, and the articles are so superficial. I take them with a pinch of salt.

There are organisations that specialise in testing av packages, and whenever I read those Defender usually come off quite well.

TBH - since MS insisted on automatic updates, the number of infected pcs has dramatically reduced - I was forever sorting out viruses from friends and family, and it always came down to updates being paused.

People are more likely to cause their own issues e.g. click link mania. The oxymoronically named "Common Sense" is a major part of protection.

Click to expand...

X2! Absolutely agree 110%!

sean said:

Hi,
I am getting a new Dell Workstation 5820 with following specs.
Intel Xeon W-2235
2 NVME each 512 GB
Win-11 Pro on one NVME

It will come with Win-11 with no partitions.

(1) My question is should I Partition that drive & if yes how ?
(2) What precautions should I take ? Dell does not give Win-11 on any media like Flash Drive or DVD.
So should I just clone one NVME to the 2nd one as a precaution ?
(3) Does Win-11 come with Antivirus & OR Anti malware ? If yes then how good is it ?
(4) Should I install a 3rd party Antivirus ? I have been using ESET Internet security on other system.

Thank You

Click to expand...

First, it is impossible to have Windows 11 (or any OS installed) without partitions. On the SSD with the OS installed there will be at least 4 partitions: EFI System Partition, MSR partition, Windows 11 partition, and a recovery partition. There may be even more partitions created by Dell for their own recovery software. The second SSD will likely have 1 partition created on it for data storage.

(1) The installation of Windows 11 will create partitions automatically. If Dell installed the Windows 11 at the factory, Dell will have created the partitions according to their own specification. I create at least two partitions on my secondary SSD. One FAT32 partition contains the Macrium Reflect Rescue Drive that I can boot the computer from in order to restore backup images if the primary OS fails for some reason. The second partition is NTFS and contains my data files as well as the Macrium Reflect backup images of my OS residing on the primary SSD. You will need to find out how to move your data files to the secondary SSD if that is where you choose to store them.

(2) Install Macrium Reflect Free. Create a Macrium Reflect Rescue USB flash drive. Using a second USB flash drive create a Windows 11 installation drive using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool. Then create a folder on it to hold drivers and use the dism /export-driver command to export the computer's hardware drivers to the same flash drive. Use Macrium Reflect Free to create backup images of the primary OS stored ideally in two locations, the second internal SSD, and an external storage device such as a USB hard drive.

(3) Yes, Windows 11 comes with Windows Defender built-in and it is a very good product. I have used nothing but Windows Defender since day one of Windows 10 availability and have never had a problem.

(4) I have never installed 3rd party antivirus. Every single infected computer that I have ever fixed for friends were running all sorts of anti-this and anti-that software. People who on a combination of common-sense and the built-in Windows defender tend to have much fewer problems.

I 100% agree with @NavyLCDR and I have very similar AV and treath experience.
I would simply just power on the device, create a backup of the full system to some external device and then run with what's installed and don't worry too much about fiddling with partitions.

What comes to the bundled AV... you can try it for the one free year...after that you may decide to either continue with a paid subscription or just uninstall it if you feel it is not worth the price.

Personally, I would uninstall it from day one, but that is just me because like many others I've been using Windows Defender since the launch of Windows 10 and have not had any issues with it.

Ghot said:

On default settings, a backup will be approx. 1/2 the size of the "used space" on the Windows drive.
So...
You can keep quite a few backups on the secondary drive.
If your C:\ drive properties shows... 50 GB, then your backups will be about 25 GB.

Having a few backups is very useful.
One day you might notice a problem. So you restore from a backup made a few days before.
If the problem still exists, restore from an earlier backup, till you find "when" the problem started.
Then it will be fairly easy to figure out... what caused the problem.

Click to expand...

Thank You so much Ghot.
I really appreciate the time you take to answer & post images.

NavyLCDR said:

First, it is impossible to have Windows 11 (or any OS installed) without partitions. On the SSD with the OS installed there will be at least 4 partitions: EFI System Partition, MSR partition, Windows 11 partition, and a recovery partition.

Click to expand...

First, thank you for an exhaustive answer. I enjoyed reading it twice & will again. You are absolutely right about 4 partitions. I read about it on this forum from @zbook also.

Lots of great advice.

I have never used images but always keep two or more clones to keep things simple but costs little more. But now I will try your way after I get my system.

I have been using Win-7 due to older Workstation & GPUs that won't allow me to use any other versions of Windows. So this will be my long jump from 7 To 11.

My question is what happens when you have Defender & other AV. Who takes over who OR how they work together ?

Many Thanks

WXC said:

(4) ~ A lot of new Dells come with McAfee digitally installed free for one year. If you wish to utilize it as a third party AV.

Click to expand...

Thank You. I asked them not to install McAfee. I will find out once I get the system in few days.