Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.mobile.android > #143938

Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother

Cross-posted to 3 groups.

Show all headers | View raw

Andrews wrote on Fri, 1 Nov 2024 06:26:03 -0000 (UTC) :

> 1. Format the sdcard on Windows to a known static volume name, and, 
> 2. Put *everything* you store on that card into a single top-level
> directory (which of course can have as many subdirs as you see fit).
> 
> Let the Android operating system pollute every other top-level directory on
> that sdcard - but Android won't touch your entire top-level hierarchy.
> 
> It doesn't get smoother than this.

BELOW IS SAGE ADVICE BORN OF THE WISDOM OF BEING OVER 80 YEARS OLD:

Given it was so smooth to think ahead by a few years to put everything you
cared about on Android, it should be the same when replacing a Windows HDD.

I've thought ahead by decades to the point I can wipe out almost all of
Windows and it wouldn't cause me more than a moment to recover from that.

At lest a decade ago I put everything I cared about on Windows into only
two top-level hierarchies, neither of which is a Windows default hierarchy.

That way, Windows never pollutes those two hierarchies:
 C:\data (this contains everything that I care about on Windows)
 C:\apps (this is simply the installed apps - which can be re-installed)

Notice even C:\apps isn't important because it's where I install software.
All software can be re-installed - so only C:\data matters. Nothing else.


 putting everything I care about in a single hierarchy, one question in the
quest for understanding operating systems is WHY those other folders exist?

On Windows I don't touch the garbage "C:\Program Files" directory.
Nothing I care about ever goes there on purpose.

On Windows I (almost) never touch the C:\Users directory either. 
Nothing I care about goes there on purpose (not even my menus).

Likewise, on Windows I "rarely" touch the "C:\Windows" hierarchy.

The result is I could (almost) wipe out my entire hard drive save for the
"C:\data" directory and I wouldn't lose anything that I cared about.

I could (almost) swap out the entire hard drive and just copy over C:\data
and it would be (almost) smooth - although there might be a few gotchas.

What's wonderful about thinking ahead with operating systems is that I
don't have to back up the entire hard drive. I just back up "C:\data".

Nothing else matters. Almost.

What would I lose if I lost everything but C:\data on a Windows HDD that I
could trivially easily recover from? I can always re-install my apps.

Note: I have a separate HDD containing the installers which uses the *same*
hierarchy as C:\apps (and C:\data\apps for appdata) which makes it smooth.

For example, thinking decades ahead, gVim is installed over here:
 C:\apps\editors\text\gvim 
Which means the gVim installers are archived in exactly the same way:
 I:\installers\editors\text\gvim 

Another example is Irfanview is installed the same well-organized way:
 C:\apps\editors\pic\irfanview
Which means the gVim installers are archived in the same structure:
 I:\installers\editors\pic\irfanview

Same with web browsers (and the same with all well-behaved addon programs):
 C:\apps\browsers\{firefox,epic,opera,brave,iron,seamonkey,etc}
 C:\installers\browsers\{firefox,epic,opera,brave,iron,seamonkey,etc}

Even the taskbar-pinned menus are NOT stored in the Windows hierarchies:
 C:\menus\editors\text\gvim 
 C:\menus\editors\pic\irfanview
 C:\menus\browsers\{firefox,epic,opera,brave,iron,seamonkey,etc}

Notice I could (almost) wipe out C:\Windows & C:\Program Files and C:\Users
and there would barely be a hiccup (almost) in recovering from that.

Every day I sleep well knowing I only need to back up C:\data and
everything I care about is safe because the rest is easy to restore.

To recover from a loss of the C:\ partition would (almost) be trivial.

My advice to others is to think ahead by a decade. 
a. Store everything you care about in one top-level hierarchy
   (that is NOT one of the Windows default directories!)
b. The reason is those default directories are polluted by the OS
c. Back up only that one directory and sleep well every day of your life!
-- 
I never use plurals in the most important directory names; but I show them
above in the key directory names simply for easier concept understanding.

Back to comp.mobile.android | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

Using Windows to make Android smoother Andrews <andrews@spam.net> - 2024-10-23 21:54 +0000
  Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2024-10-24 03:20 -0400
    Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-24 16:12 +0200
      Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother "...winston" <winstonmvp@gmail.com> - 2024-10-24 13:20 -0400
        Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Harry S Robins <stanleyrobins@nothere.uk> - 2024-10-24 13:00 -0500
          Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother "...winston" <winstonmvp@gmail.com> - 2024-10-24 14:12 -0400
          Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2024-10-26 12:10 +0200
            Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-26 15:56 +0200
            Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2024-10-26 14:09 -0400
              Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2024-10-28 16:53 +0100
                Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-11-01 09:19 +0100
        Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2024-10-24 14:33 -0400
    Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Andrews <andrews@spam.net> - 2024-10-24 17:15 +0000
      Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2024-10-24 14:42 -0400
  Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Andrews <andrews@spam.net> - 2024-10-24 17:35 +0000
    Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother "...winston" <winstonmvp@gmail.com> - 2024-10-24 14:35 -0400
  Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Andrews <andrews@spam.net> - 2024-10-25 18:41 +0000
  Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Andrews <andrews@spam.net> - 2024-11-01 06:26 +0000
    Re: Using Windows to make Android smoother Andrews <andrews@spam.net> - 2024-11-01 13:56 +0000

csiph-web