I have new 250 GB SSD and want to install Windows 10 on it (after replacing previous died SSD).
I wonder do I need a separate data partition (d: for projects, video, music) from Windows partition (c:)?
Do separate data partition helps in case of troubles (like broken Windows installation)?
Also note that SSD drives require at least 10% of free space for long life and having flat single partition looks healthy for SSD.
UPDATE Why do you need free space for SSD long life explained:
12 Answers
To answer the question in your title: No, you do not need a separate data partition.
Storing data in a folder or on a separate partition works just as well, but it is often quite useful when things break and you want to recover information. Personally I always create at least three partitions (boot, often changing data and static data). But there is no requirement for you to do so. And with a relative small disk fewer partitions might be preferred.
And to answer the second question in your post:
No, you not need 10% free space on any modern SSD.
Any modern SSD comes with spare sectors which are not visible to the OS. It is like having a book with 266 pages. 250 labeled page 1 to page 250. The others 16 (usually 7%-ish) are not visible to the end user. The controller on the SSD uses this 'free space'. You do not need free space in partitions.
As for SSD long life. With regular end user usage there is no need to worry. And SSD will often last over 10 years, and by that time they are obsolute and will be replaced by newer hardware. Now if you are going to do consistent heavy writes to the disk, 24/7, for 20 or 30 years then it can help to consider these things. But with a modern SSD and <10years of usage there is no need anymore. Anyone telling you otherwise is using outdated information.
To ensure the security of your personal files, you'd better partition some space from your C drive. in general, the applications you install will be saved to system partition automatically. So when something bad happen, you can restore your operating system and applications. But you cannot easily restore your files to your computer. here's a link to help you partition your hard drive: and if you think your hard drive is small, you don't want to have another partition on it. you can backup your important files at a regular time. schedule backup will be a great choice to protect both your system and data on it.
