Windows XP Configuration Standards

Contents 1 Schmid's Standards 2 Directory Structure 2.1 Symbolic Links 2.2 Single HD 2.3 Two HDs

Schmid's Standards

Installation language: English

Keyboard layout: English - but switchable to danish (by alt+shift)

Directory Structure

Symbolic Links

Symbolic links in Windows XP NTFS can be created using junction from SysInternals. I use it for symlinking My Documents to C:\schmid, which is easier to handle with Cygwin:

C:\>rmdir /q /s "c:\Documents and Settings\schmid\My Documents"
C:\>mkdir c:\schmid 
C:\>junction "c:\Documents and Settings\schmid\My Documents" c:\schmid

Other links:

C:\>junction c:\pf "C:\Program Files"
C:\>junction c:\das "C:\Documents and Settings"

Single HD

C:\
 |- Cygwin
 |- Documents and Settings
 |   |- Administrator
 |   |- All Users
 |   |   `- Start Menu       <- all shortcuts go here
 |   |       |- Accessories  <- windows standard utilities
 |   |       |- editors
 |   |       |- emulation    <- MAME and other emulators
 |   |       |- games
 |   |       |- graphics     <- graphics creation and manipulation
 |   |       |- network      <- IM, P2P, browsers
 |   |       |- programming
 |   |       |- music        <- music and sound applications
 |   |       |- system       <- cygwin, xwin32, etc.
 |   |       |- text         <- editors and office applications
 |   |       |- utilities    <- other utilities
 |   |       `- viewers      <- music and movie players, image viewers
 |   `- schmid
 |       |- My Documents     <- a symbolic link to C:\schmid
 |       `- Start Menu       <- should be empty
 |- downloads                <- FireFox downloads go here
 |- install
 |   |- drivers
 |   |- editors
 |   |- emulation
 |   |- firmware
 |   |- games
 |   |- graphics
 |   |- liveCDs
 |   |- network
 |   |- programming
 |   |- science
 |   |- sound
 |   |- system
 |   |- text
 |   `- utilities
 |- Program Files
 |   |- Putty
 |   |- SysInternals
 |   |- totalcmd
 |   `- [other programs]
 |- schmid                  <- symlinked to from My Documents
 |   |- .ssh
 |   |   |- config
 |   |   |- identity                <- private key for openSSH
 |   |   |- identity.ppk            <- private key for Putty (convert 'identity' with puttygen)
 |   |   |- [computername].pub
 |   |- configuration               <- check this out from svn and call 'makelinks'
 |   |- [subversion checkouts]
 |   |- [local stuff]
 |   `- tmp
 |- vst         <- VST plugins
 |- Windows
 `- tmp

Two HDs

Like with one HD, except:

C:\
 |- Cygwin
 |- Documents and Settings
 |   |- Administrator
 |   |- All Users
 |   |   `- Start Menu       <- all shortcuts go here
 |   |       `- etc.
 |   `- schmid
 |       |- My Documents     <- a symbolic link to D:\schmid
 |       `- Start Menu       <- should be empty
 |- Program Files
 |   `- etc.
 |- Windows
 `- tmp

D:\
 |- downloads                <- FireFox downloads go here
 |- install
 |   `- etc.
 |- schmid                  <- symlinked to from My Documents
 |   `- etc.
 `- tmp