does partitioning a hard disc protect the data agains viruses?

[kwisj]

Hi I am just reinstalling xp on a friends pc and i have put xp in its own partition, and i will use D to store the data. If the pc was to get a virus, does having the data in the D partition protect it against virus attack, or allow its recovery? What are the benefits of partitioning a disc?
cheers for your time
kwisj

[Allan]

The primary benefits of disk partitioning are:

1) Easier recovery if you need to reformat the system partition and reinstall the OS (and no loss of data files as a result of that reinstall if they are not stored on the system partition)

2) Easier backup of data files and disk imaging of individual partitions

3) Good housekeeping

Partitioning a drive does not necessarily protect against a virus spreading. Using a good AV, scanning regularly with that AV and MalwareBytes and, most important, smart computing are your best defenses against malware.

[kwisj]

Hi Allan
thanks for that. that makes sense.
kwisj

[Allan]

Sure.