After purchasing a computer or during installation of the operating system, users can split the hard drive into several partitions or leave it unchanged.
Thanks to this, you can conveniently sort all information and files without the risk of losing them in the event of a virus attack or operating system failure.
Next, we will look at how to divide a hard drive (HDD or SSD) into several partitions using built-in and third-party Windows tools.
Additionally, we will figure out how to do this on MAC OS X and Linux (using Ubuntu as an example).
Why do you need to partition your hard drive?
Read also:TOP 15 Programs for Windows disk defragmentation: choosing the best utility
After you succeed in dividing the disk into two or more, during the installation of Windows of any version you will be asked to select the system partition on which the operating system will be installed.
Having chosen the one you need, Windows will prompt you to select one of the available file system formats:
- FAT is one of the first, and therefore outdated. You should only choose if you plan to work with earlier versions of Windows (95, 98, etc.). This way you can avoid various application compatibility problems. It has a lower file copying speed and does not allow you to work with files larger than 4 GB.
- NTFS is a modern file system format. Compatibility issues may occur when working with Windows 9.x (if the format is selected for the system drive). It features faster operation and reliability. Allows you to work with files of any size, without any restrictions.
If you wish, you can format each partition with different file systems to evaluate the quality and speed of their work.
During installation of Windows 7, 8, 10
Read also: TOP 3 Simple ways to clear RAM on a computer or laptop running Windows 7/10
The easiest way split the disk into parts during installation of the operating system. Then you won’t have to copy the necessary files and free up space.
The method is suitable for partitioning a disk during installation of versions 7, 8 and 10 of Windows.
1 Insert the CD or bootable USB flash drive with the operating system image, restart the computer and wait for the Windows installation wizard to appear.
3 Buttons for creating and deleting partitions will become available. Before you partition your hard drive, you need to get rid of old volumes. Therefore, first click on the unnecessary sections on the screen and click “Delete”. If you see only one, then there is no need to delete anything. Once the excess sections are erased, you can begin partitioning.
Along with deleting the partition, all information stored on it will be erased. Therefore, before doing this, make sure that you have copied all the necessary information from it.
4 If you did everything correctly, then there will be one available line on the screen in the list of available drives "Unoccupied space" Click on it and below, in the toolbar, select “Create” and in the field that opens, enter the desired partition for the new volume in MB. After this, click “Apply”.
5 Create the desired number of new partitions in a similar way.
After this, do not forget to specify the drive on which the operating system will be installed and click “Next”.
As soon as the program finishes, opening “My Computer” you will see the created partitions.
During installation of Windows XP
Read also: Errors when loading Windows (XP/7/8/10): We deal with the most common ones
Despite the fact that Microsoft has officially stopped supporting XP and releasing updates for it, many continue to use this version of the operating system.
Disk partitioning during XP installation is slightly different from the method for seven or ten.
1 Before partitioning your hard drive on Windows XP, you will have to delete existing partitions. To do this, select the unnecessary volume using the arrows on , and then press the “D” button. Confirm the action by pressing the Enter key.
2 After this the line will appear "Unallocated area". We will create the necessary partitions from this disk space. To do this, press “C” on your keyboard and then “Enter”.
3 A new window will appear where you can enter the desired disk size in MB (the maximum and minimum available are indicated in the line above). Confirm your actions by pressing the Enter key.
In the same way, create the required number of partitions, then continue and complete the installation of the operating system.
Dividing a disk via the command line
Since Windows 7 can be divided into 2 disks using system tools, it is most logical to use them without resorting to third-party software.
Although it also has its advantages (about them in another section of the article).
To start it "Disk Management"(it is through this program that we will do everything) click on the “My Computer” icon with the right menu button, and then select “Manage” in the context menu.
If for some reason this cannot be done, then use another method. Open "Control Panel"- "Administration"(easy to find via the search form).
Find and open in the list "Computer Management". Then select from the menu on the left "Storage Devices" - "Disk Management".
After opening the utility, you will see a list of available volumes, their location, type and file system used. You only need to divide those where the letter is indicated (C, D, E, etc.).
Volume "Reserved by the system" It won't be possible to break it into parts, because... it is hidden and is needed solely to store files necessary to boot the operating system.
Using the utility you can:
- divide the HDD or SSD into two or more partitions;
- delete an unnecessary volume and give its memory to another;
- change (reduce, increase) the sizes of existing volumes;
- rename sections, etc.
To immediately launch the program for editing drives, open the “Run” utility (shortcut keys “Windows + R”) and enter “diskmgmt.msc” (without quotes) and then press the “Ok” or “Enter” button.
Divide the disk into two
Before you start dividing the volume (in our case, this is drive C), you need to compress it. To do this, select it in the list, and then right-click on it and select “Shrink Volume”.
The program will begin analyzing the space available for compression, after which it will prompt you to manually enter the size in MB that will be allocated for the new volume.
Please enter this information as carefully as possible. If you enter incorrect information the first time, it will be much more difficult to repeat this operation to correct it.
If you share the system disk (on which Windows is installed), then try to leave at least 60 GB on it. For comfortable operation of the computer, there should always be free space on it (10-20% of the total capacity).
Once you decide on the size, click on the “Shrink” button and wait for the operation to complete. After this, “Unallocated space” will appear opposite the selected one, exactly what we just selected.
Creating a new volume
- Having decided on the size, click “Next”, after which the utility will prompt you to select a letter for the new drive (only those available for selection will be in the drop-down list). Here you can connect the volume as an empty NTFS folder.
- Next, you will be asked to format the future drive using one of the file systems available for selection. We recommend choosing NTFS, and leave the rest of the indicators at default. Despite the terrible threat that all information will be deleted from the partition, feel free to agree and start formatting (after all, we are creating a new partition with nothing on it).
After this, the Create Simple Volume Wizard will complete its work and display brief information about the new disk.
Now, after opening “My Computer”, you will see the partition you just created, which can be used to install programs and store files.
Using third party software
Read also:The computer does not see the hard drive - what to do?
In some versions of Windows, the system utility for creating new volumes may work slightly differently.
Therefore, you have to use third-party software that supports working with HDD and SSD.
In addition, unofficial programs have a more understandable and “friendly” interface, making it easier for untrained users to work with sections.
Today we will look at how to partition a disk using the completely free and Russified program AOMEI Partition Assistant.
You can find and download it from the official website of the developer.
- Launch the program. In the window that opens, you will see a list of disks, partitions, volumes available for work and their brief description (including removable hard drives).
- Right-click on the disk you plan to partition and select from the context menu "Split Partition".
- A new window will open, where in the “New size” field you will need to indicate the capacity of the future drive (should not exceed the volume from the “Original size” field). Enter the information and click “OK” to move to the next step.
- After this, the program may display a message that the disk was successfully partitioned. But it is not so. For all the changes made to take effect, you must additionally click on the “Apply” button. The utility will warn you that to save the data you will need to reboot, after which the operation will be completed successfully.
This method is much faster and easier than using system tools because the program automatically reserves the required space and compresses the volume.
The default file system is NTFS, so if you want to format a future disk in FAT 32, then at the stage Section divisions you will need to click on the button Advanced settings then specify the desired parameters.
We talked about how to create a bootable AOMEI PE Builder Live CD. In this article, I decided to tell you how to partition a hard drive using Windows and the free AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition program.
Why share a hard drive at all? Many laptops and computers are sold with an unbroken hard drive, i.e. exists on disk only one sectionC: for the system and data and additional service sections for programs from laptop manufacturers.
There is a saying: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The same is the case with your hard drive in a computer, where your operating system (Windows XP, 7, 8, 10) and your data (documents, photos, music, movies and other data) stored on one partition Your disk. This is not good, because if there is an error on the C: partition (C: drive), all data on this partition is at risk, including your data. Secondly, when reinstalling Windows, if you have only one partition, you need to copy all your data from this partition to another place, which takes considerable time if the volume is large and there is not always an external hard drive or a large flash drive where this data can be copied. And thirdly, it is always convenient to have two or more partitions (disks) for separation systems and data. In this article, I will tell you and show you how to divide your hard drive into two partitions (drive C and drive D). There is no particular difficulty in this, but you need to be careful, as there is a risk of losing data, but there is always a risk of losing in our lives but if you read this article to the end, everything will become clear even to a child. But it will be better if you create a data backup in advance, as I described how to do this. So let's get started...
How to partition a hard drive using meansWindows
Friends, to partition a hard drive using Windows you need to go to “ Computer management" In Windows 8, to do this, right-click in the lower left corner of the screen and select “ Disk management»
In Windows 7, go to the menu “ Start" and right-click on “ Computer" and in the context menu select " Control", then select " Disk management»
The window “ Disk management" We see that the hard drive of our computer (laptop) is divided into partitions. In this case, into two partitions: reserved by the system (350 MB), on which Windows download files are located, and system partition C: (24 GB), on which the Windows system is installed.
Your disk may be divided into three or even four partitions (depending on the laptop model), this does not change the essence, since these partitions are most likely inaccessible to you and are used for utility programs of laptop manufacturers.
We are interested in section C: (marked in red in the photo), we must divide it (split) into two parts (section C: and section D:)
Don’t be surprised that in the photo I have a small hard drive (25 GB), since I am showing the whole process on a virtual machine where a hard drive of this size is installed, while for you all actions will take place on a physical computer or laptop. But this does not change the process of partitioning the hard drive. All pictures are clickable.
Right-click on section C: and select “ Compress volume...»
The system polls the hard disk volume to determine the space for compression
In the next window indicate the size compressible space in MB, that is, we indicate how much we will compress the partition so that we can then allocate this space for a new disk partition and press the button “ Compress" We mean that the size of the compressed space is indicated in MB (megabytes), so if you want, for example, to create a new partition of 250 GB (gigabytes), then multiply this figure by 1024 (in 1 GB - 1024 MB), we get 250 * 1024 = 256000 MB.
We also take into account that the system may not give us so much space, since it is already occupied by data.
And one more thing: standard Windows disk management tools can become stubborn and not give as much space as you “ask” for, although you have it free. This can be caused by a number of reasons, one of which is fragmentation of data on this partition. In this case, you need to use special disk management programs, one of which I describe Further In this article. Let's read, don't get distracted :)
After compressing the partition, we see that now we have partition C: it has become smaller and additional unallocated space has appeared...
Now we need to create a partition from this unallocated space; to do this, right-click on it and select “ Create a simple volume...»
The Simple Volume Creation Wizard window appears, in which we click “ Further»
We indicate the size of our volume in MB and click “ Further»
Note:
We assign a letter to our new partition (disk). Click " Further»
Let's format our new section with the option " Quick formatting", click " Further»
We see that the wizard has completed creating the volume (partition) with the parameters that we set at the beginning.. Click the button “ Ready»
We see our two partitions in the disk management window: the reduced partition C: and the new partition E:
Voila! Let's go to " My computer"and we see our created additional disk
This is how you can partition a hard drive using Windows, but this method is not always suitable or does not always work properly, so we will look at another option for managing hard drives, this is the multifunctional and free program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition. With it we will do the same thing and in addition I will show its other main functions.
How to partition a hard drive with a free program
To install the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition, go to the official website of the program: and click “ DownloadFreeware»
Click the button " Download Now»
The program will begin downloading to your computer. After downloading, run this file to install
Installing the program is simple, see the screenshots (pictures are clickable)…
To scroll through the pictures, click " Back" or " Forward»
After installation, run the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition
We see that the C: partition (C: drive) is large and you can “unfasten” the second partition from it. Usually for drive C: a partition of 60-150 GB is enough, I usually leave 80 GB.
Now what are we going to do. We will shrink the C: drive (change the partition), and use the freed up space for a new partition (D: drive). What do we need for this? This program is both a bubble and attentiveness.
So, right-click on section C: and select “ Resize partition»
Enter a new partition size. To do this, “grab” the right circle of the section with the left mouse button and move it to the left... Or indicate the size of the section in numbers in the field “ Partition size»
About the same as in the photo below. I changed the size of partition C: to 80 GB. Click " OK»
Now in the main program window we see that our disk has unallocated space for a new partition(s). Let's use this 🙂 and create a new partition in this disk space. To do this, right-click on the unallocated space and select “ Creating a section»
We indicate the size of our new partition, the program by default offers all the free space, select the drive letter and click “ OK»
Note: If you want to create more than one partition, then indicate the desired partition less than the recommended maximum, and use the rest of the space for one more partition.
To apply all these actions, you need to click the " Apply»
The window “ Deferred operations", where the program shows what operations it will perform on our hard drive before reaching the final result. If you agree with the actions of the program, click " Go»
The program requires a reboot, agree and click “ Yes»
Well, did you like the free version of the program? AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition?. I like it. In addition to the fact that the program can divide disks, I will list a number of its main functions:
- Migration of the operating system to SSD/HDD drives;
- Increase, change, move, merge sections;
- Copying a disk/partition;
- Creating, deleting, formatting partitions;
- Creating a bootable CD;
- MBR recovery;
- Convert from MBR to GPT disk and back without data loss;
- Partition recovery;
- Disk surface testing;
- Aligning partitions and speeding up disks, especially SSD disks;
- Converting the FAT/FAT32 file system to NTFS
The program supports all types of storage devices: HDD/SSD hard drives with MBR/GPT disk partition styles, RAID arrays, flash drives.
Here is my video on how to partition a hard drive using the free program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition
Competition “Like - get a key”!
Friends, there is paid version programs, . In the paid version of the program, in addition to the standard functions described above, additional functions are available:
- Converting a partition from primary to logical and vice versa;
- Distributing free space from a partition to another partition;
- Creating and working with dynamic disk partitions;
- Convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk;
- Changing the partition type;
- Changing the hard drive serial number;
- Free technical support
Full list on the page:
It just so happens that I have 3 license keys for the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition cost 32 $ (near 1800 R. for May 2015) and I want to arrange for you contest and draw these keys among your readers!
The conditions of the competition are simple:
- You need to click just below on one of the social networking buttons
- In the comments, provide a link to your social network profile.
Summarizing:
June 6, 2015 I'll play these 3 Keys among those who clicked on one of the social buttons. networks (shared information about the draw) and showed this profile in the comments.
I will assign a serial number to each participant. The selection of winners will be determined randomly using a random number generator on the service www.randstuff.ru/number/ .
Each participant will accept no more than one “ Laika” on one social network. There will be three winners. Each person will receive one license key.
The winners of the competition will receive license keys for the program AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition and will be able to fully use all the functions of this wonderful program. Well, have we started? Who is first? 🙂
Splitting a hard drive into logical parts is a very convenient function of operating systems. According to MicroSoft technical documentation, it is recommended to reinstall Windows once a year, and you can always save the information on a non-primary partition. There are three main ways to split a hard drive into parts:
- When installing the system, set the appropriate partitions.
- Shrink a volume on an already installed system.
- Use third party software.
Step 1. When starting your computer, launch the BIOS and increase the boot priority of the drive.
On a note! You can start from the drive differently: wait until the hardware functionality test begins and, by opening the boot menu, mark your optical drive, internal or external, as the primary device.
Step 2. At the initial installation stage, the system prompts you to install specific drivers for system SCSI devices or RAID disk arrays. This page can be ignored.
Step 3. The next stage of installation is the license agreement (EULA). To go to the next page, press F8. If you refuse to accept the terms of the agreement (ESC), the installation is aborted.
On a note! The agreement changes in accordance with the release of new builds and service packs. Be careful when installing; using unlicensed software may result in litigation. For example, according to the civil code of the Russian Federation, the copyright holder has the right to demand compensation for damage from a citizen in the amount of 10,000 to 5,000,000 rubles; according to the criminal code - a fine from 200,000 to 500,000, or imprisonment from two to six years. For legal entities and officials, fines are established in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Step 5. Continue installing the operating system. After the installation is complete, you will have access to two logical volumes, instead of one.
Partitioning a hard drive by compressing it using a snap-in
Step 1. Open any folder. In the left frame of the window, find the “Computer” icon. By calling the context menu, go to the “Management” section.
Important! To work with disks, you must have administrator rights.
Step 2. Expand the "Storage Devices" list.
Step 3. Open Disk Management.
Step 4. Select the volume you want to shrink, right-click on it and check the “Shrink Volume...” option.
Step 5. Wait for the volume polling process to complete.
Step 6. Specify the amount of disk space allocated for the new partition. The process begins by clicking on the “Compress” button.
Step 7 Wait for the unallocated space to appear on your hard drive. And create a simple volume by calling the corresponding button.
Step 8 Specify the size of the new disk and proceed to the next page of the wizard.
Step 9: Assign a drive letter.
On a note! The letters "A" and "B" are reserved for floppy drives. A kind of atavism, but these characters are reserved.
Step 10 Format the volume with the desired file system.
Important! Take your time and uncheck the “Quick Format” box. The process is longer, but corrects errors in damaged sectors.
Step 11 Complete the wizard by using the “Finish” button.
Partitioning a hard drive by compression via command handler
Step 1. To enter the command processor, you need to expand “Start” and enter the “cmd” key in the “Search programs and files” line. The launch must be made as an administrator.
Step 2. There is a special “diskpart” section for managing hard drives. You can enter it by entering the command of the same name.
Step 3. To display a table of your computer’s disks, use the “list volume” command.
Step 4. To select a specific volume, use the “select volume x” key, where x is the volume number from the first column of the table.
Important! Please note that the disk is accessed not by name, but by number.
Step 5. The space available for compression is determined using the “shrink querymax” request.
Step 6. The “shrink desired=y” command, where y is the amount of disk space, separates a logical volume of the specified size.
Important! Remember that volume is measured using programmer categories and not the SI system. One gigabyte is not 1000 megabytes, but 1024, take this into account when dividing. When entering the command, do not forget about the syntax - the key "desired", the "=" sign and the size of the new volume are written together.
Partitioning a hard drive using third party software
One of the most popular software products is “EaseUS Partition Master”. This product has both a professional version (paid license) and a free one.
Step 1. Open the main program interface of the program.
Step 2. Select the volume to be compressed.
Step 3. In the left frame, use the “Resize/Move partition” button.
Step 4. Specify the size of the freed up disk space in the “Unallocated Space After” box, or by moving the right slider of the volume indicator. Confirm the start of the compression procedure by pressing the “OK” button
Important! Please note that the program provides an optimization option for solid-state drives (OptimizeforSSD). Differences in data storage between standard (HDD) and solid state (SSD) is thatSSDs do not require defragmentation, so the optionoptimizeforSSD will save you time.
Step 5. Wait for the process to complete.
Video - How to partition a hard drive
Video - How to partition or partition a Windows 10 hard drive
Conclusion
We have described four techniques for partitioning a hard drive. Of the methods described, only one requires additional software. The evaluation of each method is given in the summary table.
| Information\Name | Formatting the hard drive | Equipment | Command line | EaseUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| License | Delivery with operating system | Delivery with operating system | Free |
|
| Russian language | Depending on Windows version | Depending on Windows version | No |
|
| Interface convenience (from 1 to 5) | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
Partitioning a hard drive is a way to organize information storage, comparable to putting things on shelves in a closet.
In this article you will learn how to partition your hard drive and why.
Most users prefer to divide disks into 2-3 partitions for the following reasons:
- so as not to mix operating system and personal files in case of OS reinstallation;
- for the convenience of manual search for information;
- to install more than one operating system on a computer;
- so that each user, if there are several of them, has his own “corner” for personal files;
- to hide some information from other PC users (along with the section).
Note! When installing operating systems, service partitions are created - boot, recovery, for the swap file, etc., which are not visible in Explorer. These areas are hidden because changing or deleting their contents disrupts the operation of the OS.
Some people believe that it is necessary to partition the hard drive: this way, they say, personal files will not be damaged in the event of a system failure, they will be less fragmented, and, therefore, opened faster.
In fact, the files will not disappear anywhere, even if the OS crashes completely.
And this will not affect performance, especially since modern systems defragment themselves without user intervention.
On the contrary, the system partition tends to fill up quickly, and if there is not enough space on it, the computer will first slow down and then stop loading altogether due to the fact that the system has no room to expand.
Do you think you still need an additional section? Then read how to create it.
Two ways to partition a disk in Windows 7, 8, 10
Capabilities of the installed system
Starting with Windows 7, you can partition disk space using the OS itself, both during installation and after.
There is only one condition: when dividing an existing partition, it is important that there is no less free space in the part being divided than in the part that will be separated.
Let's look at how to divide a hard drive into partitions in a running Windows 10.
- Go to the context menu of the Start button and launch Disk Management.
- Open the context menu of the section you will be splitting. Click Shrink Volume.
- The window that opens after this shows the total size of the compressed area and the space available for compression. From the last one, select a part that will be a new section.
As you remember, it should not exceed half of the value specified here. Then click the “Compress” button.
- In the wizard window, specify the size of the new volume. If you leave the default value (which is the entire area of unallocated space), the entire area you separated will become a new partition.
If you specify a lower value, one part will become a volume and the other will remain unallocated. Click Next.
- Assign a letter to the new volume if you want it to appear in Explorer, or mount it as a folder. If you decide to do this later, select “Do not assign drive letter or path.”
- Next, the wizard will offer to format the volume and assign a label to it. A label is a short name for a section that explains what is there. If desired, leave this line blank.
After formatting, the unallocated space will become a full-fledged partition.
Creating a volume during Windows installation
Creating new partitions during Windows installation differs from the method we discussed above in that the shared disk must first be deleted, that is, completely cleared of information.
And then build a new partition structure from the unallocated space.
The breakdown is done at the stage when the program asks you to indicate the location where the OS will be installed. What to do next:
- In the "Where do you want to install Windows?" window. Click the Disk Setup button.
- Mark the partition you are going to split and delete it. Instead, unoccupied space will appear.
- Click the “Create” button (meaning, create a section), specify the desired size and click “Apply”. If the partition you are creating does not take up all the unallocated space, repeat the operation until there is no unallocated space left on the disk.
- After that, format the new partitions and continue with the installation.
We showed the process of creating logical volumes. On Windows 8 and 10 this is done in exactly the same way.
During the installation of Windows, it is not necessary to allocate all the disk space; it is enough to select the area where the system will be installed.
You can mark out the rest of the free space later, whenever you want.
These are not the only, but only the most accessible ways to partition disks.
The native functions for working with disk space, which are available in all versions of Windows starting from Windows 7, are sufficient in almost all situations, so there is no longer any need to use third-party programs such as Acronis Disk Director or Paragon Partition Manager.
You bought a new computer and discovered that the hard drive is not divided into volumes. Next, we will look at how to create logical drives yourself, how to divide the hard drive into partitions when installing Windows, which are then displayed in the Computer Explorer window.
If the list of disks only contains the item Unallocated space, this means there is not a single partition on the hard drive. To partition your hard drive, click the corresponding button in the field that appears Size enter the volume capacity in megabytes and select Apply.
How to partition a hard drive. The process of creating a new partition
In order to partition a hard drive, a system partition is first created, therefore, a dialog box will open on the screen in which the system will ask you to create a partition. And so, we need to create two sections in unallocated space:
1. Select the disk and press Disk setup.
3. Here you are not asked to create a partition on this disk. The figure below shows that by default the entire volume of our hard drive is displayed. And we need to make two disks: Local disk "C" and Local disk "D"
4. In order to create Disk C, enter in the Size window: as much as you need. In my case it will be 50 GB or 51200 MB - click Apply. After Windows will offer to create an additional partition in which it will store system files, click OK.
5. The following figure shows that windows has created a hidden partition to store system files. This section will not be displayed on your computer in any way. And section 2 (Main) is the section that we just created. Next you need to create another partition for Local Disk "D" .
6. Highlight Unallocated disk space 0 and follow the link Create.
7. Windows will offer the remaining free space to create a partition, which is what we need. Click Apply to create Local Disk "D"
8. Now we have divided the hard drive into two parts, now we can continue
