Breakdown hard drive into logical parts - 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 a 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 civil code In 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 installation 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 program. 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 |
Physical storage is displayed in the system as virtual volumes, also called local disks or partitions.
The drive can be represented by only one volume, which holds all the disk space and stores all your files. Or it can be divided into several volumes, between which all available space and files are distributed.
The first option is very common, but not the most practical. Storing OS components in the same place with movies, games and other entertainment content is not best idea. You or other computer users may accidentally touch important files. And if the system fails and it is needed, then the rest of the volume’s contents will be deleted along with the old OS.
Fortunately, you can always split your drive into two or more partitions. In general terms, the procedure goes like this: you take away some space from an existing volume and use this space to create a new one.
For example, you can leave about 40–50 GB for the one with the installed OS, and allocate the rest of the space for a new section reserved for programs and entertainment content. In this case, system and personal files will be stored separately. And if you have to reinstall the system, your content will remain on the computer.
Before partitioning the disk, be sure to copy important files to other media. Your personal data shouldn't be harmed, but it's better to be safe.
The listed separation methods are suitable for both types of drives: traditional (HDD) and solid-state (SSD).
1. How to partition a disk in Windows
By regular means
For partitioning and other operations with drives in Windows, the standard Disk Management utility is used. To open it, right-click on the “This PC” shortcut and select “Manage” → “Disk Management”. You can launch the utility even faster using a special command: press the Windows keys + R, paste into the field diskmgmt.msc and click OK.
In the Disk Management window, you will see a list of local volumes (partitions) into which your drive is already divided. Among them there may be hidden system partitions that are not displayed in Explorer. This is normal, don't pay attention to them.
In the lower half of the window, right-click on the volume you want to split and select the “Shrink Volume” option.
Then specify the amount of data you want to allocate to the new volume and confirm compression.
As a result, the screen next to the selected volume will display the specified amount of free space available for the new partition. Right-click on this area and select “Create Simple Volume”.
If you have Windows XP, the compression option will most likely not be available. Then just right-click on the one you want to split and select “New Partition”. Further steps will be approximately the same for all OS versions.
When the New Volume Wizard appears on the screen, follow its prompts.
In the process, you will need to select the letter and label (name) of the section. When the wizard prompts you for a disk, select the NTFS system and confirm your choice. After formatting, the created volume will appear in Explorer. If this does not happen, restart your computer.
In exactly the same way, you can partition the disk in the future, adding new volumes.
In a third party program
If for some reason you are unable to partition a disk using standard Windows tools, try doing it in one of third party programs. For example, in the utility. It's free, compatible with all versions of Windows from XP to 10, and quite simple.
To partition a disk in MiniTool Partition Wizard, select the appropriate volume in the program and click Move/Resize Partition in the left panel. In the window that appears, in the Unallocated Space After field, specify the amount of free space that will be taken from the current volume in favor of the new one. Click OK.
A new nameless section marked Unallocated will appear in the main menu of the program. Right-click on it and select the Create command. In the next window, fill in the Drive Letter and Partition Label fields, select NTFS as the file system and click OK.
Returning to the main menu of the MiniTool Partition Wizard, click Apply on the top panel to apply the changes. The computer will restart and white text will appear on the black screen. Wait and do not turn off the device. When Windows boots, the created volume will appear in Explorer.
2. How to partition a disk on macOS
If you have a Mac, you'll need the pre-installed Disk Utility program to partition your drive. It can be found in the Finder menu → Programs → Utilities.
After launching Disk Utility, in the left pane, select the disk you want to partition and click on the “Partition” button.
A window with further instructions will appear on the screen, in which you can select the number, size and other parameters of the new partitions.
When you have made all the necessary settings, click “Apply” and wait for the changes to take effect.
At Windows installation a hard drive is traditionally divided into at least two partitions - a smaller system partition with the letter C and a larger user partition with the letter D. This division was not just invented because of someone’s whim, it has important practical value. Firstly, partitioning the hard drive in Windows 7/10 allows you to save the user’s personal files when reinstalling the system, otherwise they would be destroyed during formatting; secondly, it’s just more convenient to work with data, not to mention the fact that This significantly reduces the risk of accidentally deleting system files.
However, some computers and laptops with a pre-installed system have only one partition - the system one, not counting the “System Reserved” area. In such cases, the user has to create additional volumes on the disk himself. This procedure is very simple, however, for beginners it can still cause certain difficulties, especially when it comes to partitioning the partition with the installed system. So how to properly partition a hard drive without losing data?
There are three main ways to partition a hard drive into volumes: using the standard disk management snap-in, using a command line utility Diskpart and with the help of third-party programs created specifically for these purposes. The first method has a number of limitations, the second may seem complicated, the most convenient is the third, using third-party software, but not all such programs are free. Let's consider all three options.
Using Disk Management
So, you have a computer that has only one volume on its disk, not counting the reserved area. First, let's look at how to split a hard drive into two partitions using the built-in Disk Management snap-in. By pressing Win + X Call the context menu of the Start button and select “Disk Management” from it.
In the window that opens, right-click on the area of the system partition with the letter C and select the “Shrink Volume” option from the menu.
After the volume is polled for allocated space, specify the size of the new partition in megabytes in the “Size of compressed space” field and click “Compress”.
As a result, you will get unallocated space highlighted in black. Right-click on it, select “Create simple volume” and follow the wizard’s instructions.
During the creation of the partition, you will be asked to specify the volume size, assign a letter, select a file system (NTFS is needed) and assign a label, that is, the name of the volume displayed in Explorer.
After clicking the “Finish” button, the section will be created.
Partitioning a hard drive in Diskpart
Now let's look at how to divide a hard drive into 2 parts in Windows 7/10 using another standard tool - a console utility Diskpart. Unlike the Disk Management tool, which has a graphical interface, it has a large set of functionality; in addition, you can partition a disk into partitions in Diskpart from under the bootable media, even in a non-working system. So, open as administrator command line or PowerShell console and run the following commands sequentially:
diskpart
list volume
select volume 1
shrink desired=102600
list disk
select disk 0
The first command launches the Diskpart utility itself, the second command displays a list of partitions available on the physical disk, the third selects the partition number corresponding to drive C, the fourth compresses it to the specified size in megabytes. The fifth command displays a list of all physical disks, the sixth command selects the disk to be partitioned (if there is only one on the PC, its ID will be 0).
Let's continue.
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick
assign letter=G
exit
The seventh command creates a new partition, the eighth command formats it into the NTFS file system, the ninth command assigns the specified letter to the new volume, and the tenth command terminates Diskpart.
As you can see, the algorithm of actions has much in common with how the partition was created through the built-in Disk Management snap-in. Now, if you go to the “This PC” section, you will see a new logical partition there.
Dividing a disk into parts in Acronis Disk Director
You can also use third-party tools to create custom disk volumes. One of them is Acronis Disk Director– a powerful program for partitioning your hard drive and more. The procedure for partitioning a hard drive in this program is very simple. After launching the application, select the disk to be shared with the mouse and select “Split Volume” from the operations menu on the left.
A dialog box will open in which, using the slider, set the size of the new partition.
If there are user files on the source disk, you can transfer them to the new volume being created, however, this can be done later in Explorer. But system files cannot be transferred, otherwise Windows may not boot. After setting the procedure parameters, click first “OK” and then “Apply pending operations”.
If the system asks you to reboot, give it permission. The program will do the rest itself, you just need to wait for the operation to complete.
How to partition a hard drive in Paragon Hard Disk Manager
Another powerful program for working with disks and partitions. It also has its own wizard for disk partitioning. After launching the application, switch to the “Partition Operations” tab in the main menu and click on the “Partition Wizard” link.
At the next stage, the program will ask you to decide on the size of the new partition. Use the marking slider or enter the desired size manually. Assign a letter to the volume, click Next and confirm the operation.
Clicking “Finish” completes the wizard.
Now, to apply the planned action, click on the button of the same name on the left side of the Paragon Hard Disk Manager window and once again confirm your intentions to partition the disk.
After this, the re-partitioning procedure will start. If the disk is a system disk, you will need to restart the computer.
Disk partitioning in AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition
And finally, let's see how to partition a hard drive into free program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition. There is no separate partitioning wizard in this program; repartitioning is performed in two stages. First you need to get some free space. Right-click on the shared disk and select “Change partition size” from the menu.
Drag the slider to set the new partition size and click OK.
As a result, unoccupied space will be created. Select it with the mouse and select the “Create section” option in the menu on the left.
In the window that opens, if necessary, adjust the layout parameters (you can change the size, letter, file system type and partition type) and click “OK”.
Now, to start the staking procedure, click the “Apply” button.
Since you are working with the system disk, you will need to restart the computer.
All of the above methods allow you to partition a hard drive without losing data, however, when performing this procedure, especially with the use of third-party software, you should be careful, since the risk of losing information, although very small, is still present.
There are times when when purchasing a computer or laptop, there is only one system drive “C”. I think everyone knows that having one partition is bad. After all, after reinstalling the operating system, all your files and documents will be permanently deleted. Therefore, you must have at least two partitions C and D. The first will contain the operating system with all the necessary programs, and the second will contain personal files (music, video, photos, etc.). To do this you need to partition the hard drive. So the question arises - How to partition a hard drive yourself in the Windows 7 operating system? At the same time, so that the files located on the hard drive are not damaged. Most easy way - split hard drive, using Windows 7’s own tools. And we’ll look at this method today.
How to partition a hard drive in Windows 7
So let's get started. Right-click on the "My Computer" icon and select Manage.
Find the "Disk Management" item and click on it.
Below you can see that I have 3 hard drives, and one of them (Disk 0) is already divided into two partitions.
Disks numbered 1 and 2 are not broken.
Using Disk 2 as an example, I will show you step by step how to partition a hard drive. It is not empty; it contains the operating system and various files. In your case, it will not be Disk 2, but Disk 0, since I have three hard drives installed in my computer.
So, we divide Disk 2 into two partitions - to do this, right-click on Disk 2 and select “Shrink Volume”.
There is a request for space for compression.
And in the window we see the available space for compression - 222361 MB.
Now we need to indicate how much we will compress the volume. If I didn’t touch anything here and click “Compress”, then the size of the volume with the OS would become small, that is, about 15 GB. This is naturally very small, so be careful.
It is clear that a lot depends on the overall size of your hard drive, but I would advise setting the size of the future partition C to at least 60 Gigabytes (I usually set it to 80-100 GB).
In this case, I will try to divide the hard drive into two equal partitions. I will set the size of the compressed space to 115,361 MB, this is exactly the partition that will be empty. And now we observe that the total size after compression has changed to the number 123,112 MB, that is, 120 GB, this is the system partition on which the operating system with programs is located.
In other words:
- The size of the compressed space is the size of the additional disk;
- The total size after compression is the size system disk C. For example, you have a hard drive with a size of 1000 MB, then you can allocate 100-150 GB to drive C, and everything else (850-900 GB) to the second drive.
After you have decided on the sections, click “Compress”. When the compression process is completed, there will be unallocated space. Now it needs to be converted to a simple volume. To do this, right-click on the unallocated space and select “Create simple volume.”
Then we assign any letter for the future partition (disk). I chose the letter F.
Today we’ll look at how to partition a disk in Windows 10 without resorting to third-party software, because virtually all users of the new operating system have this need.
No matter what supporters of specialized programs say, if the operating system has the appropriate functionality, there is no point in using them. Therefore, we will take a closer look at how to partition a hard drive using the Windows 10 integrated storage tool.
What is important, we will work from under the operating system itself, without even resorting to using the installation drive with the Tens distribution kit.
What is it for?
First of all, dividing the drive into volumes is necessary if you purchase a new device, it does not matter whether it is a laptop, a computer or a larger hard drive. This is done for several reasons, the main ones being ease of use and safety.
Imagine what will happen to a 500-1000 GB hard drive if you format it during the reinstallation of the operating system in order to get rid of all the files of the old OS. Install new system over the old one, it makes little more sense than simply updating it from under Windows itself: all the garbage will remain, which will soon affect the performance of the computer.
And it’s more convenient to store different types of data on different volumes (games on one, video collection on another). The operating system with software must be located on the first logical disk due to the nature of the HDD.
Running a utility to change disk layout
Working with partitions begins with launching the Disk Management program, which has remained virtually unchanged since its introduction into the operating system Windows system 7. The tool is launched in several ways.
Control Panel
1. Open the Control Panel via Start, Win→X (by holding down the appropriate key combination) or a shortcut in a convenient place.
2. Change the visualization style of window icons to “Small icons”.
3. Call the “Administration” applet.
4. Launch the last utility in the list “Computer Management”.
5. Expand the “Storage devices” section in the left vertical menu.
6. Click on the “Disk Management” item.
Command interpreter
The second, and more effective, method to call the tool for partitioning the hard drive into volumes is to use the capabilities of the Run window.
1. Call up a dialog to quickly execute system commands and open resources using the Win+R key combination.
2. Enter the command “diskmgmt.msc”.
3. Launch it using the “Enter” key.
As a result, the same window will open as in the previous version, but without unnecessary interface elements.
How to use the built-in disk manager
The application window displays a list of all detected digital information storage devices, including those operating using flash memory technology (solid-state drives and flash drives).
The first in the list are the partitions reserved by the operating system, where the files necessary to reset the operating system to its original state and its boot loader are stored. These volumes of 100-350 (sometimes more) megabytes in size should not be touched in any way.
1. In the main frame or panel below, select the hard drive or its volume that needs to be divided into nth quantity sections.
The main thing is that there is a sufficient amount of free space on it, which is at least slightly larger than the size of the partition/partitions being created. And if the system volume is divided, at least 10 GB of free space should be left on it. You will need it to store temporary files and install missing software.
2. Call the context menu of the selected object and select “Compress volume...”.
This operation will allow you to “cut off” the specified number of gigabytes from the partition and form a new partition or several in this place, but their total size will not exceed the amount of data allocated for this.
3. In the parametric window that opens, set the volume of compressible space.
This is exactly how many megabytes will be freed (turned into unallocated area) in order to subsequently mark it up in the desired way.
After specifying all the information, click “Compress” and wait. Depending on the size (and the degree of damage to the hard drive - this factor primarily affects the speed), you will have to wait from ten seconds to a couple of minutes until the application completes the task of reassigning free clusters of the unallocated area.
Upon completion of the operations, an unallocated space of the specified volume will appear on the diagram; this area is distinguished by the presence of a black stripe at the top.
4. Through the context menu of this space, call the command “Create a simple volume...”.
By default, its size will be equal to the unused space, which is important for forming one volume in this area. If you need to create several partitions, enter the size of the first one in megabytes (taking into account that 1 gigabyte equals 1024 megabytes, not 1000).
5. In the Create Simple Volumes Wizard, select the file system. Set the cluster size and label.
It is better to choose NTFS as the file system. Even with its many shortcomings, it is the best solution from Microsoft. Cluster size: if small files will be stored on the disk, it makes sense to set it to 2096 KB or less in order to optimally use the space, and for storing video collections and images it is better to use a larger cluster size. Nothing depends on the volume label, and it can be easily changed through Explorer at any time.
Due to file system a new partition will be created and a new volume will appear on the hard drive. When creating several partitions with an unallocated area, you will have to do the same as in steps 4-6.
Volume breakdown during Windows 10 installation
If your computer does not yet have an operating system, you can also crash your hard drive while installing it. The difference between this option is the impossibility of dividing the drive into logical volumes without formatting, and this method is not suitable for hard drives with important information.
1. Boot from the installation distribution using the Boot Menu.
2. We get to the stage of selecting a disk for installing “ten”, choosing the “Custom” option.
3. Remove unnecessary volumes to make them an unallocated area.
4. As before, select this space and create sections of the specified sizes in it.
