What is the best way to partition a 2 TB hard drive? How to partition a hard drive
There is a need to divide it into several sections. This process is called hard drive partitioning. In this article we will talk about how to partition a hard drive from the Windows operating system or using a boot disk.
Partitioning your hard drive can solve several common problems. First, disk partitioning makes working with files easier. Immediately after purchase, your disk will have one large partition. If you install Windows directly on this partition, the disk will be a complete mess of files. The operating system, programs, games, documents, movies, music and other files will all be located on one disk. Finding the necessary files in such a situation will become much more difficult. If you create separate sections for the operating system and your documents, then navigating through folders and finding the right document will not be difficult for you.
Secondly, partitioning the disk into partitions partially solves the problem with the limited length of the file name. In NTFS, the maximum file path length is 255 characters. Therefore, if you nest many folders inside each other, sooner or later there will come a time when you will see a message that the file name length has reached the limit.
Third, partitioning your disk protects your data. If you store all your data on the same partition as the operating system, then if you reinstall the operating system, you will lose all information. Of course, before installing the operating system, files can be transferred to disk, but this is a very troublesome process.
How to partition a hard drive from a Windows installation disk
If you have just connected a new hard drive and want to install Windows on it, then the most convenient way to partition the disk is using . Insert the Windows disc into your computer's drive and start the installation process.
The installation process must reach the partition selection stage. In this window, you can split the disk into partitions; to do this, click on the “Disk Settings” link.
After clicking on the “Disk Setup” link, you will see a list of actions that you can perform with your disk. In order to split a disk into two or more partitions, you must first delete the old partition. Therefore, click on the “Delete” link.
After this, you can create new sections; to do this, click on the “Create” link.
After creating the partition, you will see a proposal to create an additional partition for system files. Click “OK”.
That's it, one partition has been created. In order to finish partitioning the disk, you need to allocate unallocated space on the disk and create another partition.
As a result, you should get something like this.
Partition 1 is an additional partition for system files, partition 2 is your partition for the operating system, and partition 3 is a partition for your files. Select Partition 2 and continue installing the Windows operating system.
Partitioning a hard drive from a boot disk
If the operating system has not yet been installed, and partitioning the disk from the Windows installation disk does not suit you, then you can use a boot disk with the free Partition Wizard program. An image of this boot disk can be used.
Burn this disk image to an optical disc and boot your computer from it. After the computer boots, a menu will open in front of you, in which you need to select “Boot from Partition Wisard Boot Disk”
After this, the Partition Wizard program will begin to launch. In a few seconds the program will load and you can start working.
The interface of the Partition Wizard program on the boot disk is no different from the Partition Wizard interface for Windows OS. Below we will look at the process of partitioning a disk using the Partition Wizard program for Windows.
How to partition a hard drive in Windows
Like the boot disk, Partition Wizard for Windows is completely free. You can download it from and install it on your computer.
After launching the Partition Wizard program, we need to find a new, unbroken disk; it is indicated by a gray stripe and the words “Unallocated”. Right-click on the new disk and select “Create”.
After this, a window will open in which you need to enter the settings for the new section. At the top of the window, enter the name of the new partition, select the file system and the letter that will designate the new partition. At the bottom of the window you need to specify the size of the new partition. At the same time, here you have the opportunity to specify the amount of unallocated free space that will be left before and after the partition. In addition, you can specify the partition size using the slider. In this case, you do not have to manually enter the exact size of the new partition.
For example, we entered the following data:
- Section name: Test
- Partition type: Logical
- Section letter: E
- Cluster Size: Default
- Partition size: 400 GB
Save the result using the “OK” button. After that, we got a new partition with a size of 400 GB.
In order to finish partitioning the disk, you need to create one or more new partitions on the remaining free space. This can be done by repeating the partition creation procedure.
After partitioning the hard drive is completed, the result must be saved using the “Apply” button, which is located on the program panel.
How to partition a hard drive without using third-party programs
It should be noted that in order to partition a disk from the Windows operating system, it is not at all necessary to install special programs, such as Partition Wizard. The Windows operating system has a very convenient tool called Disk Management. In order to open the Disk Management window, you need to open the Start menu (or the Start screen if you are using Windows 8) and enter the command “diskmgmt.msc” in the search bar.
Of course, Disk Management is not comparable in its capabilities to specialized programs. But, in many cases, the capabilities of this tool are sufficient.
Using the Disk Management tool, you can perform the following operations with disks: creating and deleting partitions, formatting partitions, creating dynamic disks, changing the drive letter, shrinking the volume, enabling the Active Disk function. You can read more about the capabilities of this tool in our article about.
Partitioning a hard drive using Windows 7
Partitioning the C:\ drive in Win7
When purchasing a new computer or laptop with the Windows 7 operating system preinstalled, many users are faced with the problem of dividing the hard drive into several partitions.
Partitioning the hard drive into several partitions is important both from the point of view of ease of use of the system interface and the ability to save data after reinstalling or restoring the operating system.
Main partition C:\
As you know, when you reinstall the operating system, all data located on the C:\ drive is lost, while the data on the remaining partitions of the hard drive remains intact. All important files can be easily used even after the system is restored.
Partitioning a hard drive is also convenient because programs and applications are installed on the system partition C:\. If the C:\ drive is the only one, then when you add all kinds of files and folders to it, confusion arises between system files and regular folders added by the user. In this case, it is easy to get confused in the files and inadvertently delete some important system file. Therefore, partitioning the hard drive is necessary.
In order to split a hard drive in Windows 7 into several partitions (logical drives), many use specialized programs, like Partition Magic and the like. Using such programs, you can split a disk into several partitions. But Windows 7 provides the ability to split it using system utilities. In this case, the need for third-party programs completely disappears.
To partition a hard drive in Windows 7, you need to go to the computer control panel.
You can do this in two ways:
It is clear that the first method is simpler.
In the “Disk Management” tab you can view all the information on our HDD and its partitions. In addition to the main C:\ partition, there is a possibility of finding a hidden recovery partition.
Main partition C:\ and hidden recovery partition
The recovery partition is used to store information to restore the operating system in the event of a serious failure when the system does not boot. It is not indicated by a letter. It is worth noting that the amount of memory occupied by recovery files can reach several gigabytes (usually about 15GB). Also, in addition to it, there is a section on the disk System Reserved , volume 100 megabytes. These sections are official, since they are not used by the user in any way and serve for the normal functioning of the operating system.
So, let's turn our attention to the C:\ drive, which is to be divided into sections - additional logical drives.
In order to split it, right-click on the conventional image of the disk. In the drop-down menu, select “ Shrink Volume…”.
Item "Compress volume..."
After the request is completed, a window will appear in which the compression parameters will be indicated. If the disk has not been partitioned before, then by default the utility will offer to split it approximately in half. If the HDD initially had a memory capacity of, for example, 1.8 Terabytes, then after division two sections are formed with a capacity of approximately 900 Gigabytes each.
The window that appears indicates the size of the C:\ volume before compression (in megabytes) and the size of the compressed space. The size of the compressed space is the amount of memory of the new partition that will be created. The total size after compression is the size of the C:\ volume after compression. It will be slightly larger than the newly created one. As already mentioned, the system will offer to divide the available memory approximately in half.
If you have the desire and confidence in your abilities, you can indicate your numbers and divide the disk according to your needs. In any case, it will be possible to carry out the reverse procedure - volume expansion and return everything to its previous state.
After familiarizing yourself with the separation parameters, click the “Compress” button. After a short process, another partition with the inscription “Unallocated” will appear on the HDD.
The item "Create a simple volume..."
The “Create a Simple Volume Wizard” will launch. Click “Next”. The “Specify volume size” window will appear – click “Next” again. In the next window, select the letter of the new volume in the “ Assign a drive letter" You can choose any letter you like.
Assigning a letter for the new partition
We confirm the choice and specify the file system in the new window. In point " Format this volume as follows:” specify the file system NTFS , leave the cluster size at default. Put a tick in the checkbox “ Quick formatting” and click “Next”. A window will appear with all the specified parameters. If everything is correct, then click the “Done” button.
If you are not satisfied with the default parameters set by the system, then, of course, you can set your own. But in most cases this is not required.
After a few seconds, the new HDD partition will be formatted, a letter will be assigned to it, and the inscription “Good (Logical drive)” will appear in the symbol field. Now the C:\ drive will be divided into two.
New HDD partition - New volume (E:)
If desired, you can change the name of the new section, and instead of “ New volume”, give another. You can do this in several ways:
1 .In the computer control panel in the disk management window, select the one whose name you want to change. Right-click and select " Properties". In the name field, enter a new name and confirm by clicking OK.
If you have a solid-state drive (SSD) installed in your system instead of an HDD, then the separation technique is similar.
“Attention This article is in no way intended for PR purposes or to convince experienced users to do otherwise. This article is just a set of modest conclusions of the author based on his own experience and changes in the IT world around us.”
The question is interesting BUT controversial. On many modern computers you can encounter a similar situation - the hard drive is divided into two or more partitions, the computer freezes when loading or the system does not start - cause: The system drive C: has run out of free space. And other logical drives are 10-20% occupied with information at this time
On the Internet, you can ask the following question: Why partition your hard drive?
And of course see very convincing answers
I, in turn, will try to refute the answers by explaining the reasons.
So let's go
WHY PARTITION YOUR HARD DISK?
Answer:
-for comfort
Refutation
How convenient is it that the disk is divided into several partitions? It takes longer to move from one section to another.
Answer:
-Do you have a closet with shelves or do you put everything in one chest?
Refutation
Why is there a comparison with a closet? Creating thematic folders on a disk (for example, movies, games, music) is much more informative than the mysterious designations Local drive C, Local drive D, etc.
Answer:
-In short, that’s how it should be!
Refutation
I agree - this has been the custom since the days when Windows 95-98 was in use and when the system was reinstalled, the new OS was installed in the same folder where the old OS was. New files were mixed with old files - which led to zero effect after reinstallation. Therefore, it was necessary to format Disk C, deleting all the information on it; at that time there were no flash drives or disks to save the necessary information, and therefore the solution was to create an additional partition where important information could be copied or even stored. In those days, computers were more aimed at advanced users or specialists and were used exclusively for work, now computers have become home computers - aimed at ordinary users who do not need to delve into the intricacies of the computer - today the computer has become a powerful multimedia and gaming device in our home. This is how it has been customary since ancient times to split a hard drive into partitions, and today no one can clearly explain why this is done.
Answer:
-for example, it’s convenient for me if the system crashes, then the files will remain on another disk, I have all the important files on another disk
Refutation
Well, if we have one logical drive C - and the system crashes - Where will our files go from the computer? They will remain in place. If we need to install Windows XP on top of an existing already installed Windows XP, then during installation we can choose actions - erase all the files in the existing Windows folder (delete everything from the folder) and install a new version of Windows there? Or create a new folder and install the operating system there (the folder will be called Windows.0), no mixing with the old system occurs, we get an absolutely functional, new operating system. No deletions occur from the local drive C - important information remains in place in its folders. Unless of course you format your hard drive. And the need to format the hard drive itself disappears. Windows Vista and Windows 7, when installed on top of an existing operating system, will automatically determine whether any operating system was installed before and will save all old system files in a separate folder called Windows.old. Again, without affecting Our information. If you install a Linux-like operating system, then during installation you will also be asked to save part of the disk with the Windows operating system and the FAT32 or NTFS file system separately, and install the Linux system on another part of the disk with a different file system from FAT32 or NTFS. And also, when you boot the computer, you will be given a choice of which OS you can boot into: Windows OS or Linux OS.
Answer:
-Convenient if you rearrange Windows. You format drive C and install Windows from scratch, but on drive D all files remain untouched.
Refutation
If you format Disk C, then all your documents from the “Desktop” and from the “My Documents” folder will disappear forever. Because these documents are physically stored on Drive C in the Documents and Settings folder. And it turns out that all the films and music will remain in place, but the documents and photographs will disappear somewhere. Please note that when installing a new version of Windows, these folders are not deleted or changed.
Answer:
-Acceleration of defragmentation and disk checking processes, because you can perform these steps at different times on each drive
Refutation
Modern disk defragmentation programs are improving every day and currently support STEALTH mode (invisible), assigning defragmentation tasks, and automatically turning off the computer when defragmentation is complete. Using these modes, disk defragmentation will take place without user participation in this process. Or in the background - while the user is working on documents or is on the Internet.
Answer:
- Yes, to separate flies from cutlets. The operating system is on C:, and everything else is on other partitions. And if the axis falls off, then the necessary files on other partitions will remain safe and sound
Refutation
And finally - Games. All programs are installed on the C drive by default. The installer does not know whether there are any additional logical drives on the computer. To install the game in another partition, during the installation process of the game you must independently select a disk and a folder different from the proposed installation option on Drive C. Which in turn causes inconvenience and confusion during installation. I came across games that were installed only on Drive C:, or without the ability to select a drive for installation at all. Most users use a computer for games and entertainment - and why should they delve into the intricacies of installing a game if they just need to install the game and play. So it turns out that everything is installed on Disk C, while Disk D and other local drives remain free or partially occupied.
RESULT
Of course, I don’t insist that you should never split a hard drive into logical drives - I just came to the conclusion over time that it’s better to make one whole hard drive. This will eliminate a number of the problems described above related to the stability of the computer and the availability of free disk space. If the hard drive fails, it will happen as a whole, not in parts. (28.12.2010)
UPDATE —03.2013—
Later 2 years I also have not changed my opinion that there is no need to partition the hard drive into partitions; for myself, I have long been using the scheme of 2 or more physical disks in a computer:
1. Disc– System (for this, it’s better not to spare your money and buy an SSD drive.) It’s best to take a disk with a capacity of 120 GB or higher. Tested 60GB SSD on myself - installed the system and main programs - only 10-15GB of free space (constantly have to be monitored)
2. Disc– multimedia, entertainment, games, storage, in general, everything you need. (Regular HDD capacity 1-2TB)
If your system has only one hard drive, and Windows is already installed on one single partition... This, of course, will significantly complicate our life. That's why I recommend from the very beginning partition the hard drive, and then use them as described above.
You can partition your hard drive using a standard program Disk management, which is hidden quite deeply in the system - and for good reason: literally with one careless move in this minefield you can destroy all your data. So practice either on a clean, newly installed system - or first create a complete information copy of your computer using Acronis True Image or a standard archiving program (Disk Backup). Well, after that: Click on the icon Search and type the command Control...
You will immediately receive a link to the program Computer management. Launch it. On the vertical panel on the left, find the line Disk management and click on it. A list of drives installed on your computer will appear in the lower right part of the window. Select your main hard drive that you want to “split” into two partitions and right-click on it.
Select a team Shrink Volume and select the partition of the size you want after compression. Click OK. After completing the procedure, we will receive a reduced system partition and an unallocated area that can be turned into a new partition...
And an additional disk in our system. Right-click on the unallocated space and select the command Create a simple volume...
After this, the program will launch a wizard that will prompt you to assign a letter to the new disk and select the file system type (NTFS). We leave everything as default...
Ready! Now our system has a new disk, and the system partition has become smaller. In the same way, you can not only split your hard drive into partitions, but also merge partitions using the Extend volume command. Alas, when using a standard tool, saving data is only possible in the first of them; the data in the second will be irretrievably lost.
We divide the hard drive into partitions during installation
If your computer has only one hard drive and one partition (which is usually the case when installing on a “clean” computer), then we won’t have to choose anything. Although I would recommend that you do not allocate the entire disk for the “system”, but create a separate partition for it with a capacity of no more than 200 GB: this can be done in “custom” mode when choosing the installation location using the button Create. This is done for the convenience of backing up the disk: we will do this a little later either using standard programs, or, which is much better, the special Acronis True Mage package.
Please note that if you decide to partition your hard drive when installing Windows, then this operation deletes all data on your hard drive, so experiment with partitions only on a new hard drive, or on a drive that you would already like to completely clear.
So, we create the first partition of 60 GB “for the system”, and the second, for the entire remaining volume, to store the rest of the data. In fact, there will be three partitions, since Windows will allocate several tens of megabytes to store its own boot data.
After creating partitions, it is recommended to also format them (with the exception of the system “reserve” created by Windows itself) (that is, create a file system on it and make it suitable for writing data). The system partition, however, will be formatted during installation anyway, but a large, user partition is best prepared before it begins.
If you try to install Windows in the same folder in which the previous operating system already “lives”, the installation program will offer to simply remove it - with all the settings and programs (in fact, everything is not so scary: the old operating system and programs are not deleted , but are transferred to a special folder with a name like Windows.old - after installation you can delete it yourself).
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
Main program window
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»
After rebooting, the program waits 10 seconds. We do not press anything during this time. If you want to cancel, press any key...
Let’s make sure again, go to “ My computer"and rejoice!
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/ .
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? 🙂
