Parting 

Partition the disk to install Windows. Partitioning your hard drive

Greetings, all readers of this site, today I want to continue the series of articles about preparing to install Windows 10. Today, I want to consider with you the question of how to break HDD into sections. We often encounter a situation where the installed hard drive on a computer is not divided into partitions and the user puts all the information on the system drive. As time passes and the disk becomes full of user files, .

And if there are failures, the user often loses all information when he tries. Therefore, in this article we will look at how to partition a hard drive in Windows 10. After considering all the methods, you just have to choose the appropriate option and apply it for yourself.

I propose to consider in more detail why you need to partition the HDD. As a rule, by dividing your hard drive into several partitions, you will immediately solve several problems that may arise in the future.

  • First. Why you need to do a breakdown is to simplify future work with files stored on disk. The new HDD after formatting will have one large partition. Imagine what will happen if you install an operating system on it, then install a bunch of games, programs, record a lot of movies, music, photos. Thus, in one section you will store all the information that has sometimes been accumulated for years. To ensure that all your wealth does not lie in one heap, you need to split your hard drive into partitions. It is advisable to make at least a system and user partition. This will make it easier for you to work at the computer in the future;
  • Second. By dividing the HDD you protect yourself from the loss of personal data when reinstalling the system. If the operating system stops booting and you decide to perform a clean installation, then you will have to format the hard drive, and this will lead to the deletion of all files on the system partition;
  • Third. The problem with limited file name length is resolved. For example, in the NTFS file system, the maximum length of a file name is 255 characters. Therefore, after using the computer for a long time and having a large nesting of folders, you will receive a message that the file nesting limit has been reached.

I have given you the main reasons why it is necessary to partition the HDD. If this is not done on your computer, then let’s proceed directly to the process of how to partition the hard drive.

How to partition a hard drive from a Windows installation image.

If you have previously installed the Windows operating system, then you probably noticed that before copying the installation files to the disk, you need to prepare its partitions. Therefore, we insert a bootable USB flash drive or disk into the computer, restart the computer and begin the installation process. If you don’t yet have a bootable flash drive, then read the article -. After creating it, begin the installation process. Next, follow the steps:

Note! To create a section equal to the unallocated area, after clicking the Create button, do not change the value in the “Size” field.

  1. After this, you will see two partitions on your hard drive. We will need one for installing the system, and the second for our files.

Now we have looked at how to split a hard drive into two partitions using installation disk. As you can see, there is nothing complicated. You will only need the operating system itself, recorded on disk. As I wrote in the previous article.

If the above method does not suit you, and you were unable to partition your hard drive, then you can create boot disk With free program Partition Wizard. To download the boot image of the program, go to the official website - www.partitionwizard.com/download. After that, create a bootable USB flash drive and restart your computer.

You will see the boot menu of the Partition Wizard program, in which you need to select the “Boot from Partition Wizard Boot Disk” item.

Next, the program itself will open, in which you and I will need to partition the disk. All actions in it are performed in the same way as under Windows control. Therefore, how to set everything up correctly, read the next paragraph.

You probably guessed that in order to partition your hard drive into partitions in Windows 10, you and I will need the free Partition Wizard utility.

After starting the program in the main window you will see a list installed disks on the computer. If you connected a new hard drive and want to partition it, then do the following steps:


  • Section name, specify any clear name;
  • Specify the partition type: logical or active;
  • Specify the desired drive letter;
  • Set the file system type;
  • Leave the cluster size at default.
  1. Next, set the desired partition size by moving the special ruler with the mouse. This way you can specify the size of the partition to be created, and also visually see how much unallocated space will remain on the disk;
  2. After the settings have been made, click the “Ok” button and see how a new disk and the remaining unmarked area appear in the main window;
  3. Create another section in the remaining area by following steps: 1-3;
  4. To apply the changes, you need to click the “Apply” button.

All versions of Windows have a special built-in Disk Management tool for working with them. This tool is less flexible in settings than third-party programs, but it is also suitable for us for partitioning a hard drive.

To open the Disk Management tool:


As you can see, this method It’s also quite simple, and in a couple of clicks you can split your hard drive into partitions.

The computer hard drive is a means of storing system and user data in particular. Sometimes, it is necessary to divide information into some large sections to avoid confusion. It is recommended to install the system on one partition, and user files, programs, etc. save to others. When purchasing a new PC, most often the hard drive is not divided into local disks (partitions), so you need to carry out this operation yourself. Let's look at how to properly partition a hard drive. For example, we will use Windows 7, which is the most stable among current versions (Windows 8, 10).

Before you begin the process of partitioning your disk, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the following tips:

  1. For the OS, allocate at least 50-60 GB of free space, otherwise normal operation you won't see the system. Of course, if you have a hard drive of 100-200 GB, then allocating that much space is too troublesome, but for systems starting from the “seven” you need enough memory.
  2. It is also better to take care of the path for saving files for the browser and torrent client; it is better to set the path for uploading files for them not on the system drive (by default), but on another more capacious partition. You should also understand that desktop content takes up space on the system disk.
  3. If you have a hard drive up to 1 TB, divide it into 3 partitions, if from 1 TB to 2 TB, divide it into 4 partitions, and more than 4 TB into 5 partitions. This is explained by the fact that when downloading large files to the hard drive, optimal division will allow it to be written correctly.
  4. Do not use all available memory on your hard drive. It is necessary to leave some space “in reserve” to restore damaged clusters.

If you follow these tips, you can set up partitioning your hard drive once and not worry about it again until you decide to expand the memory on your computer.

How to partition a hard drive in Windows 7?

To partition the hard drive, we will use a standard tool in the Windows operating system. It's called "Disk Management". To open this utility, you need to do the following:

Now let's move on to how to partition a hard drive in Windows 7. The instructions are as follows:


How to partition a hard drive in Windows 8, 10

Using Windows 7 as an example, we looked at the partitioning process. There will be nothing fundamentally new in the “eight” and “ten”, so you can use this procedure for this system as well. The only exception, we will slightly adjust the tips to perform the task correctly:

  1. For the system disk, leave (add) at least 70-80 GB of information. Starting with “seven”, the system writes to local disk information about the current state so that you can use system recovery if necessary. In addition, after many updates (including up to 8.1, 10), large files are formed that are protected by the system;
  2. Divide the disk into several partitions, do not leave 2 partitions. This will make it more convenient for you to handle files that are recorded on your hard drive, logically structuring them into sections.

How to partition a hard drive in Windows 7, 8, 10 using third-party programs

What to do if you don’t trust the standard tool for working with local disks? We suggest using third party application Partition Wizard. This application is free, does not require much space and is stable. Of course, its functionality is far from Acronis Disk Director, but it will be just right for partitioning a hard drive.

So, first, download it and then install it in a convenient location on your computer. When the program is installed, run it and wait until it loads the necessary information about your system and hard drive.

An unallocated partition will be designated as "Unallocated". Right-click on it and click "Create".

When you run this command, you will need to provide the following information in the next window:

  • Section title;
  • Partition type (for example, logical);
  • Drive letter;
  • File system type;
  • Volume.

Please note that in the case of the program that is built into the system - “Disk Management”, these operations are performed in different windows, but here, for convenience, everything happens in one window. For example, we created new section"Test" with 400 GB on board. Once created, the file system looks like this:

This process can be repeated as many times as you like until you run out of free unallocated space. Please note that it is very important to leave very little free space so as not to damage the hard drive. To create another new partition, simply repeat the instructions. Don't forget to save your progress using the Apply button.

Convenient distribution of disk space on a computer is one of the fundamental actions for comfortable operation and performance of the operating system. After purchasing a new PC or reinstalling the operating system, the question arises - how to properly partition a hard drive? The standard division into two volumes C and D will not be enough when large size Winchester. 100-150 GB are usually allocated for system files; the rest of the disk space will be correctly divided into several parts. This simple action will guarantee the performance of the OS by reducing the rate of fragmentation of the system volume. There are three simple ways division into parts in the Windows operating system:

  1. Installation of separate software.
  2. Using internal Windows services.
  3. Separation when installing/reinstalling the operating system.

When using a separate program to partition a disk, you need to prepare, namely:

  • do backup copy important personal files;
  • free up additional space on your hard drive;
  • check the hard drive for possible errors.

Protecting your personal files from loss during further work is the user’s primary task. Photos, contacts and other files should be copied to an external storage device (hard drive, flash drive) or use a file storage cloud on the Internet. After backing up your data, you should make sure you have free space to create a new partition. To do this, just go to “Control Panel” - “Add or Remove Programs”. View the list and remove unnecessary software, which will provide additional disk space.

Once you have enough space for the new partition, you need to check the hard drive for errors. Go to “My Computer”, select the desired drive and go to “Properties”. Then select the “Service” tab and click “Run check”, check both boxes and wait for completion. At the end of the check, the OS will ask you to restart the PC - confirm. The disk properties interface in Windows 7 and XP is identical, so there will be no difficulties.

Working with partitioning programs

The program interface is configured mainly to solve one problem - how to divide the hard drive into convenient parts. Most of the software works with different versions of Windows 7 and XP; there are both paid services and for free use. It would be more correct to use programs for free use with a Russian interface.

The following are very popular: “Partition Magic”, “Acronis Disk Director”, “Aomei Partition Assistant”. Each uses a standard menu for working with the disk. All that remains is to select the disk that needs to be divided into parts. Then set the volume for the new partition, its name and file system. Any of the programs will offer two file system options: FAT 32 and NTFS. The first is installed when working with Windows 95/98 or Millinium Edition. Starting from XP, NTFS should be selected. For stable operation of the OS mandatory conditions– all hard drive partitions must be formatted to the same file system.

How to partition a hard drive without installing software

The ability to divide the hard drive into partitions using system services, provided in Windows versions 7 and above. To do this, find the “Management” item, located in the “My Computer” folder. In the “Computer Management” menu that opens, open the “Disk Management” tab. A list of disks that are on the PC will appear, as well as a hidden “System Reserved” section - a recovery system disk. We select drive C or the one that we will divide into two or three parts - additional containers. Open the list of disk functions: right button - “Volume compression”. In the window that appears, select the location where you want to compress the disk. Provided that the hard drive was not previously divided into separate parts, the system will offer to divide it into parts approximately equal in volume. Can be installed desired value. If a miscalculation is made, you can return the partition to its previous sizes by selecting “Uncompress volume” in the disk functions. The system disk will be compressed and a new partition will be displayed called “Unallocated”. Open the list of functions and click “Create a simple volume...”. The “Creation Wizard” window will appear on the screen. simple volume” and will ask you to designate the new section with a letter and give it a name. This is followed by the process of formatting into a file system. Having decided on the option, click “Continue”, and in a few minutes the work on creating a new section will be completed.

Partitioning the hard drive when installing or reinstalling the operating system

Partitions should be created at the moment when the OS installation reaches the point of selecting the partition in which it should be installed. Further actions:

  1. Create a partition for the OS, let it be drive C, and enter its size. If the hard drive initially has 1 TB of memory, you can allocate 100-120 GB for the operating system - that’s enough.
  2. Next, the computer will ask you to allocate a little more space for backup files, you need not to skimp, but click the “Agree” button.
  3. Create a second partition: look for the line “Free disk space”, click “Create”. Next we set the size for it. We call it drive “D” and the button “Apply”. So, there are already two sections.
  4. To create the third partition, proceed in the same way as described above: “Free disk space” - “Create”. We indicate the entire size remaining from the original one.
  5. Click on the “C” drive, which is allocated for the OS and click “Next”. The installation of your Windows 7/8 continues.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is nothing complicated about dividing a hard drive into several departments. Even a novice user can handle this simple process. The main thing is to carry out everything clearly according to the written points, and you will succeed. If done correctly, you will have several disks, in each of which you can store certain folders, files, etc. This will eliminate the problem of constantly searching necessary information on the computer.

The second important advantage of partitioning the hard drive is that when reinstalling the OS, for some reason, all information during the formatting process can be destroyed. And if the computer has the OS on one disk, and all the files on others, the process of destroying the contents will affect only one partition of the hard drive. And the speed of the system itself will be faster, the computer will not freeze, thanks to less “cluttered” departments. Ideal option: two to four sections, depending on the size of your hard drive.

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. 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

After purchasing a laptop with the Windows 7 operating system installed, you may find one local drive C, which is not entirely convenient. This is not convenient due to the fact that if a situation arises in which you need to reinstall the system, you will have to manually transfer the information you need to external media and only after that, format the disk and install the system. If you have several local drives, you can initially save the necessary files not on the drive on which the system is installed (often drive C), but on other local drives, and in case of failure, feel free to format the drive on which the system is installed without fear of losing data on other drives. That is, it is prudent to use several local disks, one for the system, the other (others) for saving files (movies, photos, music). To do this, you need to “partition”/split the local disk into one or more. In previous operating versions Windows systems additional download needed software, to split or merge local disks, in Windows 7 you are freed from this and can use the built-in utility, which is very simple and straightforward.

So, let's start splitting/dividing the local disk into two, without losing data. To do this, right-click on "Computer" and choose "Control". If you don't have an icon "Computer" on the desktop, click "START" right click on "Computer" and choose "Control".

Then we go to "Disk Management", select the disk that needs to be partitioned/partitioned, right-click on it and select "Shrink Volume".

After this, a window will open in which you need to specify the size of the new local disk. In field "Size of compressed space (MB)" indicate the size of the new local disk being created (by default, half of the disk will be indicated). Don’t forget you indicate in Megabytes, let me remind you 1 Gigabyte = 1024 Megabytes, i.e. if you want to indicate 100 Gigabytes, you need to write 102400 Megabytes, if 200 Gigabytes - 204800 Megabytes, etc. (I would like to note that the final disk will be different from the one you specify; 5-10 GB will be spent on system files). IN in this example I indicate 200 GB. After specifying the size of the new disk, click "Compress".



After this you will see the created disk. Now you need to create a volume, to do this, right-click on the disks and click "Create Simple Volume".

The next window is informational, read and click "Further".

In the next window, indicate the volume size so that the space is not wasted; indicate the maximum possible.

After that, select the letter by by and large no matter what letter you specify, you can change it in the future.


The next step is to format the created local disk and select the volume label (name). I recommend selecting the NTFS file system, cluster size as default and checking the box "Quick Format".


In the window "Completing the Create Simple Volume Wizard" We look through the specified settings, if everything is specified correctly, click "Ready" if changes need to be made "Back" to the step where the error is.


Let's go to "Computer" and we see the result of partitioning/dividing the local disk, namely a new local disk.


I hope this step by step guide, helped you to partition/partition a local disk in Windows 7 without damage (without data loss).