Programs

How to partition a new disk. How to Partition a Hard Drive: Three Easy Ways

Convenient distribution of disk space on a computer is one of the fundamental steps for comfortable work and performance. operating system. After purchasing a new PC or reinstalling the operating system, the question arises - how to properly divide HDD? The standard division into two volumes C and D will not be enough for a large hard drive. 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 be the key to the speed of the OS, by reducing the rate of fragmentation of the system volume. There are three simple ways to split into parts in the Windows operating system:

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

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

back up important personal files;
free up additional hard disk space;
check the hard drive for possible errors.

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

Having received enough space for a new partition, you need to check the hard drive for errors. Go to "My Computer" select desired disk and go to Properties. After we select the "Service" tab and click "Perform verification", put both checkmarks and wait for completion. At the end of the check, the OS will ask you to restart the PC - we confirm. The disk properties interface in Windows 7 and XP is identical, so there will be no difficulties.

Working with Partitioning Programs

The interface of the program 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.

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

How to partition a hard drive into sections without installing software

The ability to divide a hard drive into partitions using system services is provided in Windows versions 7 and above. To do this, we find the item "Management", located in the folder "My Computer". 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 hidden section"System Reserved" - restorative 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 Shrink". 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 install desired value. In the event that a miscalculation is made, it will be possible to return previous dimensions partition by selecting "Unclench volume" in the disk options. The system drive is shrinking, after which a new partition called "Unallocated" will be displayed. Open the list of functions and click "Create a simple volume ...". The New Simple Volume Wizard window will appear on the screen and prompt you to designate the new partition with a letter and give it a name. This is followed by the process of formatting into the file system. Having decided on the option, click "Continue", and in a few minutes the work on creating a new section will be completed.

Separation of the hard drive when installing or reinstalling the operating system

Partitions should be created at the moment when the OS installation reaches the moment of choosing the partition in which it should be installed. Next steps:

Create a partition for the OS, let it be drive C, and enter its size. If initially there is 1 TB of memory in the hard drive, you can allocate 100-120 GB for the "OS" - this is enough.
Next, the computer will ask you to allocate some more space for backup files, you need not be stingy, but click the "Agree" button.
Create a second partition: look for the line "Free disk space", click "Create". Next, set the size for it. Name it drive "D" and click "Apply". So, there are already two sections.
To create the third partition, we proceed in the same way as described above: “Free disk space” - “Create”. Specify the entire remaining size from the original.
Click on the "C" drive, which was allocated for the OS and click "Next". Your Windows 7/8 installation continues.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in partitioning a hard drive into several departments. Even a novice user can handle this simple process. The main thing is to do everything clearly according to the written points, and you will succeed. With proper execution, you will have several disks, each of which can store certain folders, files, etc. This will get rid of the problem of constant search necessary information on the computer.

The second important plus of splitting the hard drive is that when you reinstall the OS, for any reason, all information can be destroyed during the formatting process. And if the OS on the computer is on one disk, and all the files are on others, the process of destroying the contents will affect only one section 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: two to four sections, depending on the size of your hard drive.

On the modern computers and laptops have relatively large data stores that contain all the files you need to work and play. Regardless of the type of media and how you use your computer, keeping one large partition on it is very inconvenient. This creates a lot of chaos in the file system, putting multimedia files and critical data at risk when the system is broken and physically damaged. hard disk.

For maximum optimization free space on the computer, a mechanism was developed for dividing all memory into separate parts. Moreover, the larger the volume of the carrier, the more relevant the separation will be. The first section is usually prepared for the installation of the operating system itself and the programs in it, the remaining sections are created based on the purpose of the computer and the stored data.

Due to the fact that this topic is quite relevant, in the Windows 7 operating system itself, there are enough handy tool for disk management. But at modern development In the software industry, this tool is quite outdated, it was replaced by simpler and more functional third-party solutions that can show the true potential of the partitioning mechanism, while remaining understandable and accessible to ordinary users.

Method 1: AOMEI Partition Assistant

This program considered one of the best in its field. Primarily, AOMEI Partition Assistant is distinguished by its reliability and non-failure operation - the developers have presented exactly the product that will satisfy the most demanding user, while the program is intuitive out of the box. It has a competent Russian translation, stylish design, the interface resembles a standard windows tool, but in reality is much higher than it.

The program has many paid versions created for different needs, but there are also free option for home non-commercial use - we don't need more to partition disks.

Download from the official website of the developer setup file, which after downloading must be launched by double-clicking. Follow very simple Master installation, launch the program either from the last window of the Wizard or from a desktop shortcut.
After a short splash screen and an integrity check, the program immediately shows the main window in which all actions will take place.

The process of creating a new partition will be shown using an example of an existing one. For a new disk, which consists of one continuous piece, the methodology will not differ in absolutely anything. On the free space to be divided, press right click mouse to open the context menu. In it, we will be interested in the item called "Section Separation".

In the window that opens, you need to manually set the dimensions that we need. There are two ways to do this - either drag the slider, which provides a quick, but not exact setting of parameters, or immediately set specific values in the field "New Partition Size". The old partition cannot have less space than the this moment the files are there. Take this into account right away, because during the splitting process, an error may occur that compromises the data.

After the required parameters are set, you need to click on the button "OK". The tool will close. The main window of the program will be shown again, only now another, new one will appear in the list of sections. It will also be shown at the bottom of the program. But so far this is only a preliminary action, which allows only a theoretical assessment of the changes made. In order to start the division, you need to click on the button in the upper left corner of the program "Apply".

Before that, you can also immediately set the name of the future section and the letter. To do this, on the piece that appears, right-click, in the section "Advanced" select item "Change drive letter". Set the name by right-clicking on the section again and selecting the item "Change label".
A window will open in which the program will show the user the previously created splitting operation. We check all the numbers before starting. Although it is not written here, you should know: a new partition will be created, formatted in NTFS, after which it will be assigned a letter available in the system (or previously specified by the user). To start execution, click on the button "Jump".

The program will check the correctness of the entered parameters. If everything is correct, she will offer several options for performing the operation we need. This is because the partition you want to "cut" is most likely in use at the moment. The program will prompt you to unmount this partition from the system in order to perform the action. However, this is not the most the best way for those who have a lot of programs from there (for example, portable ones). Most in a safe way there will be partitioning outside the system.
Clicking on the button "Reboot Now", the program will create a small module called PreOS and inject it into startup. After that, Windows will reboot (before that, save everything important files). Thanks to this module, the separation will be done before the system boots, so nothing will interfere with it. The operation may take long time, because the program will check the disks and the file system for integrity in order to avoid damage to partitions and data.

Until the completion of the operation, user participation is not required at all. During the partitioning process, the computer may restart several times, displaying the same PreOS module on the screen. When the job is completed, the computer will turn on in the usual way but only on the menu "My computer" Now a freshly formatted partition will hang, immediately ready for work.

Thus, all the user needs to do is just specify the desired partition sizes, then the program will do everything itself, eventually producing fully functional partitions. Please note that before pressing the button "Apply" The newly created partition can be divided into two more in the same way. Windows 7 is based on media with an MBR table that supports up to 4 partitions. For home computer this will suffice.

Method 2: System Disk Management Tool

The same can be done without the use of third-party software. The disadvantage of this method is that the automatism of the tasks performed is completely absent. Each operation is performed immediately after setting the parameters. The advantage is that the separation takes place right in the current session of the operating system, there is no need to reboot. However, between the execution of various actions in the process of following the instructions, the system constantly collects up-to-date debugging data, therefore, in the general case, no less time is spent than in the previous method.

On the label "My computer" right click, select item "Control".

In the window that opens, in the left menu, select the item "Disk Management". After a short pause, while the tool collects all the necessary system data, the user will see a familiar interface. In the lower area of the window, select the section that you want to split into parts. Right click on it and select "Shrink Volume" in the appeared context menu.

A new window will open with a single editable field. In it, specify the size of the future section. Please note that this number should not be greater than the value in the field "Available space for compression (MB)". Consider the size to be set based on the parameters 1 GB = 1024 MB (another inconvenience, in AOMEI Partition Assistant, the size can be immediately set in GB). Click the button "Squeeze".

After a short separation, a list of sections will appear at the bottom of the window, where a black piece will be added. It is called "Unallocated" - a future blank. Click on this fragment with the right mouse button, select item "Create a simple volume..."

will start "Master of Creation simple volumes» in which to click the button "Further".

In the next window, confirm the size of the partition to be created, then click again "Further".

Now assign the required letter by selecting any one you like from the drop-down list, proceed to the next step.

Select the file system format, set a name for the new partition (preferably use Latin characters, without spaces).

In the last window, double-check everything before set parameters, then press the button "Ready".

This completes the operations, in a few seconds a new partition will appear in the system, ready for work. Reboot is not needed at all, everything will be done in the current session.

The built-in tool provides everything necessary settings for the partition being created, they are quite enough for the average user. But here you have to do each step manually, and between them you just sit and wait certain time while the system collects the required data. And data collection can take a long time. weak computers. Therefore, the use of third-party software will be the best option for fast and high-quality separation hard drive for the right amount of pieces.

Be careful before performing any operations with data, be sure to do backups and recheck the manual settings. Creating multiple partitions on your computer will help you organize your file system structure and separate the files you use in different places for safe storage.

The question is quite relevant, since today almost any laptop and any computer of the finished assembly is sold already with a preinstalled operating system. Windows system. In 90% of cases you will not broken hard disk, i.e. only the system local disk.

But everyone is used to the fact that the hard drive is divided into several parts, most often there are two of them: one for the system and programs, the second for storing personal information. Let's consider splitting a disk into two parts using the built-in tools of Windows 7. Starting from this version, you can split a disk without third-party software products. In my case, there is only one 60 GB disk.

Let's try to break it into two parts. To do this, right-click on the "Computer" icon and click on the "Management" section.

In the Computer Management window, go to the Disk Management tab. Our “C drive” will appear on the right side, which we will share.

We don’t touch what is “Reserved by the system”, since the boot area is located in this small area. We right-click on the "C drive" area and click on "Compress volume" in the pop-up menu.

And the volume will be polled to determine the available space for compression. Let's wait...

Total size before disk compression: 60938 MB. Available space for compression: 28370 MB. That is it maximum size, which can be chopped off from the "drive C".

You will have much more, since my disk is small and I also need space to store the system. After compression, 32568 MB will remain. I recommend leaving 100 GB for the Windows 7 system drive if your drive is 500 GB. If your disk is larger, then leave 150 GB for the system.

For the sample, I will leave it as it is, that is, I will try to free it as much as possible possible space for "disk D" with personal information. After you click on the "Compress" button, the process of allocating space will begin. After a few minutes of waiting, a free space appeared.

Now, in place of the "Unallocated" section, we will right-click and select "Create Simple Volume" from the menu.

The New Simple Volume Wizard opens.

At the next stage, we create the size of the future "disk D". If you want to split the disk into two parts, then leave it as it is. If we want, for example, to split into three parts, then we write here the size of the second local partition, and on the remaining unallocated area we do the same and create the third volume.

In general, I leave it as it is, so that I get two disks and click "Next".

At the next stage, select the letter of the future drive. In my case, this is the letter E, since the letter D is occupied by the CD drive.

We talked about how to create boot disk(Live CD) AOMEI PE Builder. In this article, I decided to tell you how to partition a hard drive using Windows and free program AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition.

Why share a hard drive at all? Many laptops and computers are sold with an unbroken hard drive, ie. exists on disk only one sectionC: for the system and data and additional service partitions for programs from laptop manufacturers.

There is a saying: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." So is the case with your hard drive in the 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 an error occurs on the C: partition (drive C:), all data on this partition is endangered, including your data. Secondly, at reinstalling Windows, if you have only one partition, you need to rewrite all your data from this partition to another location, which takes considerable time with a large volume and is not always external hard a disk or a bulk flash drive where this data can be rewritten. And thirdly, it is always convenient to have two or more partitions (disks) to separate systems and data. In this article, I will tell you and show you how to divide a 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 the risk of losing is always 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 in advance data backup how to do it I described. So let's get started...

How to partition a hard driveWindows

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 sections. In this case, two sections: reserved by the system (350 MB), it contains files Windows boot and system partition C: (24 GB) on which Windows is installed.

You may have a disk divided into three or even four partitions (depending on the laptop model), but this does not change the essence, since these partitions are most likely inaccessible to you and are used by laptop manufacturers' utilities.

We are also interested in section C: (marked in red in the photo), we must divide it (split) into two parts (section C: and section D :)

Do not be surprised that in the photo I have a small hard drive (25 GB), as I show the whole process on virtual machine, where a hard drive of this size is installed, all your actions will take place on physical computer or laptop. But this does not change the process of partitioning the hard disk. All images are clickable.

Right-click on the C: section and select " Shrink volume...»

The system polls the hard disk volume to determine where to compress

In the next window specify the size compressible space in MB, that is, indicate how much we compress partition to then give this space for a new partition of the disk and press the button " Compress". We mean that the size of the compressible 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 further: standard means management Windows disks they can “stubbornly” and not give as much space as you “ask”, although you have it free. This can be caused by a number of reasons, one of which is data fragmentation on this section. In such a case, you must use special programs disk management, one of which I describe Further in this article. We read, do not get distracted 🙂

After shrinking 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, for this we right-click on it and select " Create a simple volume...»

The Create Simple Volume Wizard window appears, in which we click " Further»

Specify the size of our volume in MB and click " Further»

Note:

Assign a letter to our new partition (disk). Press " Further»

We format our new partition with the option " Quick Format", click" Further»

We see that the wizard has completed the creation of 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! We go to " My computer" and 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 consider 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 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»

We press the button " Download Now»

The program will start downloading to your computer. After downloading, run this file to install

Installing the program is simple, see the screenshots (pictures are clickable) ...

Click to scroll through the pictures 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 60-150 GB partition is enough, I usually leave 80 GB.

Now what are we going to do. We will compress drive C: (change the partition), and use the freed space for a new partition (disk D:). What do we need for this? This program is both a bubble and mindfulness.

So, right-click on the C: section 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»

Approximately as in the photo below. I resized the C: partition to 80 GB. Press " OK»

Now in the main window of the program we see that our disk has unallocated space for a new partition (partitions). Let's use this 🙂 and create a new partition in this disk space. To do this, right-click on the unallocated space and select " Section creation»

Specify the size of our new partition, the program by default offers all free space, select the drive letter and click " OK»

Note: If you want to create more than one partition, then specify 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 “ Pending operations”, where the program shows what operations it will do with 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 the reboot, the program waits for 10 seconds. We do not press anything during this time. If you want to cancel, press any key...

We make sure again, go to " My computer"and rejoice!

Well what did you like free version programs 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;
Copy disk/partition;
Create, delete, format partitions;
Create a bootable CD;
MBR recovery;
Convert from MBR to GPT disk and vice versa without data loss;
Partition recovery;
Disc surface testing;
Partition alignment and disk acceleration, especially SSD disks;
Converting the FAT/FAT32 file system to NTFS

The program supports all types of drives: hard drives HDD/SSD with MBR/GPT disk partition styles, RAID arrays, flash drives.

Here is my video on how to partition a hard drive with the free AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition

Contest "Like - get the key"!

Friends, there is paid version programs, . In the paid version of the program, in addition to standard features described above, additional functions are available:

Converting a partition from primary to logical and vice versa;
Distribution of free space from a partition to another partition;
Creating and working with dynamic disk partitions;
transformation dynamic disk to the base disk;
Changing the partition type;
The change serial number hard disk;
Free technical support

Full list on this page:

It just so happens that I have 3 license keys per program AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition cost 32 $ (near 1800 R. May 2015) and I want to arrange for you competition and play these keys among your readers!

Competition rules are simple.:

You need to click a little lower on one of the buttons of social networks

Leave a link to your profile in the comments social network.

Summarizing:

June 6, 2015 I will 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 comments.

I will assign a serial number to each participant. The choice of winners will be determined randomly using a random number generator on the service www.randstuff.ru/number/ .

No more than one is accepted from each participant. Laika” in one social network. There will be three winners. Each will get one license key.

Competition winners will receive license keys per program AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition and will be able to fully use all the functions of this wonderful program. Well, have you started? Who is first? 🙂

Many users personal computers and laptops are faced with the need to divide their hard drive into several parts. This can be useful for visual distribution of the functions of individual parts: for example, one virtual disk will be occupied by the system and temporary files - the cache, the second will host games and the necessary software, and the third will become the storage of media content. This article provides a guide on how to partition your hard drive using Windows 7 tools and third-party programs.

Dedicating a separate virtual (or physical) hard disk for an operating system is very convenient. Firstly, you will not be able to inadvertently fill up the system disk with files, which can slow down your computer. Secondly, if something happens to the Windows system and the partition will have to be formatted during reinstallation, all your photos, movies, books, music and documents will not be affected, because they are not stored on the same disk with the system.

Also, if you intend to keep a large number of information of different sizes, in order to optimize machine search, it is worth placing large and small files on different hard disk. This will greatly speed up the search for the file you need.

Partitioning when installing Windows

If you have not installed the system yet, this method is the most correct. Your hard drive will be partitioned before Windows is installed on it using special utilities stored in the installation image or on disk. The guide presented here is intended for users who already know how to install the operating system:

Boot from installation disk or flash drives;
Wait for the installation of the operating system to begin;
Select the installation language and click "Install";
Check out the terms license agreement, confirm your agreement with them and click "next";
Select full Windows installation 7;

You have reached the point where the process of splitting hdd into parts begins. If the disk is already divided into several partitions, and you want to change their structure, the most correct solution would be to delete them first. It must be remembered that all data on the device will be irretrievably lost. If you have purchased a new storage medium, you will have only one section. It should also be removed.

Now you have resources for marking new partitions, it is called "unallocated space on disk 0". Click the "create" button and select the size of the first partition. As a rule, it will be used as a system one and should be allocated 50-100 gigabytes depending on your needs and the size of the physical hdd. Create the rest of the partitions you need in the same way. However, keep in mind that an MBR Hdd cannot be split into more than four parts.

Separation using standard Windows 7 tools

Before the advent of the G7, such actions were possible only with the help of third-party software. This version has system utilities to separate hard drives into parts. Using standard Windows 7 tools, you can divide a disk into several parts, resize these parts, delete or combine several into one. The procedure is presented in the manual.

First you need to defragment. There is no point in going into the details of this process, but, roughly speaking, it will organize and sort all the files on your disk.

Go to "My Computer", right-click on your hdd icon, and select "Properties".
Open the "Tools" tab, and click on the "defragmentation" button. Wait a while for the process to complete.

Now you can proceed directly to the division:

Go to the "Start" menu, right-click on "Computer" and select "Manage". Similarly, you can right-click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop.
From the Computer Management menu, select Disk Management.
Right-click on your hard drive and select Shrink Volume from the drop-down menu. Wait a while while the system calculates the space available for compression.
Specify the size of the compressed space - this is the disk space that you will take from the system partition. 50-100 gigabytes is enough for the system, the rest can be safely compressed.
After compression, unallocated space has formed on the disk, you need to select it, right-click and go to the "Create a simple volume" item.
In the wizard that opens, the size of the future partition is configured (all available space, if you need only one, or part of it, if you intend to create more later). Click next.
Here you can choose a name or letter for the future section. Select any you like and click "Next".
Select "Format volume" and specify the file NTFS system. Click next.
Wait for a while and complete the wizard using the "Finish" button.
If you need to create another partition, repeat steps 5-9.

Now your hdd is divided into several partitions. You can go to "My Computer" and see these sections in File Explorer.

Partitioning with Acronis Disk Director

It is a powerful utility often used system administrators. Its functionality greatly exceeds the standard Windows tools. To work with the program, you need to download and install it. V this manual the sequence of actions for the version of Acronis Disk Director Suite is indicated:

When you first start the program, you will be prompted to select the operating mode. Specify manual mode.
In the menu at the top, select the "Wizards" category, and in it the "Create Partition" item.
Select the hard drive you want to partition and click Next.
Here you need to specify from which already existing parts the space for the new one will be borrowed. It is not recommended to touch the partition signed "Acronis Hidden" - this can lead to a breakdown of your operating system. Click "Next" and wait while the system calculates the available space to borrow.
Use the slider to set the desired size of your future partition and click "Next".
Select "Logical" disk type and click "Next".
Here you need to specify the file system. You need NTFS. Click next.
In this step, you can select a letter for your section. Select the one you like and click "Next".
Click "Finish" and wait for the process to finish.