How to create an additional partition. A hard drive partition has disappeared: what to do and how to get it back into operation. How to properly delete the “System Reserved” partition

The terms "partition" and "volume" have the same meaning to many users, but in fact they are fundamentally different in the context of computer architecture. The term "volume" is synonymous with the word "disk", and is a separate data storage area with its own file system, while a partition is a basic structural unit that can be divided into one or more volumes. Unfortunately, the release of computer equipment with pre-partitioned and formatted disks has led to the fact that most users have no idea about the differences between a partition and a volume. But if you are going to change the disk structure of your computer, then you should understand this well.

Disk partitions

A partition is a structural unit of a hard disk that divides the data storage resource into several virtual units. Partitions are a standard object that is easily recognized by all modern operating systems. At the same time, not all operating systems are able to well identify volumes located on disk partitions. Most manufacturers sell their equipment with just one disk partition, but if this is not enough for you and you want to change the disk structure, you need to use the standard Windows 7 control panel. Select the “System and Security” section in it and you will find it contains the administration section “Administrative Tools”, which, among others, includes a utility for managing the structure of local disks. In addition, you can change the disk structure during installation of the operating system.

Types of Partitions

There are two types of partitions: primary and extended. Most operating systems only require a primary partition to function properly. Only one volume can be created on each primary partition. An extended partition is a special type of partition that can contain multiple volumes (or logical drives) of your choice, the total size of which cannot exceed the size of the extended partition. In total, you can create up to four partitions on one physical disk, one of which can be extended.

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A volume is analogous to a system disk. After creating a disk structure from partitions, you can create a logical disk or volume from each partition, format it and thus get several separate disks in the operating system, just like it looks like when you attach several physical disks to a computer. Each of these volumes is independent and you can format them without fear of damaging data on other logical drives. You can manage all volumes through the “Disk Management” utility, which is launched through the context menu of the “Computer” section or the control panel.

Benefits of creating multiple partitions and logical drives

Although it takes some time to create multiple partitions and volumes on a single physical disk, there are many advantages to such a disk structure. By partitioning the disk into partitions, it is possible to maintain the functionality of one partition, while the file system (FS) of another partition has become inoperable due to FS system errors or detection of bad sectors. Additionally, the time to scan, format, and defragment small-capacity logical drives is significantly less than for whole drives. This division also allows you to separate the system disk from other information, which allows you to reinstall the operating system without any problems or restore it from an image, while preserving your personal and multimedia data.

Simple volumes are dynamic volumes that cover the available free space of a single dynamic hard drive. It is a part of a physical disk that functions as a separate physical unit. Simple volumes can be expanded on the same disk.

Simple volumes are not fault tolerant. When using simple volumes, any physical disk failure results in data loss. However, the loss is limited to the failed drive. In some scenarios, this provides a level of data isolation that can be interpreted as increasing reliability.

I/O performance on a simple volume is identical to disk I/O performance. In some scenarios, simple volume can provide better job than the data layout. For example, when processing multiple, long, sequential streams, performance is much better if each stream is served by a single disk. Additionally, workloads made up of small, random queries when moving across interleaved data locations do not always result in performance benefits.

When creating or modifying simple volumes, use the following information for guidance:

• You must be a member of the "Backup Operator" or "Administrator" group.
• To initialize disks, create volumes, and format the file system, you can use diskpart.exe or Disk Management.
• Before you can save data to volumes, format them for the desired file system. Before you format a volume, give it a drive name or mount point.
• Before deleting volumes, make sure that the information on them has been transferred to another storage medium and verified, or that the data is no longer needed.
• In Windows 7, you can create more than 26 volumes. However, only 26 drive names can be assigned to access these volumes. To access volumes created after the 26th drive name, use volume mount points.

You can create a simple volume using Disk Management and the diskpart command line tool.

Create a simple volume using Disk Management.

1. Launch Disk Management.
2. Run the New Simple Volume wizard on Disk 2.
3. Define the volume size as 100 MB and label the volume as "Simple".

Create a simple volume using Diskpart.exe.

1. Launch Command Prompt.
2. Run diskpart.exe and use the following commands to create a simple volume:

• list disk
• select disk 3
• create partition primary size=100
• list partition
• select partition 2
• format fs=ntfs label=simple2 quick
• assign.

Hello. Today I decided to write about how to create a partition on a hard drive already under Windows 7. Simply put, how to partition a hard drive after Windows installations. First, I’ll write a few words about why you should partition your hard drive and create additional partitions. If for example you bought new computer, or a laptop, then most likely there is no operating system installed on it, and if it does have DOS, then you will most likely want to change it to Windows. I wrote about how to install Windows 7 in the article Installing Windows 7, you can read.

So, most likely your hard drive will not be divided into partitions, but it will either have one partition, or there will simply be an unallocated area. In principle, the hard drive can be partitioned when installing the operating system, there is a very clear editor, but if you did not do this and installed Windows 7 in one single partition, then you can create additional partitions after installing the operating system.

You don't even need special programs for this; Windows 7 has an excellent utility called Disk Management. I have used it to create partitions (local disks) more than once and there have been no problems. You can also take some space from an existing local disk and create another one. This will be useful if, for example, you want to install another operating system, but there is no free memory on your hard drive.

As for the question of whether it is necessary to divide the hard drive into partitions at all, the answer is a clear yes. It is very inconvenient when the operating system, all your files and everything in the world are installed in one partition. Firstly, this will slow down the operation of your system, and secondly, it will be very difficult to find something among this pile of folders. Well, in general, why do this, because you can split a disk very easily. Moreover, hard drives are now larger.

Create a partition on your hard drive for Windows 7

Let's get started with the process of creating new partitions, also known as local disks on Windows 7.

Open "Start" and right-click on "Computer". Then select Manage.

A window will open in which we select on the left and wait a little while information about the partitions on the hard drive is loaded.

Let's look at the structure of our hard drive. As you can see, I have already created sections. And you most likely will have only one section and an unmarked area. In order to take memory from one partition, right-click on a specific partition and select "Shrink volume...", follow the instructions.

After this, you will have a memory in the “Free” status (mine is light green). It is from this area that we will create our sections. And one more thing, if you compressed the system partition with Windows, then I advise you to leave at least 50 GB of memory for it, and if the network is from something, then more is possible.

So, right-click on the “Free” area and select "Create Simple Volume".

The Create Volumes (Local Disks) Wizard will open. In the first window, click "Next".

We indicate the size of the partition we are creating. If you want to create a partition from the entire free area, then simply click "Next".

In the next window, I advise you to leave the formatting of the new partition, and if you wish, you can set the volume label. This is the text instead of the inscription "Local disk". Click "Next".

We check all the information and click "Finish".

Well, that's all. As you can see, nothing complicated. Believe me, it is better to immediately divide the hard drive into partitions than to keep all the information in one section. By the way, you can go to “My Computer”, the new section has already appeared and is ready to work.

A hard drive is designed to permanently store information used when operating a computer. They are also called hard drives or hard drives. The abbreviation HDD also stands for hard drive in computer terminology. A hard disk is one of the fastest devices for writing and reading information, not counting RAM.

Most often, it is not convenient to use a hard drive as a single storage of information, so most users of PCs and laptops split the hard drive into partitions for convenience.

The concept of a hard drive partition

A partition (often referred to as a volume) is an area of ​​a hard drive that can be formatted for a specific file system. A partition or volume is designated by a letter of the Latin alphabet, for example F, E, H, Z, or other letters that are not currently used on this hard drive.

Type of computer hard drive

Types of hard disk partitions

Experts in modern computer terminology related to hard drive partitions distinguish three main types of volumes on a hard drive:

• Primary (Primary partition);
• Extended partition;
• Logical partition.

The primary hard drive partition typically stores user data, programs, and operating system files. There can be more than one primary partition on a hard disk, but there cannot be more than four. It is impossible to install more than one operating system on one primary hard drive volume, so if you want to use several operating systems on one PC, split the hard drive into several partitions. And since there cannot be more than four primary partitions on one hard drive, there cannot be more than four installed operating systems either.

During each session of working with a computer, only one primary partition is active, the one from which the operating system was loaded. Many operating systems have the ability to boot only from the active volume on the hard drive.

An extended partition combines logical drives, which are also called logical partitions. You can create a huge number of logical disks in an extended partition. They can store various information, such as user data, applications, programs, personal photos, videos and documents, even operating system files that can be loaded not only from the primary partition.

Logical partitions are almost no different from extended partitions. Any logical drive is simply an area of ​​an extended partition.

Computer hard drive

Partitioning your hard drive

Many owners of laptops and personal computers, after purchasing, think about the problem of dividing the hard drive into partitions. The essence of this partition is to divide the computer's hard drive into two or more partitions. In most cases, they create a local drive C containing the operating system and system folders, as well as a local drive D on which they mainly store their favorite movies, music, photos, text documents, etc. But for storing personal data, not one, but several local drives can be used and They can be named by any letters of the Latin alphabet.

Hard disk division occurs only formally

Advantages of partitioning your hard drive

Splitting your hard drive into several partitions has many advantages. For example, the most significant advantage of this procedure is that personal files such as videos, photographs and documents will be stored on a separate disk. Because if the need arises to reinstall the operating system, and formatting the disk with the OS is simply inevitable in this case, then all your personal files and folders will be saved.

There is, of course, another solution to this problem. Before reinstalling the operating system, move all important data to removable media, but this is quite a labor-intensive task, especially if the amount of information that needs to be saved is tens or even hundreds of gigabytes. And if a situation arises when an emergency reinstallation of the operating system is necessary, access to personal files saved on a shared local drive along with the OS is no longer possible, important information will simply be lost.

This is what a computer's hard drive looks like when purchased in a store.

Storing system and personal files in different sections of the hard drive will be more convenient. It will be easier to find the information you are interested in, since each section will be less cluttered, and you will easily find the necessary files or folders. In addition, the obvious advantage of partitioning a hard drive is that it is easier for the operating system to work with a less loaded partition, that is, the performance of the OS increases significantly.

Another advantage of dividing a hard drive into partitions is the ability to use several operating systems on one computer. For example, Windows 7 and Windows 8 or Windows XP can be installed on one hard drive, but for this the hard drive must be partitioned. If a failure occurs in one of the operating systems, you will have another operating system installed and ready to use.

To summarize, it is worth highlighting the main advantages of dividing a hard drive into partitions. So, the advantages of this procedure include:

• ensuring the security of personal data even if failures occur in the OS;
• high efficiency of organizing information stored on the hard drive;
• increased OS performance due to less partition load;
• the ability to install and use several operating systems on a computer.

A hard drive is a very complex device that provides quick access to stored information.

Dividing a hard drive into partitions using built-in Windows OS tools

Since we have found out the main reasons why a hard drive is partitioned and become familiar with the main advantages that such a solution subsequently brings, we should consider in detail how to partition a hard drive into local disks in practice. Moreover, we will describe the algorithm for performing this procedure in relation to the most popular operating systems - Windows 7, 8 and 10.

Partitioning a hard drive in Windows 7

If your computer or laptop has the Windows 7 operating system installed, then to divide the hard drive into partitions, follow these steps:

Step 1. Right-click on the “Computer” icon on the desktop or in the “Start” panel, open the context menu, and click “Manage.”

Right-click on the Computer icon

Step 2. In the window that opens, select the “Disk Management” utility from the menu. After this, you will have to wait for a few seconds until a window with the hard drive structure opens.

Select Disk Management

Hard disk partitions

Step 3. To partition the hard drive, you need to select a volume that has a fairly large space, but it is worth remembering that it is better to compress a non-system partition if possible. Right-click on the selected volume and select “Shrink Volume” from the context menu. A small window will open and you will still need to wait some time.

Select Shrink disk and wait a few seconds

Step 4. The system will offer available compression options. Maximum values ​​will be indicated, but it is not recommended to use them, so reduce the size a little to the level required for you. This will be the size of the future logical disk. Enter the required values ​​in the boxes and click on the “Compress” button. Next, we wait again until the compression process is completed.

Maximum allowed values ​​for volume compression

Step 5: Once the process is complete, a new partition will appear in the Disk Management window. A black stripe and the inscription “Not distributed” will be visible on the top of it. To convert it into a hard disk volume, right-click, then select “Create simple volume”.

Unallocated space on your hard drive

Step 6. The “Simple Volume Creation Wizard” will open, click “Next” and select the maximum size.

Creating a Simple Volume

Step 7. Assign from the proposed letters of the Latin alphabet the letter that will later become the name of the new section and click “Next”.

Working with the Simple Volume Wizard

Select the name of the future partition in the Simple Volume Creation Wizard

Step 8. Check the box next to “Format this volume as follows”; select the NTFS file system; cluster size – default; Check the box next to “Quick Format” and click “Next”.

Manually setting formatting options

Step 9. When the “Completing the Create Simple Volume Wizard” window appears, check all the data and click the “Finish” button.

Completing the Create Simple Volume Wizard

Step 10. And the new hard drive partition is ready!

Ready new section

So, without the use of additional software, you can easily and simply partition the hard drive on a computer or laptop with the Windows 7 operating system installed.

Partitioning a hard drive in Windows 8

Owners of Windows 8 OS can also partition the hard disk using the Disk Management utility, but to open this window you need to simultaneously hold down two Windows + R keys. As a result, the Run window will appear, in command line you need to enter “diskmgmt.msc” only without quotes and press the Enter button on your computer keyboard.

Next, the “Management” window will open, similar to that in the operating system discussed earlier. In order to create a new partition on your hard drive, you need to sequentially perform the same steps as in the algorithm described in Windows 7. That is, you perform all the manipulations described in steps 2-10.

Partitioning a hard drive in Windows 10

The hard drive on computers and laptops with the Windows 10 operating system installed can be divided into partitions using the same built-in Disk Management utility. You can open this utility in Windows 10 by opening the Start menu. We type “Control Panel”, left-click on it and select “System and Security”.

Finding Control Panel in Windows 10

Control Panel in Windows 10

Hard disk structure

In the window that opens, scroll down the scroll bar and find the “Administration” item. In this item you need to find “Creating and formatting a hard disk”, click on it and wait a couple of seconds, after which a window with the “Disk Management” utility opens in front of us. We carry out further steps in full accordance with the hard drive division algorithm in Windows 7, again we do steps 2-10.

Other ways to create a new volume on a hard drive

It is worth mentioning that the Disk Management utility also allows you to delete hard drive partitions. You will need this if, for example, there is no more free space left, and new volume it is simply necessary to create. To do this, you can right-click on the hard disk partition to be deleted and select “Delete Volume”. An unallocated volume will appear in place of the deleted partition, which can be formatted to the parameters you require.

Removing a volume using Disk Management

The steps described in the algorithm show how to create a new partition using the compression method. But there is a way to create a new volume from unallocated space, which may appear after deleting a partition, as described in the paragraph above, or after previous divisions, there could simply be unallocated space on the hard disk, from which you can create a new volume by following steps 5-10 of the above algorithm .

In addition, there is another possibility existing volumes expand to free space after deleting an old volume or partition can be expanded to unused unallocated space. To do this, click on the “Extend volume” item in the context menu, select “Next” and “Finish”.

Partitioning a hard drive when installing Windows OS

After launching the operating system loader, select your language, accept the terms of the License Agreement, and select “Full installation”. The bootloader will prompt you to select a partition on which the operating system will subsequently be installed. Next, a window will open with a “Disk Settings” button. By clicking on this button, you will have access to all the tools that will allow you to work with disk space.

In this window, using the buttons, you can format the disk or disks, delete partitions, create new disks and select the desired size for them. Any changes you make will only take effect after you click the “Apply” button.

External hard drive

Dividing a hard drive with special programs

In addition to built-in tools, such as the Disk Management utility, special programs are also used to divide the hard drive into partitions, they are also called volume managers. On this moment there are a huge variety of them. The functionality of these programs allows you to perform many functions, not only dividing a hard disk into partitions. Among the most popular programs that received a large number of positive feedback, it is worth noting the following:

• Acronis Disc Director;
• Paragon Partition Manager;
• AOMEI Partition Assistant;
• Norton Partition Magic;
• EASEUS Partition Master
• Ranish etc.

Most of these programs can be downloaded for free on the Internet, in addition, many of them are available in Russian.

Acronis Disc Director hard drive management software

Paragon Partition Manager hard drive management program

Conclusion

The above describes in detail how to quickly and easily divide a hard drive into partitions using the built-in tools of Windows operating systems in versions 7, 8 and 10. The option of how to partition a hard drive initially when installing the operating system on a computer or laptop is also considered. Here is a list of the best programs for managing hard disk partitions according to user opinions.

The described benefits obtained from dividing a hard drive into partitions are simply undeniable. After all, this way you not only rationally use disk space, but also increase the performance of the operating system.