partition a hard disk in Windows 8

Suppose if you have all backed up files and folders in the same drive i.e C: and if your C: drive suddenly crashes then you may not be able to retrieve the files. But if you have divided the hard disk into different partitions then you can store them safely into other partitions so that if the C: drive containing the operating system crashes then you can still retrieve them.

You can use another partition to create a system image file so that in case if your operating system crashes then you can restore your operation system from the system image stored in the other partition.

If you want to have dual operating system in your computer i.e win7 and win vista then you can create it easily if you have more partitions.

How to partition a hard disk ?

• Right click on “My Computer“
• Click on “Manage“. You will get the following screen.

• Right click on the partition which you want to partition. eg. D: drive and select “shrink volume“

• Now you will get the following screen.

 

• You will see the default amount of space to shrink you can change the amount of space to shrink. After that you can click on “shrink” button.

But do you think it is too complicated? Actually MiniTool Partition Wizard is a nice free tool for you to partition a hard disk.

The Easiest Way to Manage Your Hard Drive Partitions

The problem how to manage hard drive partitions still troubles many Windows users. Every user knows there are only two ways to manage hard drive partitions if we do not employ the third party partition magic: use Windows built-in disk management tool and use Windows Command Prompt. However, it is not easy to manage hard drive partitions with employing these two methods. Although Windows built-in disk management tool can help us accomplish a part of hard drive partitions management, the great majority of hard drive partitions management can not be realized. Furthermore, it is at great risk to manage hard drive partitions with command prompt though it can realize most hard drive partitions management. Once we operate mistakenly, a large number of important data may be lost, which will result in unnecessary losses and troubles. Therefore, to realize good hard drive partitions management, the third party partition magic is strongly recommended. In selecting partition magic, MiniTool Partition Wizard is the best choice.

As we talk about MiniTool Partition Wizard, I believe many users who understand partition magic know this partition magic. It is a piece of professional partition magic developed by the famous software development corporation MiniTool Solution Ltd.. With its all-sided functions, we can realize almost all hard drive partitions management. Therefore, it has got so much public praise. Seeing here, some users who do not understand this partition magic may think operations of partition magic must be very complex now that it has so powerful functions. In fact, it is extremely easy to operate this partition magic. Next, let me demonstrate how to perform hard drive partitions management with this partition magic to make users know its operations intuitively.

First, download it from its official website http://www.partitionwizard.com. Then, install and run it to get the following interface:

This is the main interface of this partition magic. Every user knows extending system partition is the most troublesome and most dangerous operation when we perform hard drive partitions management. Today, I just demonstrate how to extend system partition with this partition magic. To extend system partition, we need to select the system partition, and then click “Move/Resize” button to enter the following resizing interface:

In the interface, drag triangles or input desired value to lengthen the partition handle to extend system partition and then click “OK” to go back to the main interface:

The preview effect of this partition magic shows the system partition has been extended, but we still need to click “Apply” to perform all previous operations.

How to Do Linux Partitioning

For those who are used to dos or windows systems, drives and partitions are always same in number. Each partition is assigned a letter for different identity, then we can set files and profiles on this partition, and the file map is very clear to see.

Now let’s talk about how the drive is identified under read hat Linux system.

IDE hard drive will be showed as hdx~ of which, hd indicates the type of device, here refers to hard disk. X stands for the drive letter, a is the primary disk, b is the subordinate disk, c is assistant primary disk and d is assistant subordinate disk. ~ stands for partitions. The first four partitions are marked with numbers from 1 to 4. They are primary partitions and extended partitions. The rest of the partitions from partition 5 are all logical partitions. For instance, hda3 stands for the third primary or extended partitions on the first IDE hard disk. Hdb2 stands for the second primary partition or extended partition on the second IDE hard disk. SCSI hard disk is marked as sdx~, in which sd stands for the type of devices, SCSI. The rest is the same with that of IDE hard disks.

We can see now that red hat Linux is different from other Operating Systems in terms of partitions. Its partitions have only two formats: ext2 and ext3. Ext2 is used to store system files and swap works as an exchange partition of red hat Linux. Now we know that red hat Linux needs at least two partitions, Linux native and Linux swap. Moreover, red hat Linux cannot be installed on DOS/Windows partitions. Commonly, we would install red hat Linux on one or several Linux native partitions. But each partition should be set with a mount point to tell the system which directory to use when Linux boots. It is not necessary for swap partitions to set mount point.

Partition Software for Windows Server

With the prevailing of e-commerce, an increasing number of small-sized enterprises begin to own servers. After possessing a server, it is quite necessary for owners to employ a partition software to help properly and efficiently manage server partitions or the server efficiency and data security will be threatened. An excellent partition software involves disk management function, security control and compatibility, etc. In this regard, I would like to warmly recommend user an outstanding partition software by the name of MiniTool Partition Wizard which has embraced great public praises.

It is crystal-clear to all computer users that a piece of inferior partition software will soon be eliminated by user and market. MiniTool Partition Wizard, from the initial 1.0 edition to now 6.5 edition, has been favored by user from all parts of the world.
Superiority of MiniTool Partition Wizard generally includes the following aspects:

1. All-round disk management functions
To be a recognized partition software, comprehensive disk management functions is essential. MiniTool Partition Wizard provides server operating system user a variety tailored disk management functions. Following is the main interface of this partition software.

In red-lined area, user can clearly see the main functions provided by MiniTool Partition Wizard, such as format partition, delete partition, merge partition and change cluster size, etc. Simply speaking, almost all disk management operations needed on server are covered on our partition software.

2. Reliable security performance
When user is perform disk management operation with MiniTool Partition Wizard, this partition software will provide user with preview effect and lists all pending operations made by users. If any error or accident, user can immediately discard or undo desired operations as follows.

For server computer, data security is the top priority. The preview function offered by our partition software can effectively avoid accidental operations and improve server security level. Additionally, any operation on MiniTool Partition Wizard will not do harm to partition and partition data.

3. Incredible compatibility
There exists some partition software which do support Windows server 2003 but regrettably don’t support Windows server 2008 or support 32-bit Windows server 2008 but not 64-bit Windows server 2003. MiniTool Partition Wizard summarized and optimized those defects, supporting almost all operating systems including both 43-bit or 64-bit Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 and file systems such as FAT12,FAT16, FAT32, NTFS,Ext2, Ext3 and Linux Swap, etc.

Windows Server 2003 Partition Manager

Microsoft officially released Windows server 2003 in late March, 2003, pushing computer development into another peak. As a server operating system, Windows server 2003 is able to handle various kinds of server roles in either centralized or dispersing way. Especially, in April the same year when improved by Microsoft, Windows server 2003 procured more advantages over its predecessor Windows server 2000 such as better reliability, workability, scalability and security performance, etc. However, these distinctive features are far from being enough for server operating system which usually store a large amount of important data. Hence, Windows server 2003 user should still employ a third-party partition manager to help perform all disk management operations and secure data safety. Speaking of partition manager, I would like to recommend MiniTool Partition Wizard.

As partition manager developed by prestigious software developer MiniTool Solution Ltd., MiniTool Partition Wizard outperforms other similar windows server partition manager software and outreaches functions covered by operating system built-in disk management tool. Here are some basic functions of this partition manager:
1, Resize and move partition.
2, Create , delete and format partition, etc.
3, Quick set active partition and convert dynamic disk to basic disk.
4, Initialize disk and covert between MBR and GPT mutually.
5, Surface test.
6, Change cluster size without data loss.
7, Convert FAT32 to NTFS.

For more information on MiniTool Partition Wizard, user can still go to the official website: http://www.partitionwizard.com.

Download MiniTool Partition Wizard at MiniTool Partition Wizard Download Center and install this partition manager to computer.
Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard to copy partition:

Note: to copy partition with our partition manager, the disk must has an unallocated space large enough to contain source partition.
Then select a desired partition and click “Copy Partition” at the action panel.

Select the unallocated space and click “Next“.

Set partition size and location of the source partition by dragging the left/right-oriented arrows or entering accurate values in the textboxes below. After setting, click “Finish“.

Now we can clearly see the source has been successfully copied. But note than the new partition is hidden, which is a great feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard to protect user’s privacy. Of course, user can unhide this partition by employing “Change Drive Letter” to specify driver letter for this partition and make it visible on hard disk.

This is the interface for “Change Drive Letter“. After assigning drive letter, click “OK“.

Last, click “Apply” to execute all pending operations.

How to Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic

Currently, a large quantity of users are employing dynamic disk which has excellent performances. However, some users still want to convert dynamic disk to basic disk for some reasons, how can we finish this operation? Fortunately, along the issue of MiniTool Partition Wizard, the powerful third-party partition magic software, user could easily convert dynamic disk to basic disk.

In general, MiniTool Partition Wizard offers various powerful functions for both Windows and Linux operating systems including move/resize partition, merge partition, change cluster size, copy partition, copy disk, create partition, delete partition, format partition, convert file system, explore partition, hide/unhide partition, set active partition, convert dynamic disk to basic disk, change drive letter, wipe partition, set partition label, etc. Furthermore, MiniTool Partition Wizard supports almost all Windows operating systems including Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and supports various file systems such as FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS4, NTFS5, EXT2, EXT3 and Linux Swap, etc. Moreover, MiniTool Partition Wizard provides comprehensive data protection modes to ensure data safety under each operation. What’s more, MiniTool Partition Wizard is totally free for home and personal users.

1. Dynamic disk allows resizing volume without restarting computer and data loss; basic does not permit changing partition size unless user employs disk management tools.
2. Dynamic disk could merge several inconsecutive disk spaces to one volume and merge at most 32 physical disks into one mass volume while basic disk creates partition only in circumstance when consecutive spaces are available.
3. Dynamic disk could create various volumes and basic disk can merely create 4 primary partitions.
4. Disk configuration information of dynamic disk is stored on disk self which can be copied to other dynamic disks with RAID tolerant system for future use. Disk configuration information of basic disk is stored on boot partition which will be saved to registry when RAID tolerant system is utilized.

Download MiniTool Partition Wizard at our official website http://www.partitionwizard.com, then install it to computer:

Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard, select and right click the desired dynamic disk, then click “Convert Dynamic Disk to Biasic Disk“. Thus, via a incredibly simple operation, dynamic disk could be perfectly converted to basic disk.

Partition Alignment for SSD

Users have growing requirement for computer operating efficiency, and no matter PC or server, the hardware configuration has been greatly improved. As the most classical hard drive for promoting computer hardware configuration, SSD has undoubtedly brought computer users with extraordinary experience of great data transmitting speed. But I believe most computer users have already realized the problem of SSD – partition align problem.

Partition align is to match the minimum 4KB allocate unit of operating system with the 4KB size page in SSD. Thus, every time operating system writes a 4KB data in, it only needs to write in one page. If the partitions are not aligned, operating system will write in two pages every single time, so the data write-in rate is reduced. Hence, partition align is a significant operation to promote SSD performance.

Partition align seems a difficult operation to realize. However, in the beginning, to align partition is not an easy thing, but with the development of software technology, some excellent partition management software starts supporting SSD management now. As long as we employ a piece of professional partition management software which is able to realize partition align for SSD, we can easily align partition in SSD. In fact, MiniTool Partition Wizard is exactly the one we need.

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a professional partition management software which perfectly supports SSD partition management. It’s not only stable and powerful, but also very easy-to-use. After we download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard, we can launch it to enter the main interface:

To realize partition align for SSD, we need to select the partition in SSD, and click on “Align Partition” option at the left. Then, click on “Apply” button to execute operation. With such simple operations, we can realize partition align for SSD easily. Moreover, we can see from the main interface that MiniTool Partition Wizard not only supports partition align for SSD, but also possesses all-sided partition management functions such as format partition, delete partition, create partition, move/resize partition, merge partition, copy partition, and change cluster size, etc. With MiniTool Partition Wizard, we don’t need to worry about partition problems anymore.

How to Split Partition in Window 2012

When installing Windows Server 2012, users often partition hard disk to multiple partitions. However, since users do not know future demands for partition quantity, they just partition hard disk optionally. As a result, there are no enough partitions to store new types of data. Under this situation, if users want to store data by category, they had better split partition of Windows 2012. Though shrinking partition to release unallocated space and creating new partition with unallocated space can get the same effect, operations are relatively complex and it will cost much time. In order to help users split partition of Windows 2012 more quickly and conveniently, famous Canadian software development company MiniTool Solution Ltd. released a professional partition magic after great effort. It can help split Windows 2012 partition in several steps and without data loss.

If we want to split Windows 2012 partition by using this partition magic, we should visit the official websitehttp://www.partitionwizard.com to download it to computer at first. After installation, please run it to get its main interface like the following screenshot shows:

In the main interface, after we select or right click a partition, all-sided functions will appear. By using these functions, users can complete almost all Windows 2012 partition management. To split partition of Windows 2012, users need to select the partition which needs splitting and click “Split Partition” button to enter the next interface. Then, perform the remaining operations according to detailed prompts. When all operations are applied to computer, professional partition magic helps split Windows 2012 partition successfully.

This brief demonstration just shows how to split partition of Windows 2012 by using MiniTool Partition Wizard. If users want to get detailed information, welcome to the official website.

Hard Drive Partition Management in Windows XP

Hard drive industry is facing a great revolution. Expanding traditional 512B sector size to 4096B is becoming a trend. But when we are using the hard drive of 4096B sector size, we need to notice an important point – align partition. Maybe you are a little bit confused about the concept of “align partition“, so let me briefly introduce it to you.
You should know that the sector size of 4K hard drive is 4096B while the one in traditional hard drive is 512B. Therefore, the concept of “Align partition” in 4K hard drive is brought in. Align partition is to write in data according to 4K sector rule to the hard drive that is formatted with the 4K sector definition. Align partition is very important for 4K hard drive, because if the partitions are not aligned, data write-in and accessing speed will be decreased, and unnecessary write-in is caused.
As we already know the consequence of partition being unaligned in 4K hard drive, we should find a solution to aligning partition. At present, 4K hard drive technology is still in a transition period, and some operating systems can’t identify 4K hard drive yet, so the system built-in disk management tool fails to help users align partition in 4K hard drive. For instance, in the Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, we need third-party hard drive management software. If you are employing Windows Vista Pack1 or the later operating systems, you can use system built-in disk management tool to format partition, and the formatted partition will be “4K aligned” partition. Next, let me show you how to align partition in Windows XP in detail.

Even though many hard drive manufacturers have produced their 4K hard drives, to find a perfect solution to 4K hard drive management is still difficult. Fortunately, we can find the professional 4K hard drive management software from the website http://www.partitionwizard.com/. After downloading this MiniTool Partition Wizard, we can install it to Windows XP and start work:

This is main interface of MiniTool Partition Wizard. Select the 4K hard drive, and click on the “Align All Partitions” option in the “Operations” area at the left.

After that, we can find a pending operation in the “Operations Pending” area. Now, click “Apply” button to execute operation. Thus, we can easily align partition in 4K hard drive in Windows XP.

How to Delete Partition in Windows 7

Windows 7 is familiar to us all. It is easy to use and convenient for users. It has been added with new features of half screen windows, quick maximization, jump list, fast repair system fault, etc. What’s more, Windows 7 has gorgeous Aero effect and various desktop tools. It also has better security than former operating systems. Because of its advantages, Windows 7 has replaced Windows XP gradually. In only two years, authorized sales volume of Windows 7 has reached as much as 450 million.

When installing Windows 7, many users have discovered that there will be a 100MB partition in disk. Maybe some of the 100MB partitions are hidden so a part of users cannot discover it. When installing Windows 7, we should not delete partition but select an existing partition, thus we can avoid the automatically creating of 100MB hidden partition. If we use the Windows 7 built-in disk management tool to delete partition in Windows 7, it will lead to Disk Partition Table fault and file loss. The best choice is to use excellent partition magic MiniTool Partition Wizard to unhide the partition and then delete it. It will not cause DPT damage and effect on other partitions. After deleting, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to extend partition with the 100MB space.

Of course, deleting partition function can also be used in other unhidden partitions. If you have too many partitions and the partition use efficiency is low, you can try to delete some partitions. Before deleting, you need to back up all data in advance.

Although Windows 7 built-in disk management tool has been improved a lot and added with more functions, it still has many disadvantages like failure to merge partitions, back up partition and move partition, etc. It is better to use the third-party partition magic, MiniTool Partition Wizard.

There are too many choices for partition magic software but the professional ones are few. Some may even carry virus or malicious programs that cause disk damage and data loss. MiniTool Partition Wizard is developed by Canadian professional software company, MiniTool Solution Ltd.. It has perfect techniques, stability, as well as high security. Meeting any problems, you can visit the official website of MiniTool Partition Wizard to consult: http://www.partitionwizard.com.

Besides delete partition function, MiniTool Partition Wizard has other functions like create partition, format partition, resize partition, move partition, merge partition, check partition, wipe partition, change cluster size, set drive letter, etc. The newest version, MiniTool Partition Wizard 7.0, is added with dynamic disk management feature. It is so excellent at managing disk.