Almost every user knows or realizes that it is not advisable to allocate the entire hard drive space only to the system partition, since if there are logical drives, they can save information that will not be deleted even if the system is reinstalled. But the disk itself needs to be divided into at least two partitions. One will be systemic - the one on which the OS is installed, and the second - logical. To carry out such actions, some kind of Windows-based program for breaking the hard disk can be used. It is further suggested that you consider your own system tools and third-party applications. But the main preference will be given precisely to the means of the operating system.
Built-in program for breaking a hard disk during the installation phase of Windows
Let's start with the process of installing the OS on a computer on which a hard drive is installed that does not / or contains additional partitions.
At a certain stage, the installer prompts the user to select the volume in which the system will be installed (selective installation). In the window where all sections will be shown, you must select the desired one and click the settings button. You can redistribute the space by deleting one or more partitions, after which unallocated space will appear.
Next, the button for creating a section with the indication of the volume is pressed (the box is a little lower), after which it is desirable to immediately format it. At the end of the process, select the partition dedicated to the system and click the continue installation button. By the way, it is always recommended to create a logical volume at the installation stage. This is especially true for aging systems, because they simply do not have built-in tools for such operations.
Diskpart utility
What is at the installation stage, that in an already installed system, you can use your own program for breaking up the hard disk in the form of the diskpart tool, which works through the command line launched as administrator. Many users with the command console do not like to work, considering this tool too complicated. Meanwhile, there should not be any special difficulties.
So, first the initial command is written in the console, and after it the lines shown in the image above are sequentially entered. In this example, pay attention to select disk. Its number should correspond to your partition from the list presented after the execution of the list disk line. The rest is simple:
- create partition primary creates the primary partition;
- format - in the specified example, quick formatting with the quick attribute, which can be omitted;
- assign is responsible for assigning a letter to a section.
At the end of all actions, a new logical section will appear in the "Explorer".
Universal system program for breaking the hard drive of Windows 7 or other versions
No less powerful tool, if you do not like the command line, you can call a specialized system tool for managing disks and partitions, called from the "Run" console with the command diskmgmt.msc.
Suppose that the user needs to create a new logical volume by “biting off” some space from the system drive with the operating system if its volume is too large. First, through the PCM menu, a volume compression command is used, indicating the desired size of the compressed space (that will be reserved for a new partition).
After compression, unallocated space will appear. Using RMB, the creation of a new volume is selected, a letter is assigned (it can be changed at will, but it is better not to do this) and formatting is performed (here the file system can be left unchanged). After execution, the disk will be divided into two sections.
Third Party Utilities
As for the software of third-party developers, in principle, any program for breaking a hard disk works on the same principles as the built-in tools of the OS itself. Some of them are simpler, others can cause difficulties in use.
Free programs for breaking a hard drive are represented by such utilities:
- Partition Assistant by Aomei;
- Partition Master by EASEUS (free version);
- Partition Manager by Paragon;
- Cute Partition Manager;
- Minitool PW etc.
Among the paid software packages, the following are most popular:
- Partition Magic.
- Disk Director by Acronis.
- 7tools Partition Manager.
- Partition Master by EASEUS.
- Partition Wizard (professional version), etc.
Partitioning using the Mimitool PW application as an example
If we are talking about free utilities, of course, as an example, we will consider just a free program for breaking a hard disk, which is quite easy to learn and does not require special skills and knowledge when using (for example, just in case, the English version is taken, since with Russified applications will not be difficult to figure out).
In the running program, simply select the desired drive or partition to be partitioned and select the Split command via the RMB menu.
Then it remains only to indicate the required size of the new volume (New Partition Size) and press the confirmation button ("OK"). After that, the program for breaking the hard drive with Windows 10 or another system to perform all further actions without user intervention. And this is a fairly significant plus.
What to use?
As you can see, almost any program for partitioning a hard disk is not particularly complicated (with the exception of the diskpart command utility). But, it seems to the average user, even the built-in Windows tools are not needed. Use the utility described in the example above, and all the actions performed will be minimized. But when installing the system, you can’t do without Windows tools (although if there is any utility from Acronis on the installation media, you can also use its tools). </ P