Partitions and Volumes

Partitions and Volumes

A partition is an area of a hard disk that can be formatted and assigned a drive letter. On a basic disk (the most common type of disk) a volume is a formatted primary partition or logical drive. (The terms volume and partition are often used interchangeably.) Your system partition is typically labeled with the letter C. Letters A and B are reserved for removable drives or floppy disk drives. Some computers have hard disks that are partitioned as a single partition, so your whole hard disk is represented by the letter C. Other computers might have an additional partition that contains recovery tools, in case the information on your C partition becomes damaged or unusable.

 

Creating more partitions?

You can create more partitions or volumes only if the hard disk contains unallocated space (unformatted space that is not part of an existing partition or volume). To create unallocated space, you can shrink a volume, or use a third-party partitioning tool. For more information,

 

Adding a new hard disk?

If you're adding an internal hard disk, refer to the information that came with the new hard disk. If you're installing an external hard disk that is connected by a USB cable, this version of Windows should recognize the hard disk. If this version of Windows does not recognize the disk.

 

What does reformatting my hard disk do?

Reformatting refers to formatting a hard disk or partition that already has been formatted or that contains data. Reformatting a disk deletes all data on the disk.

In some older versions of Windows, reformatting a hard disk and then reinstalling Windows was sometimes recommended as a method for fixing a serious computer problem. Reformatting would fix the problem at the expense of deleting everything on the computer. You would then have to reinstall your programs by using the original installation files or discs, and then restore all of your personal files, such as documents, music, and pictures, from backups that you had made beforehand.

This version of Windows offers a number of recovery options that are less drastic and provide a better place to start fixing your computer problems. " Reformatting and reinstalling should be considered as a last resort that's only performed after all other recovery or diagnostic options have failed.

 

Why getting an error when try to reformat my hard disk?

You can't reformat a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows. This is a safety feature so that you can't delete Windows by accident. To reformat your computer's hard disk and reinstall Windows, restart your computer using the Windows installation disc (this is commonly known as booting from the installation disc). During the Setup process, you can repartition and reformat your hard disk and then reinstall Windows. The process will erase your files and programs, so be sure to back up your data and program files before you begin.