After purchasing a computer or installing a new hard drive, as a rule, you will only have 1 partition on it. We’ll talk about this today: how to divide a hard drive into 2 or more partitions. This example will be given on Windows 7 OS through the operating system, without installing additional software.

How many sections should there be:

For Windows 7 to work correctly, 1 partition “drive C” is enough. The system is installed on it and it doesn’t need anything else because... it has all the necessary folders. But, from the point of view of convenience and personal safety, it is recommended to have at least 2 partitions: drive “C” and drive “D”. Why 2? It's simple! It is advisable to leave drive C only for windows and programs, and use drive D for games, music, movies, photos, etc. Thus, in the event of a failure and reinstallation of Windows, all important information will not be affected.

How to split drive C into multiple drives

In order to partition the disk, open: Start Menu, Control Panel. Next we will have to work with the “System and Security” tab.

That's it, we've come to the right place and you should see a window like this:

To see which partitions are already installed, open Disk Management. The operating system is usually located on the C drive, so you need to be careful when working with it.

To split drive “C” into partitions, right-click on it and select “Shrink Volume”.

In the new window that opens, enter the desired size of the new partition:

Now click “create”. In the window that opens, enter what volume you want.

In the new window, on the unallocated area, right-click and select “create simple volume” as below:

Ready. You can start working, but it is advisable to restart your computer.

Program for partitioning HDD into partitions

Personally, I prefer to do without third-party programs; if it is possible to do it using Windows, I do so. I have already written above how to partition a HDD without a program, now let’s look at an alternative method using third-party software.

For example, I took the simplest, free and very convenient program “disk manager free”

I uploaded it to Yandex disk, you can download for free— https://yadi.sk/d/c0A22sBs3ReiFh

Installation and use are as simple as doors. To partition a disk, you need to do everything the same as in the example above without programs. As you can see, there is no use from it, in my opinion, it is better to do everything as in the example above, without downloading anything.

There are times when when purchasing a computer or laptop, there is only one system drive “C”. I think everyone knows that having one partition is bad. After all, after reinstalling the operating system, all your files and documents will be permanently deleted. Therefore, you must have at least two partitions C and D. The first will contain the operating system with all the necessary programs, and the second will contain personal files (music, video, photos, etc.). To do this you need to partition the hard drive. So the question arises - How to partition a hard drive yourself in the Windows 7 operating system? At the same time, so that the files located on the hard drive are not damaged. The easiest way is split hard drive, using Windows 7’s own tools. And we will look at this method today.

How to partition a hard drive in Windows 7

Find the "Disk Management" item and click on it.

Below you can see that I have 3 hard drives, and one of them (Disk 0) is already divided into two partitions.

Disks numbered 1 and 2 are not broken.

Using Disk 2 as an example, I will show you step by step how to partition a hard drive. It is not empty; it contains the operating system and various files. In your case, it will not be Disk 2, but Disk 0, since I have three hard drives installed in my computer.

So, we divide Disk 2 into two partitions - to do this, right-click on Disk 2 and select “Shrink Volume”.

There is a request for space for compression.

And in the window we see the available space for compression - 222361 MB.

Now we need to indicate how much we will compress the volume. If I didn’t touch anything here and click “Compress”, then the size of the volume with the OS would become small, that is, about 15 GB. This is naturally very small, so be careful.

It is clear that a lot depends on the overall size of your hard drive, but I would advise setting the size of the future partition C to at least 60 Gigabytes (I usually set it to 80-100 GB).

In this case, I will try to divide the hard drive into two equal partitions. I will set the size of the compressed space to 115,361 MB, this is exactly the partition that will be empty. And now we observe that the total size after compression has changed to the number 123,112 MB, that is, 120 GB, this is the system partition on which the operating system with programs is located.

In other words:
- The size of the compressed space is the size of the additional disk;
- The total size after compression is the size of system drive C. For example, you have a hard drive of 1000 MB in size, then you can allocate 100-150 GB to drive C, and the rest (850-900 GB) to the second drive.

After you have decided on the sections, click “Compress”. When the compression process is completed, there will be unallocated space. Now it needs to be converted to a simple volume. To do this, right-click on the unallocated space and select “Create simple volume.”

Then we assign any letter for the future partition (disk). I chose the letter F.

Partitioning a disk into several partitions is a very common procedure among users. Using such a HDD is much more convenient, since it allows you to separate system files from user files and manage them more conveniently.

You can partition your hard drive into parts in Windows 10 not only during system installation, but also after it, and for this you do not have to use third-party programs, since this function is available in Windows itself.

In this article we will look at how to divide a HDD into logical partitions. This can be done in an already installed operating system and when reinstalling the OS. At his discretion, the user can use the standard Windows utility or third-party programs.

Method 1: Using programs

One of the options for dividing the drive into partitions is to use third-party programs. Many of them can be used both when Windows is running and as a bootable flash drive when partitioning a disk while the OS is running is not possible.

MiniTool Partition Wizard

A popular free solution that works with different types of drives is MiniTool Partition Wizard. The main advantage of this program is the ability to download an image with an ISO file from the official website to create a bootable flash drive. Partitioning a disk here can be done in two ways at once, and we will look at the simplest and fastest one.

The letter of the new volume can later be changed manually via "Disk Management".

Acronis Disk Director

Unlike the previous program, Acronis Disk Director is a paid option that also has a large number of functions and can partition the disk. The interface is not very different from MiniTool Partition Wizard, but it is in Russian. Acronis Disk Director can also be used as boot software if you cannot perform operations while running Windows.

EaseUS Partition Master

EaseUS Partition Master is a program with a trial period, like Acronis Disk Director. Its functionality includes various features, including disk partitioning. In general, it is similar to the two analogues listed above, and the difference mainly comes down to appearance. There is no Russian language, but you can download a language pack from the official website.

Method 2: Windows built-in tool

To perform this task you need to use the built-in utility "Disk Management".

Method 3: Partitioning the disk when installing Windows

It is always possible to divide the HDD when installing the system. This can be done using the Windows installer itself.

Now you know how to partition a HDD in different situations. This is not very difficult, and will ultimately make working with files and documents more convenient. The fundamental difference between using the built-in utility "Disk Management" and there are no third-party programs, since both options achieve the same result. However, other programs may have additional features, such as file transfer, that may be useful to some users.

How to partition a system disk without losing data? It is not always possible to install a hard drive, so it may be necessary to divide it into two or more logical partitions. Moreover, the size of modern disks allows this to be done, because the system itself does not need a lot of space. Most of all, this need arises on laptops. After all, as a rule, they only have one hard drive installed.

There are several reasons for partitioning a system disk. The first is if you decide to install another system on your only disk. The second is storing personal (non-system) files on another drive, so that if the system is reinstalled, they will be safe and sound and will not have to be lost or lost at all.

This breakdown can be done without third-party programs, using the operating system itself. I will show you how this is done using the Windows 10 operating program as an example, but the same thing can be done in Windows XP/Vista/7/8.

To do this, you must first disable system protection (in Windows XP you can skip this step).

Disabling system protection

Let's launch the explorer.

Find it in the list on the left This computer(or My computer, or simply Computer), and right-click on this icon. In the list that opens, at the very end, click on the entry Properties.

A window will open System, in which you need to click on the link on the left System protection.

Select the disk with the system (I have a lot of disks, but everyone has the system installed on drive C), and click the button below Tune.

In the next window, set the switch to record Disable system, and press the button below Apply.

Click Yes, in to confirm your actions.

Disk partitioning

Let's open again Conductor, go to This computer, right-click on it, and select the link in the list that opens Control.

In the window Computer management in the first (left area) click on the link Disk management.

All our disks will be shown in the central area. We find the disk that needs to be partitioned. This will be your system drive, designated by the letter WITH. (I have already split this disk into two. Don’t let this bother you.)

Right click on the drive WITH, and select the link Shrink Volume…

In the next window you must specify Size of compressible space. Set it to at least 80 GB, otherwise you may run out of disk space very quickly. Please note that the disk size shown here is in Megabytes, not Gigabytes. Be careful! The largest size available for compression is already indicated in the size of the compressed space. If your disk is not large, you can leave it.

After creating the partition, you need to select the new partition, right-click on it, and select the Create simple volume link from the drop-down list. Without this, your new section will not be visible.

The Create Simple Volume Wizard will open. Press the button Further.

In the next window, we either leave everything as is, or reduce the size of the simple volume so that one or more more volumes can be created in the future. In this case, I leave everything as it is and press the button Further.

In the next window we assign a letter to the volume. I leave the letter suggested by the system and press the button Further.

In the next window, you can change only the name of the volume label, or you can rename it later. Personally, I leave everything as it is and press the button Further.

After completing the creation of a simple volume and formatting, click the button Ready, and we see a new section, and having entered the area This PC - Devices and Drives, we will detect a new disk.

All that remains is to go back to System Protection (as described at the very beginning of the article) and enable system disk protection.

This is how you can partition your system disk without losing data.

In any case, I advise you to create backup copies of the disk and recovery points before such important operations.

Video on how to crash a hard drive:

The need to split a hard drive into several logical partitions arises in order to protect personal data. On the first logical volume, leave only the system with programs, and on the rest, place other information - in order of importance.

For example, movies, program installation files, music, e-books should be stored on the second partition. It would be a shame to lose photos and videos from your trip; they should be placed on the third page. Especially if they are in a single copy and there are no copies left on a digital camera or smartphone.

Reference. Administrators in organizations do this. In wealthy companies, departments are allocated separate hard drives with a complex scheme for delineating usage rights.

Methods

Within a home computer, there are three ways to partition a hard drive:

• using standard Windows tools;
• using specialized programs;
• when installing/reinstalling the system.

Let's consider each of the three methods in detail.

By regular means

Where is?

There are different ways to access the Disk Management utility.

The easiest way is to click the Start button and in the search bar (where it says Find programs and files) type the word Management. The first paragraph will contain the program we need: Computer Management. Click on it. Our utility will be displayed in the Storage devices section.

IMPORTANT! Windows 10 has a built-in Windows Search feature. Located next to the tile image (Start button). When prompted above, the Computer Management application appears.

The second path is for the advanced. In the search bar, type diskmgmt.msc (from the phrase disk management). The resulting output will indicate our desired program.

The third way is through the Control Panel. Open Explorer and insert one of the queries into the address bar (where the word library is):

• Control Panel\All Control Panel Items. On the page that opens, click on Administration;
• Control Panel\System and Security\Administration.

On the page that opens, find the shortcut to the Computer Management program.


Dividing the space

The previous stage is completed and the window of the built-in disk space management tool is opened. Our hard drive with logical drive C is displayed in front of us. Let's create a new one.

1. left-click on the current section;
2. Right-click and select Shrink Volume from the drop-down menu. We are waiting for the free space to be calculated, and we see a window with compression parameters;
3. Only one parameter is available - Size of the compressed space. The amount of space is indicated in megabytes. 1 GB is equal to 1024 MB. Please note that we recommend dividing the indicated number by exactly 1024, otherwise we will get less than expected;
4. Click OK. After execution, we get an unallocated partition with the number of GB according to the point above;
5. right-click on the unallocated space and select Create simple volume from the menu;
6. The Create Simple Volume Wizard will open. Click on Next to continue;
7. specifying the volume size. We leave it unchanged. Press the Enter key;
8. in the next step we will indicate the partition letter. We recommend choosing one so that it is immediately clear what information is there: V (video), F (photos), D (documents). Press the Enter key;
9. at the next stage they offer to format our new volume or not. Select the following parameters:
   • File system - NTFS.
   • Cluster size is default.
   • Volume label - leave blank or add your own label.
   • Checkbox for quick formatting.
10. Press the Enter key. At the final step, click Finish.

Let's summarize. We looked at how to divide a hard drive into two, placing on them the data that we are afraid of losing, using the built-in tools of the operating system. But such a function is sometimes blocked for reasons beyond the user's control. For such cases, other methods have been invented. We'll talk about them below.

Specialized programs

On the market, the leading positions among service tools for optimizing resources and protecting data from loss are occupied by: Acronis Disk Director, Paragon Partition Manager - let's consider another free program - Partition Master Free.

Acronis Disk Director

On the main page at the top there are functional action tabs: Actions, View, Disk Management, Tools, and Help. On the left is the panel - Actions and tools. The central area is occupied by a list of volumes in tabular form and a graphical panel that displays the number of connected disks.

The division work is carried out in the graphic panel. By right-clicking on the current partition, the actions with the hard drive will be displayed. We are only interested in three: split, resize and create a volume.

The difference between splitting and resizing is that when splitting there is no right to assign a letter (it is assigned automatically). And when we change it, we get unallocated space. For clarity, we will describe both options.

Method 1

Method 2

1. Right-click on the partition from which we plan to free up space and select resize the volume.
2. In the block, use the arrows to change the volume size to the desired size. We look at it in the unallocated space after the volume. Click OK.
3. We click on it with the cursor, and in a new window you will be prompted to click on the continue button.
4. We are waiting for the operation to complete. Ready. An unallocated partition was received.
5. Place the mouse cursor over the resulting space and right-click and select create volume.
6. In the first step, select the basic item. Press Enter.
7. Enter again.
8. In the next step, select the letter, section label. We leave the rest unchanged. Press the Enter key.
9. A notification to apply pending operations will appear at the top.
10. We are waiting for the operation to complete. Ready. The section with our parameters is available for further work with it.

IMPORTANT! The demo version has limited functionality. The program allows you to work only with a volume of 100 MB.

Paragon Partition Manager

The program interface is based on launching wizards. To work, you only need one operation - creating partitions.

1. Click on the Create Partitions icon.
2. At the next step, the wizard will ask you to select the partition from which we plan to free up space and create a new one.
3. The next question that will need to be resolved is to select the size (move the slider in the desired direction), check the box next to Create as a logical partition.
4. Select the partition type (NTFS file system), label and letter.
5. Before performing the operation, the wizard will ask one last time: Is it really possible to carry out the changes? Check the box yes, apply changes physically.
6. Ready. The section has been created.

IMPORTANT! The operation is not available in the demo version!

Partition Master Free

The program is absolutely free. The interface is built almost the same as Acronics. This program will require two operations: resize/move partition and create partition.

1. Place the cursor on the partition from which you need to pinch off space for a new volume.
2. Click the resize/move partition button in the left menu.
3. In the window that appears, by moving the slider responsible for the size, we indicate how many GB we need to pinch off. After that, click OK.
4. Now you need to make a partition from the resulting unrecognized space. To do this, click on it with the mouse and select the create partition button from the menu.
5. The next window prompts you to enter a Partition Label. You must specify a letter (Drive Latter parameter). Click OK.
6. For the program to perform the operation, you need to click on the Apply button (where the checkmark icon is) in the top menu.
7. After which a pop-up window will appear containing information about the operation that will now be performed. Click Yes.
8. Ready. The section has been created.

Which program is easier to use is up to you. Let's talk about another way to partition a hard drive. To do this, you will need an installation CD or flash drive with a system image on board.

When installing/reinstalling the system

1. After loading, we go through the main window with parameters for choosing a language, time format and keyboard layout.
2. Click the Install button.
3. Check the box I accept the license terms.
4. On the next window, select full installation.
5. The window for selecting the partition for installation will load. Click disk settings.
6. Links for performing operations on the hard drive will be displayed below. Select the section from which you want to pinch off a place and click create.
7. Then select format.
8. Ready. The section has been created.

We hope that our article has completely covered the question of how to divide a hard drive into several partitions. You can work with multiple hard drives in the same way.