What is a hard disk partitioning

On numerous forums on the Internet, the serious debate about how to properly execute the hard disk partitioning is starting to flare up. During the existence of this issue, so many opinions have been expressed that it is time to write a voluminous scientific work on them. However, the point is still too early to set. Perhaps, in the question of "hard disk partitioning", each user chooses such a method, which is the most acceptable for him, for a very specific range of tasks. This rule must be remembered constantly, even reading the recommendations of the most respected authors.

Before you study what a hard disk partitioning is, let's take a quick look at the theory. Modern hard disks, depending on the principle of operation are divided into two types - with magnetic plates and on the basis of productive flash memory. In the first inside the case there is an electric motor, on the spindle of which several discs with special spraying are fixed. Secondly, an array of memory cells was used. In order to be able to work with these devices, a software breakdown of the hard disk must be made beforehand. Only after this operation, operating systems can "see" the connected hard drive, write and read data from it.

Surprisingly, the main difficulty is not in the choice of the program for breaking down, but in the decision about the future structure. In the first case, the entire available volume can be allocated to the disk - for example, for a 100 GB hard disk, a 100 GB "C" disk will be created. Another option - the same 100 GB can be divided into several logical drives. The choice of this or that solution depends only on the user.

Imagine that a hard drive with one partition is an A3 format sheet . You can draw anything on it. But to navigate in a large number of drawings, they will somehow group.

But the breakdown into several sections can be compared to the fact that the A3 sheet was cut into four A5 and fastened with their staples. The advantage is that each sheet can be used for a certain subject of drawings, but the search becomes less clear, and when filling a sheet, it becomes difficult to place new drawings on it.

So, how do I partition a hard disk into partitions? Windows 7, for example, allows you to do this with built-in tools. The proposed utility has only a basic set of functions, so there can be no talk of flexible configuration, but it is quite successful with the task set. On the "Computer" icon we press the right mouse button (PCM), we go to "Management". In the "Computer Management" column, select "Disk Management" and call the properties (RMB). All possible commands for working with the volume will be displayed. The utility runs extremely slowly, so it's worth the patience and a cup of hot tea.

You can split a disk into Windows 7 partitions in a more convenient and fast way. To do this, you will need to download a specialized program. Nowadays Disc Director from Acronis is very popular and almost similar in functionality to Partition Manager from Paragon. Their main disadvantage is the spread on a fee basis. However, now for many users this is not an insoluble problem. The program can be installed and launched both in the operating system environment, which guarantees high compatibility, and through solutions based on LiveCD, including these programs. It should be noted that sometimes it may be necessary to change the operating modes of the hard disk "AHCI - IDE" in the BIOS of the motherboard. With thoughtful use of the capabilities of programs, you can perform almost any operations with partitions without losing the information on the disk (although the backup is still preferable).