What are disk partitions and how do I create them in Windows 8?

Using partitions can be very useful on various occasions, either because we want to install two operating systems on a single storage unit, or simply because we want the operating system and all the necessary files to be housed in one for its operation, and in another our personal files. But what is a partition?

A partition is a logical division of a data storage unit, which will act as if it were an independent device, that is In other words, it allows us to divide a storage unit into different parts.The fastest way to understand it is by looking at the image that heads this article.

In this article we are going to explain how to create a new partition in Windows 8 at the basic user level, in which you can install a alternative operating system, use it simply for data storage or for your main operating system. When installing one for the first time on a computer, it offers the possibility of dividing the storage units into as many as we want. And what happens if the intention is to create a new partition from an already installed operating system?

Disk Management Wizard

To create new partitions, Windows makes the Disk Management wizard available to users. To access it from Windows 8 there are two options:

• Press the Windows Key + Q combination to open Application Search, and type “run” without the quotes. In the new window that will be created, type exactly diskmgmt.msc and press enter.
• Press the Windows Key + W combination to open the search for configuration options and type “partitions” without the quotes. Select the option Create and format hard disk partitions.

Following either option will open the Disk Management wizard in a new window.

Here, we will be shown a list of all the partitions created on the storage units we have, including those that the installed operating system has created automatically for use.

Similar information will appear at the bottom but in a more graphic way, each line representing a different physical storage unit. As you can see in the image, there are 3 physical storage units (1 SSD and 2 HDD), the first two being divided into two partitions since there is an operating system installed in both, while in the third there is only one since it is a file storage unit.

In general, partitions whose space is labeled as system reserved will not be modified or visible to the user from the list of storage devices The operating system is already in charge of making use of them and managing them autonomously.

Using the example of the attached image above, suppose we want to create a new partition on Disk 1, labeled by the user as HDD 1. To do this, we will have to right click on the rectangle that does NOT indicate a space reserved for the system, and select “shrink volume”. We will know which partition we have selected because it will be marked with diagonal gray lines.

Once you have finished consulting the storage unit for available space, a new window will appear in which we can only modify one value, corresponding to the amount of space we want to reduce of the selected partition.In other words, we are going to cut a free piece on the hard disk of the size we choose, to use it as a new partition.

In this example we will reduce a total of 10GB, and since the value has to be entered in MB, we will write 10240 (remember that 1 GB=1024MB). The value entered can never be greater than that indicated in the second line, that is, the space available for reduction.

Once done, the reduced 10GB of the selected partition will appear, although unassigned and black.

To allocate this space, we will right click on it and select the option new simple volume. Next, a wizard will open to facilitate the creation of the new volume/partition with the space that we have previously reduced.

Here the user will be prompted for the size of the simple volume we want to create, in MB. In case we only want to create a partition with all the previously reduced space, we will put the same amount that we put before(10240), although by default the value entered here will be the total reduced space. If we intend to create more than one, we would have to repeat this process as many times as we want partitions, dividing the total previously reduced space as we want.

In the next step we will have to indicate which drive letter we want this new partition to have, one of those that are not being used, since this will be used to reference files that are inside it.

Lastly, we will have to format our partition. Unless you know the differences between the NTFS and FAT32 file systems, and you need to opt for the latter, the configuration to create a new partition will be established as indicated in the image.In the volume label we can indicate a name regardless of the assignment letter you have chosen before, since thanks to that name we can easily identify the partition.

With this, the new partition will be created and will be visible from Computer.

How do I delete a partition?

In the event that you want to delete a partition, you must access the Disk Management wizard again (click here to find out how). In this example we are going to delete the partition we created earlier.

To do this, right click on the partition to be deleted, and select the option delete volume. This will again leave us with Unallocated space equal to the size of the partition.

Now, if we want to merge this free and unallocated space together with another partition such as the main one, we right click on it and choose the option extend volumeIn the new window we will be shown on the left all the free and unallocated space that we have not selected, to be able to join it with the chosen partition.

As you can see, there is nothing on the left because we have already selected the only unallocated space on this unit (it is the 10240 MB that we have been using throughout the example). To join all the free space to the selected partition, click on it and click next. In the event that we wanted to distribute the free space among several partitions, we would repeat this process as many times as we want, specifying on each occasion how much space to allocate to each existing partition.

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