What does computer hard drive partition mean?

Computer hard disk partition refers to dividing the overall storage space of the hard disk into multiple independent areas, which are used to install the operating system, install applications, store data files, etc.; the hard disk partition is created on a physical hard disk Multiple independent logical units, these logical units are C drive, D drive, E drive, etc.

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 7 system, Dell G3 computer.

Hard disk partitioning refers to dividing the overall storage space of the hard disk into multiple independent areas, which are used to install the operating system, install applications, and store data files. But before partitioning, you should do some preparation and planning, including how many partitions a hard disk should be divided into, how much capacity each partition should have, and what file system each partition is going to use. For some operating systems, the hard disk must be partitioned before it can be used, otherwise it cannot be recognized. Generally, for the convenience, ease and speed of file storage and management, it is recommended to divide the hard disk into multiple partitions to store different types of files, such as operating systems, applications, data files, etc. [1] .

Hard disk partition is to create multiple independent logical units on a physical hard disk. These logical units are C drive, D drive, E drive, etc. Hard disk partitioning is essentially a formatting of the hard disk.

Partitioning Principles

With the development of technology, the capacity of hard drives is getting larger and larger. Large-capacity hard drives of 1TB or 2TB are already very common on the market. While large-capacity hard drives provide users with more storage space, they also make it necessary to plan the hard drive partition plan carefully before creating hard drive partitions. Below are some basic principles that hard disk partitions should follow to facilitate users to better manage their hard disks.

1. Choose the appropriate partition format for C drive

C drive is generally a system disk, where the main operating system is installed. There are usually two options: FAT32 and NTFS. If you are installing Windows Xp, it is more convenient to use FAT32. Because when the operating system of the C drive is damaged or virus Trojans loaded at startup are removed, it is often necessary to use the startup tool disk to repair it. In most cases, many startup tool disks cannot recognize the NTFS partition and cannot operate the C drive. If you are installing Windows 7, you can only choose NTFS format.

2. The C drive should not be too large

C drive is the system disk. The hard disk reads/writes more, and the probability of errors and disk fragmentation is also greater. Scanning the disk and defragmenting it are Daily tasks, and the time required for these two tasks is closely related to the capacity of the disk. If the capacity of the C drive is too large, these two tasks will often be very slow, thus affecting work efficiency.

3. Logical partitions use NTFS partitions

NTFS file system is a file system based on security and reliability. In addition to compatibility, it is far superior to FAT32. It not only supports 2TB size partitions, but also supports compression of partitions, folders and files, allowing for more efficient management of disk space. Therefore, except for the main system partition that uses FAT32 for compatibility, it is more appropriate to use NTFS for other partitions.

4. Dual systems or even multiple systems have many benefits

Nowadays, Trojans and viruses are rampant, and systems that are slow and unable to start are common things. Once this happens, reinstallation and virus removal will take a lot of time. Some stubborn Trojans and viruses loaded at startup cannot even be deleted in the original system. At this time, it is necessary to have a backup system. Booting to another system can easily kill viruses, delete Trojans, and repair another system. Even if you don't do processing, you can still use another system to start work, and things will not be delayed due to computer problems. Therefore, in addition to the C drive, it is necessary to retain one or two backup system partitions in many partitions of dual systems or even multiple systems. This backup system partition can also be installed with some software programs at the same time, and the capacity is about 20GB.

5. Separation of systems, programs, and data

Windows places some personal data such as “My Documents” in the system partition by default. In this way, the system disk needs to be formatted to completely kill viruses and Trojans, and if there is no backup data, data security will be a problem.

6. Reserve at least one large-capacity partition

As the hard disk capacity increases, the size of files and programs also becomes larger and larger. If you partition your hard drive equally, you will run into trouble when storing large files or installing large applications. Therefore, for large hard drives, it is necessary to separate a partition with a capacity of more than 100GB for the storage of large files.

7. Create a partition for backup

If you need to back up data for important files or systems, in addition to using peripherals (mobile hard drives, USB flash drives), you can also allocate a special area on the hard drive as a backup disk to store important document backups and system data backups. and system image files, etc. The following is an example of how to partition a computer's hard disk with a Windows 7 system and a hard disk capacity of 500GB, which is mainly used for work, study and home entertainment. To install the Windows 7 system, the system occupies one disk, and the Windows 7 system occupies a minimum of 16GB of space, and it is recommended to allocate 50GB of space; software installation occupies one disk, and uses 150GB of space; one disk is used for entertainment, and 200GB of space is allocated; a work and study disk, due to work The files used for learning are not very large and are mostly text files, so 50GB is allocated; the remaining 50GB of space is mainly used to save system backups and important data backups.

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