Partitioning a hard disk drive (HDD) lets you manage your files. It is becoming an essential housekeeping activity because HDDs today come in large capacities like 2TB which is capable of storing thousands of photos and hundreds of movies.
A HDD is like a cavernous walk-in closet. Just like a closet, many articles of clothing, shoes and knick-knacks can be stored in it. However, the closet can easily become cluttered if the space is not properly organised through the use of dividers and drawers.
The same is true for a HDD. It is a huge storage space for documents, graphics, videos and photos. It is important to manage the space so that files can be easily found.
While partitioning can be done by a user, it is also a technical procedure and does require a user who has previous techie experience like building your own computers. Before starting to partition HDDs, here are four things to note:
1. Automatic naming convention
For each partition created, the operating system, like Windows, will report multiple device drive letters. Note that by default, Windows would normally report a C: drive. With multiple partitions Windows will automatically name it D:\, E:\, F: and G: depending on the number of partitions created. Do not confuse the drive letter with having a new physical hard drive.
2. Software
Partitioning an already partitioned and in-use hard drive is not impossible but it can have complications. If done wrongly, it can erase the information from one partition. I highly recommend a software I use called Acronis Disk Director Suite 10. It is a flexible and robust utility that will enable you to split and merge partitions.
For personal and home use, consider Acronis Disk Director V11 Home It can be bought cheaper.
Compared to Acronis, Paragon Software’s Partition Manager 11 Free Edition which I have used requires some figuring out on your own. It is a free software and would demand some technical expertise to figure out how the software works.
If you are setting up a new HDD, use the computer’s operating system (OS), like Microsoft Windows 7, to help with the partitioning. During the installation of Windows 7, choose to install the Custom Advanced version of the OS instead of the default option. This lets you create and size partitions from the outset.
3. Partition sizes
I recommend partition sizes of 200GB to 250GB for HDDs up to 500GB in capacity. For HDDs bigger than 500GB, partition them in sizes of 300GB to 400GB.
This makes them more manageable. If the partitions are too big, it can present a problem to backup the large size. For mobile warriors, treat the laptop with tender loving care. Hard disks are sensitive and when they are knocked around during travel, partitions can get corrupted easily. If you corrupt a large partition, you will lose far more files than if the partition size was smaller.
Managing the initial partition size of the C\: drive when performing a new system setup can be daunting because you never really know just how much space the operating system (OS) will use. Some users will choose to lump all, that is, all the OS files and the working data files into one large partition.
This has the benefit of having only to manage a single backup. If you choose to create two partitions, one for the OS and another for working files, you have to manage two back-ups.
Others feel the working files and system files should be separated. Personally, I recommend making the C: drive partition large enough – usually between 80GB and 100GB – to accommodate all the program installations like Microsoft Office 2010, Adobe Acrobat, your game software, device drivers and security fixes and patches from time to time. The next partitions can be for different types of files like photos, music and home-made movies.
With Microsoft Windows 7, it is now possible to link files from other partitions and folders to a Library link like Documents, making the process appear seamless. All the files would appear in one list instead of separate lists to reflect individual files.
4. Archiving
Partitioning a large capacity hard disk drive not only helps create a organised structure, it also helps with archiving. It is easier and faster to find a way to back up smaller partitions like 200GB rather than 500GB.
Related Links:
Acronis Disk Director V11 Home
Paragon Partition Manager 11 Personal
Tags: Memory, Server Storage
