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Do I want a primary or extended partition
I started a long time ago making a 40G partition for Windows and then
making an extended partition for the rest of the drive. (Data drive that would not be reformatted) I don't really know the difference (between primary and extended) but I had a quirk come up last time I reformatted (and reinstalled windows) the 40G partition. I ended up with Windows on E: drive and the boot information on C: drive. D: was the CD. The reason for the 40G partition is so I can just reinstall Windows instead of trying to clean it of a virus. When I am re installing Windows, I am not really sure how to reformat (from the setup disk) the 40G partition other than to just delete the partition and re assign it. 1) Can you reformat the primary partition using Windows XP pro (without deleting it first)? 2) Does it matter if the other partition is primary or extended? 3) How did I manage to get the 40G partition (With Windows installed) assigned as e: with the boot information on cwhich was supposed to be for data and was never reformatted) PS I hope this makes more sense to you guys than it does to me. -- Stephanie: What did you do today? Leonard Hofstadter: Well, I'm a physicist, so I just thought about stuff. Stephanie: That's it? Leonard Hofstadter: I wrote some of it down. |
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#2
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Do I want a primary or extended partition
On 02/06/2013 06:10 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
I started a long time ago making a 40G partition for Windows and then making an extended partition for the rest of the drive. (Data drive that would not be reformatted) I don't really know the difference (between primary and extended) but I had a quirk come up last time I reformatted (and reinstalled windows) the 40G partition. I ended up with Windows on E: drive and the boot information on C: drive. D: was the CD. The reason for the 40G partition is so I can just reinstall Windows instead of trying to clean it of a virus. When I am re installing Windows, I am not really sure how to reformat (from the setup disk) the 40G partition other than to just delete the partition and re assign it. 1) Can you reformat the primary partition using Windows XP pro (without deleting it first)? 2) Does it matter if the other partition is primary or extended? 3) How did I manage to get the 40G partition (With Windows installed) assigned as e: with the boot information on cwhich was supposed to be for data and was never reformatted) PS I hope this makes more sense to you guys than it does to me. There should be no problem formatting your primary partition and leaving your logical drive intact...however you could not delete your primary partition. It looks like you simply chose the wrong drive when you reinstalled Windows last time. |
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Do I want a primary or extended partition
Metspitzer wrote:
I started a long time ago making a 40G partition for Windows and then making an extended partition for the rest of the drive. (Data drive that would not be reformatted) I don't really know the difference (between primary and extended) but I had a quirk come up last time I reformatted (and reinstalled windows) the 40G partition. I ended up with Windows on E: drive and the boot information on C: drive. D: was the CD. See below ______________ The reason for the 40G partition is so I can just reinstall Windows instead of trying to clean it of a virus. That's not a very good idea. First of all, 40GB is way more than you need for just Windows. Half that amount would still be generous. Secondly, if you reinstall Windows "over the top" - i.e., freshen it, a repair install - you have done nothing to get rid if a virus or malware. If you format and *then* install Windows you will have gotten rid of any baddies but you will also have gotten rid of anything else on that partition. That includes your mobo and other drivers/software. ____________________ When I am re installing Windows, I am not really sure how to reformat (from the setup disk) the 40G partition other than to just delete the partition and re assign it. After you do that the setup disc gives you formatting options if the partition is a not new one and you choose: Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick) Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick) Format the partition by using the NTFS file system Format the partition by using the FAT file system Leave the current file system intact (no changes) See here... http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348 1) Can you reformat the primary partition using Windows XP pro (without deleting it first)? No, and you can't delete it either. No operations that affect the integrity of the file system or OS can be done from within Windows. It is sort of like trying to overhaul a running engine. 2) Does it matter if the other partition is primary or extended? No given the above 3) How did I manage to get the 40G partition (With Windows installed) assigned as e: with the boot information on cwhich was supposed to be for data and was never reformatted) You probably chose the wrong drive for XP. C: is the first primary drive on the first physical drive (determined by cabling in the tower) and has to have the boot files. ______________ A physical drive can have up to four primary partitions. It *MUST* have at least one and a few files needed for booting must be on it; however, Windows itself can be on a logical drive on an extended partion. Only one primary drive is active and visible at a time; having multiple primary partitions works well when you want to have more than one type of OS...windows and Linus, e.g. A physical drive may have *ONE* extended partition. That extended partition reduces the number of possible primary partitions to three. The extended partition may have many logical drives. There are pros and cons to them, see... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_partitioning If you want to see multiple drives via Windows Explorer and you want more than four, you probably want a primary partition and an extended partition with multiple logical partitions on it. In my case, I have two physical drives. Each has one primary partition and one extended partition. Each extended partition has multiple logical drives which I use for specific things...one for images, one for MP3s, one for video, one for a pristine install of XP, one for games, etc. Works for me. -- dadiOH ____________________________ Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race? Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change? Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net |
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Do I want a primary or extended partition
Per dadiOH:
First of all, 40GB is way more than you need for just Windows. Half that amount would still be generous. I find that to be true for PCs that I use myself. But for PCs at a remote site, I like to go big - like 50 or even 75 gigs. Reason: The automatic Windows updates eat space over time... couple years down the pike, the extra gigs will save me a "Something's wrong with my PC" call because C: ran out of space. -- Pete Cresswell |
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Do I want a primary or extended partition
On Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:10:52 -0500, Metspitzer
wrote: I started a long time ago making a 40G partition for Windows and then making an extended partition for the rest of the drive. (Data drive that would not be reformatted) Thanks everyone |
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