Windows7 64 bit Partitions

azTom wrote:
On 5/16/2010 6:13 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, wrote:

What is or is there a maximum number of partitions allowed on a hard
drive. I have a large HD with 5 partitions and 317GB free I tried to
create another partition with the built-in disk management program and
it said I already had the maximum number of partitions.



The maximum number of partitions is four, regardless of the version of
Windows. You don't have five partitions, you have somewhere between
two and four.

One or more of your partitions is what's called an "extended"
partition and it's divided into logical drives.

Although they are technically *not* partitions, logical drives are
used just like partitions, and most of us informally call them
"partitions" most of the time.

By the way, five "partitions" is a very large number for the great
majority of people. Why do you have so many, and why do you want a
sixth? Except for those people with multiple operating systems
installed and dual booting, either one or two partitions is the best
number for almost everyone.

You might want to read this article on partitions I've written:
"Understanding Disk Partitioning" at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=326


Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
1- Operating System
2-Data
3-Down Loads
4-Pictures
5-Important Stuff
6-? Programs I do not have to reinstall when reinstalling the operating
system

1 - Operating System
2 - Downloads
3 - Backups
4 - Virtual Machines

On Thu, 20 May 2010 17:02:06 -0400, Prescott
wrote:

azTom wrote:
On 5/16/2010 6:13 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, wrote:

What is or is there a maximum number of partitions allowed on a hard
drive. I have a large HD with 5 partitions and 317GB free I tried to
create another partition with the built-in disk management program and
it said I already had the maximum number of partitions.



The maximum number of partitions is four, regardless of the version of
Windows. You don't have five partitions, you have somewhere between
two and four.

One or more of your partitions is what's called an "extended"
partition and it's divided into logical drives.

Although they are technically *not* partitions, logical drives are
used just like partitions, and most of us informally call them
"partitions" most of the time.

By the way, five "partitions" is a very large number for the great
majority of people. Why do you have so many, and why do you want a
sixth? Except for those people with multiple operating systems
installed and dual booting, either one or two partitions is the best
number for almost everyone.

You might want to read this article on partitions I've written:
"Understanding Disk Partitioning" at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=326


Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
1- Operating System
2-Data
3-Down Loads
4-Pictures
5-Important Stuff
6-? Programs I do not have to reinstall when reinstalling the operating
system

1 - Operating System
2 - Downloads
3 - Backups
4 - Virtual Machines



Where do you keep your data?

I'll comment on numbers 2 and 3. A separate partition for downloads is
way overkill, as far as I'm concerned. I don't see any good reason for
separating that in a partition of its own.

But the giant problem is having a partition for backups. Keeping your
backups on a partition on your only hard drive is just kidding
yourself. That's far and away the weakest form of backup there is, and
is almost equivalent to having no backup at all. It leaves you
susceptible to simultaneous loss of the original and backup to many of
the most common dangers: head crashes, user errors, severe power
glitches, nearby lightning strikes, virus attacks, even theft of the
computer.

In my view, secure backup needs to be on removable media, and not kept
in the computer. For really secure backup (needed, for example, if the
life of your business depends on your data) you should have multiple
generations of backup, and at least one of those generations should be
stored off-site.



Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003