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Windows7 64 bit Partitions

A

azTom

Flightless Bird
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.
 
D

Dave \Crash\ Dummy

Flightless Bird
azTom 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.

Used to be you were limited to four primary partitions, but you could
make more drives by making one an extended partition with logical
drives. I don't know if there is a limit to how many logical drives can
be hosted, possibly however many drive letters are not assigned.

But if you have five primary partitions, all bets are off. I don't know
how you got five partitions.

--
Crash

"The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do."
~ B. F. Skinner ~
 
S

SC Tom

Flightless Bird
"azTom" <tomaz@cox.net> wrote in message
news:v__Hn.7125$V%2.1853@newsfe08.iad...
> 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.

Extend one of the partitions to include the free space, then create logical
partitions within it. IIRC, you can create logical partitions as long as you
have a letter free to assign to it.
--
SC Tom
 
D

Dave \Crash\ Dummy

Flightless Bird
SC Tom wrote:
>
> "azTom" <tomaz@cox.net> wrote in message
> news:v__Hn.7125$V%2.1853@newsfe08.iad...
>> 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.
>>
>
> Extend one of the partitions to include the free space, then create
> logical partitions within it. IIRC, you can create logical partitions
> as long as you have a letter free to assign to it.

I did some fiddling around with Disk Manager and a bare external drive.
If you start creating partitions, when you get to the fourth one an
extended partition with a logical drive is created is created
automatically. Any more volumes are created as logical drives.

--
Crash

Life is short. Eat dessert first.
 
K

Ken Blake

Flightless Bird
On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom <tomaz@cox.net> 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
 
A

azTom

Flightless Bird
On 5/16/2010 6:13 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
> On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom<tomaz@cox.net> 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
 
K

Ken Blake

Flightless Bird
On Mon, 17 May 2010 12:24:27 -0700, azTom <tomaz@cox.net> wrote:

> On 5/16/2010 6:13 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
> > On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom<tomaz@cox.net> 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



Your choice of course, but just about everything other than category 1
is essentially the same. As a single example, pictures is just one
particular kind of data. In my view, there's little or no reason to
separate these things. And there are disadvantages to having so many
partitions. I recommend that you read my article that I mentioned
above.


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

SC Tom

Flightless Bird
"Ken Blake" <kblake@this.is.invalid.com> wrote in message
news:n651v59u1s9u3br47amu6lrmmph7uf9kr4@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom <tomaz@cox.net> 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

Good article, Ken!
Reason One brought back some not-so-good memories. We had two new servers
that were to have NT4.0 Server installed on the primary partition, then
other partitions were going to be mapped network drives (this was all
company policy from our HQ in Ohio, not the local IT department's (me :))
idea). Since we are in the South, and Northerners at the main office know
everything (their attitude, not mine), I had no choice but to set them up
the way they wanted it. Wouldn't you know, about a year into owning them,
the C: partition (Windows) was running low on space and setting errors
almost constantly. Luckily there was enough space on an adjoining partition
that by purchasing Partition Magic (IIRC) I was able to expand it out enough
to last us quite a while longer.
Those days are gone now, thank goodness. When I retired, we were running
2003 Server, and things were much better. I don't miss any of that.
--
SC Tom
 
K

Ken Blake

Flightless Bird
On Mon, 17 May 2010 16:42:55 -0400, "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote:

>
> "Ken Blake" <kblake@this.is.invalid.com> wrote in message
> news:n651v59u1s9u3br47amu6lrmmph7uf9kr4@4ax.com...
> > On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom <tomaz@cox.net> 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
>
> Good article, Ken!



Thanks very much, Tom.



> Reason One brought back some not-so-good memories. We had two new servers
> that were to have NT4.0 Server installed on the primary partition, then
> other partitions were going to be mapped network drives (this was all
> company policy from our HQ in Ohio, not the local IT department's (me :))
> idea). Since we are in the South, and Northerners at the main office know
> everything (their attitude, not mine), I had no choice but to set them up
> the way they wanted it. Wouldn't you know, about a year into owning them,
> the C: partition (Windows) was running low on space and setting errors
> almost constantly. Luckily there was enough space on an adjoining partition
> that by purchasing Partition Magic (IIRC) I was able to expand it out enough
> to last us quite a while longer.
> Those days are gone now, thank goodness. When I retired, we were running
> 2003 Server, and things were much better. I don't miss any of that.
> --
> SC Tom
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
 
G

Gene E. Bloch

Flightless Bird
On 5/17/10, azTom posted:
> 6-? Programs I do not have to reinstall when reinstalling the operating
> system

That will work only if you install "portable" versions of those
programs.

That means versions that don't use the registry or AppData. Not all
programs have portable versions. Those that do can be run from memory
sticks, thus the name portable.

Any other programs will have to be reinstalled to set up the registry
and other files properly.

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)
 
M

Mad Ad

Flightless Bird
"SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
news:fThIn.12053$Gx2.11288@newsfe20.iad...
>
> Good article, Ken!


Its a terrible article, full of opinion and personal judgements leaving
little or no room for people to use something as it fits them within the
limitations of the hardware. This is a technical subject, if there is truth
to be said, say it without the opinion. Keep that for the conclusions, or a
seperate section of 'advice' (if thats what he thinks it is).

Im mildly miffed that im being told that having a seperate drive for music
has no advantage and i should be treating it like any other type of data,
seems Ken wants us all to have a single 2 terrabyte partition (or however
big your drive is) and call it good. There IS advantages to having things
in different holes but rather than debate opinions I think we will have to
agree to differ.

Not one of your best Ken, sorry.
 
D

Dave \Crash\ Dummy

Flightless Bird
Mad Ad wrote:
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:fThIn.12053$Gx2.11288@newsfe20.iad...
>> Good article, Ken!
>
>
> Its a terrible article, full of opinion and personal judgements leaving
> little or no room for people to use something as it fits them within the
> limitations of the hardware. This is a technical subject, if there is truth
> to be said, say it without the opinion. Keep that for the conclusions, or a
> seperate section of 'advice' (if thats what he thinks it is).
>
> Im mildly miffed that im being told that having a seperate drive for music
> has no advantage and i should be treating it like any other type of data,
> seems Ken wants us all to have a single 2 terrabyte partition (or however
> big your drive is) and call it good. There IS advantages to having things
> in different holes but rather than debate opinions I think we will have to
> agree to differ.
>
> Not one of your best Ken, sorry.

Didn't read the article. I personally prefer divvying things up into
smaller pieces, putting the system, apps, various forms of data, and
archives each in their own little cubbyhole, especially with the
humongous hard drives available now. It makes keeping track of things
and housekeeping much easier for me.

Naturally, anybody who does it differently is an idiot. :)
--
Crash

"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory."
~ W. Edwards Deming ~
 
J

John Morrison

Flightless Bird
On Sun, 16 May 2010 18:13:13 -0700, Ken Blake
<kblake@this.is.invalid.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom <tomaz@cox.net> 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.
>
>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.

I've always used "three" partitions, going back as far as Windows 3.1.
But I've had no reason so far to use more than "three partitions".

Currently I install only Windows 7 to C: drive.
On D: drive I have a folder "Archives" where I keep "My Documents"
Also on D: I have a folder "Attic" where I store installation files for
the many programs that I use. "My Music" is stored on E: drive.

My backup policy is that C: drive is never backed up. Whereas D: & E
drives are backed up to external hard drives frequently.
So after Windows 7 is installed I'm aware that any data from programs
subsequently installed on C: drive will be eventually lost.

When I re-install Windows 7 and start installing my favourite programs,
I'm aware that programs that were previously installed on C: drive will
have to be reinstalled and my previous settings have been lost.

Some programs on D: drive will need to be re-installed but they will
have retained their settings. Some others such as "Eudora 7.1.0.9",
"Forté Agent " news reader, and the "Opera browser" won't need
re-installing, all that is necessary is create shortcuts to open them.
--

John
 
K

Ken Blake

Flightless Bird
On Wed, 19 May 2010 15:57:09 +1000, John Morrison
<the_morrisons@com.invalid> wrote:

> On Sun, 16 May 2010 18:13:13 -0700, Ken Blake
> <kblake@this.is.invalid.com> wrote:
>
> >On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom <tomaz@cox.net> 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.
> >
> >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.
>
> I've always used "three" partitions, going back as far as Windows 3.1.
> But I've had no reason so far to use more than "three partitions".
>
> Currently I install only Windows 7 to C: drive.
> On D: drive I have a folder "Archives" where I keep "My Documents"
> Also on D: I have a folder "Attic" where I store installation files for
> the many programs that I use. "My Music" is stored on E: drive.
>
> My backup policy is that C: drive is never backed up. Whereas D: & E
> drives are backed up to external hard drives frequently.


Your choice of course, but personally I see no reason to separate what
you put on D: and what you put on E:. If I were in your shoes, I would
only have a single partition for the two of them.

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

John Morrison

Flightless Bird
On Wed, 19 May 2010 11:10:16 -0700, Ken Blake
<kblake@this.is.invalid.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 19 May 2010 15:57:09 +1000, John Morrison
><the_morrisons@com.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 16 May 2010 18:13:13 -0700, Ken Blake
>> <kblake@this.is.invalid.com> wrote:
>>
>> >On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom <tomaz@cox.net> 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.
>> >
>> >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.
>>
>> I've always used "three" partitions, going back as far as Windows 3.1.
>> But I've had no reason so far to use more than "three partitions".
>>
>> Currently I install only Windows 7 to C: drive.
>> On D: drive I have a folder "Archives" where I keep "My Documents"
>> Also on D: I have a folder "Attic" where I store installation files for
>> the many programs that I use. "My Music" is stored on E: drive.
>>
>> My backup policy is that C: drive is never backed up. Whereas D: & E
>> drives are backed up to external hard drives frequently.
>
>Your choice of course, but personally I see no reason to separate what
>you put on D: and what you put on E:. If I were in your shoes, I would
>only have a single partition for the two of them.

Thanks for that Ken, I'll be keeping that very much in mind.
The next time I format C: would be a good time to create just a single
D: partition instead of having both D: & E:
--

John
 
K

Ken Blake

Flightless Bird
On Thu, 20 May 2010 12:52:37 +1000, John Morrison
<the_morrisons@com.invalid> wrote:

> On Wed, 19 May 2010 11:10:16 -0700, Ken Blake
> <kblake@this.is.invalid.com> wrote:
>

> >Your choice of course, but personally I see no reason to separate what
> >you put on D: and what you put on E:. If I were in your shoes, I would
> >only have a single partition for the two of them.
>
> Thanks for that Ken, I'll be keeping that very much in mind.
> The next time I format C: would be a good time to create just a single
> D: partition instead of having both D: & E:


You're welcome. Glad to help.
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
 
A

azTom

Flightless Bird
Re: Windows7 64 bit Partitions Problem Solved

On 5/16/2010 4:13 PM, azTom 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.
Installed FREE Partition Wizard Home Edition 5.0 now I can make as many
partition/volumes as needed, each with a designated letter.
 
P

Prescott

Flightless Bird
azTom wrote:
> On 5/16/2010 6:13 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
>> On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom<tomaz@cox.net> 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
 
K

Ken Blake

Flightless Bird
On Thu, 20 May 2010 17:02:06 -0400, Prescott <Prescott@bogus.com>
wrote:

> azTom wrote:
> > On 5/16/2010 6:13 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
> >> On Sun, 16 May 2010 16:13:56 -0700, azTom<tomaz@cox.net> 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
 
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