Previously we explained easy way to create partition in window 7 and this is the concluding part.
In this part we will explain how to:
– Format the partition in window 7
– Change drive letter of partition in window 7
– Remove partition in window 7
FORMAT THE PARTITION IN WINDOW 7
You can format a partition during the creation of it, If you have skipped it during the creation process, you need to do it before you use it.
If you try to use it before format, Window explorer will give you the following alert
“You need to format the disk in drive before you can use it. Do you want to format it”
While you format a partition, it will delete any information on the partition and setup a file system so that window 7 can read from it and write data to it.
– To format a partition, select the partition from Disk Management console and right click from the open context menu click format option
– In opened popup box you can set format options (All the options are same).
*Volume label – Specify a name to this drive, default will be New Volume
*File system – Choose NTFS for better performance, FAT32 also is available as options on drive (Good for drive of 2gb and below).
*Allocation unit size – This is the basic unit in which disk space is allocated, the default allocation unit size is based on the size of the volume and by default is set dynamically prior to formatting (Keep Default).
*Perform A Quick Format – If checked window will format without checking the partition for errors, with large partitions, this option can save you a few minutes. However, it is recommended to uncheck this option and perform full format which check for errors, mark bad sectors on the disk and lock them out.
*Enable File and folder compression – Built in compression, only for NTFS file system, it is usually not necessary in today’s world of incredibly large hard drives.
Click Ok at the bottom of the window (Click OK to alert message)
The hard drive format will begin, Status file will display the progress of formatting in % (percentage). Depending on size and format type (quick or standard) it make take several times. The format is when the status changes to Healthy.
After doing the above, you have successfully formatted the partition
CHANGE DRIVE LETTER OF PARTITION IN WINDOW 7
Windows typically assigns a letter of the alphabet to most drives, if you want to organize your drives in your preferred way then you will need to change the drive letter.
To change drive letter
– In Disk Management console select the partition and right click, from the context menu click Change Drive Letter or Path
– In open box we have three options
*Add – To assign a drive letter if one has not already been assigned
*Change – To change already assigned drive letter
*Remove – To remove a drive letter
Before you can make any change be aware that some applications make references to specific driver letters, if you change a drive letter these program might not work properly.
– Make sure drive is not in use while changing drive letter (Close any program or window that is using the drive to avoid error).
– You cannot change drive letter of system or boot partition.
– To change drive letter select the partition and click Change.
– Click on drop down menu, it will list all available letters
– Select the drive letter you like to use and click OK
– Click YES to alert message
Now we have successfully changed drive letter.
REMOVE PARTITION IN WINDOW 7
In the end of this article we will delete a partition. Before you delete please not that if you have single partition, then you can not delete it.
All data on a partition will be lost when you delete it, You can not delete the system partition, boot partition or any partition that contains the virtual memory paging file, because Windows needs this information to start up correctly.
To Delete a Partition
– In Disk Management console select the partition right click from the context menu Click Delete
– Click YES to warning message
If you delete a primary partition, the resulting empty space is called Unallocated disk space.
If you delete a Logical drive within an extended partition, the resulting empty space is called Free Space.
– You can now use the empty space to create Additional Volumes.
We hope this is useful to you, Share with friends and leave your comment!
Jaytee