327:
20:
452:(MS-DOS 6.22, Windows 9x) were used. This compression was done by creating a very large file on the partition, then storing the disk's data in this file. At startup, device drivers opened this file and assigned it a separate letter. Frequently, to avoid confusion, the original partition and the compressed drive had their letters swapped, so that the compressed disk is C:, and the uncompressed area (often containing system files) is given a higher name.
54:
to create, resize, delete, and manipulate the partitions. Partitioning allows the use of different filesystems to be installed for different kinds of files. Separating user data from system data can prevent the system partition from becoming full and rendering the system unusable. Partitioning can
419:
file systems and recreate a partition table which includes entries for these recovered file systems. Some disk utilities may overwrite a number of beginning sectors of a partition they delete. For example, if
Windows Disk Management (Windows 2000/XP, etc.) is used to delete a partition, it will
45:
is created. The disk stores the information about the partitions' locations and sizes in an area known as the partition table that the operating system reads before any other part of the disk. Each partition then appears to the operating system as a distinct "logical" disk that uses part of the
147:
that may or may not be visible as drives, such as recovery partitions or partitions with diagnostic tools or data. (Windows drive letters do not correspond to partitions in a one-to-one fashion, so there may be more or fewer drive letters than partitions.)
346:
Multi-boot systems are computers where the user can boot into more than one distinct operating system (OS) stored in separate storage devices or in separate partitions of the same storage device. In such systems a menu at
41:, so that each region can be managed separately. These regions are called partitions. It is typically the first step of preparing a newly installed disk after a partitioning scheme is chosen for the new disk before any
1062:
358:, in which one operating system is run as a self-contained virtual "program" within another already-running operating system. (An example is a Windows OS "virtual machine" running from within a Linux OS.)
687:
file systems have made use of a number of partition type codes due to the limits of various DOS and
Windows OS versions. Though a Linux operating system may recognize a number of different file systems
55:
also make backing up easier. A disadvantage is that it can be difficult to properly size partitions, resulting in having one partition with too much free space and another nearly totally allocated.
1152:
1032:
1292:
171:' program which allows for the creation, deletion and resizing of FAT and NTFS partitions. The Windows Disk Manager in Windows Vista and Windows 7 utilizes a
728:
An HDD may contain only one extended partition, but that extended partition can be subdivided into multiple logical partitions. DOS/Windows systems may then
411:
When a partition is deleted, its entry is removed from a table and the data is no longer accessible. The data remains on the disk until it is overwritten.
1055:
1144:
949:
1044:
is "A discrete portion of a disk, configured during installation." Under SunOS 4.l.x and System V Release 3, slices were referred to as partitions.
847:
594:. Most are used by an operating system's bootloader (that examines partition tables) to decide if a partition contains a file system that can be
71:
to describe dividing a block storage device such as an HDD into physical segments. The term's usage is now ubiquitous. Other terms used include
139:
that will contain the operating system, the page/swap file, all utilities, applications, and user data. On most
Windows consumer computers, the
1118:
628:
to be the first partition. All
Windows operating systems from Windows 95 onwards can be located on (almost) any partition, but the boot files (
915:
1439:
267:
Keeping user data such as documents separate from system files allows the system to be updated with lessened risk of disturbing the data.
1251:
1025:
1419:
1457:
1284:
1093:
271:
A common minimal configuration for Linux systems is to use three partitions: one holding the system files mounted on "/" (the
1327:
392:
475:
is a table maintained on a disk by the operating system that outlines and describes the partitions on that disk. The terms
420:
overwrite the first sector (relative sector 0) of the partition before removing it. It still may be possible to restore a
745:
755:
BIOS boot partition (BIOS BP) is a share of the storage device used to keep software that boots the operating system, a
1494:
794:
463:, contain intrinsic disk compression capability. The use of separate disk compression utilities has declined sharply.
1194:
894:
403:. Many operating systems now support this standard. However, Windows does not support this on BIOS based computers.
264:
A runaway program that uses up all available space on a non-system filesystem does not fill up critical filesystems.
246:
If one file system gets corrupted, the data outside that filesystem/partition may stay intact, minimizing data loss.
1399:
1356:
176:
1504:
820:
799:
38:
495:, but it may be used generically to refer to other formats that divide a disk drive into partitions, such as:
1370:
922:
789:
666:
557:
The total data storage space of a PC HDD on which MBR partitioning is implemented can contain at most four
550:(GPT) partitioning scheme instead. For examples of other partitioning schemes, see the general article on
1499:
945:
436:
HDDs can be compressed to create additional space. In DOS and early
Microsoft Windows, programs such as
841:
1489:
759:. It may be an operating system kernel image or bootloader or a completely separate piece of software.
377:
208:
1230:
736:(GPT) only has the primary partition, doesn't have the extended partition and the logical partition.
335:
211:, it is possible to use multiple partitions on a disk device. Each partition can be formatted with a
1085:
939:
571:, located in the master boot record, contains 16-byte entries, each of which describes a partition.
1484:
172:
1182:
729:
483:
are similar terms and can be used interchangeably. The term is most commonly associated with the
254:
140:
578:
is identified by a 1-byte code found in its partition table entry. Some of these codes (such as
1449:
1382:
1186:
779:
1391:
1259:
884:
421:
767:
733:
723:
648:) may also impose specific requirements as to which partition must contain the primary OS.
591:
547:
496:
367:
309:
168:
47:
962:
A minidisk is only part of a physical disk but appears to be a separate disk to the guest.
282:
By default, macOS systems also use a single partition for the entire filesystem and use a
51:
8:
1423:
810:
500:
484:
1224:
1177:
Essential System
Administration: Tools and Techniques for Linux and Unix Administration
1175:
804:
706:
671:
657:
655:
for a primary partition can either correspond to a file system contained within (e.g.,
586:
580:
527:
488:
301:
143:
C: is routinely assigned to this primary partition. Other partitions may exist on the
1364:
1333:
1323:
1190:
1110:
890:
617:
535:
492:
456:
326:
128:
640:, etc.) must reside on a primary partition. However, other factors, such as a PC's
16:
Creation of separate accessible storage areas on a secondary computer storage device
1102:
625:
437:
102:
One of the earliest such segmentation of a disk drive was IBM's 1966 usage in its
1378:
784:
396:
355:
242:
to be allocated their own filesystems. Such a scheme has a number of advantages:
144:
351:
gives a choice of which OS to boot/start (and only one OS at a time is loaded).
1020:
991:
979:
711:
645:
607:
521:
293:. This is a conceptual reference to the slicing of a cake into several pieces.
276:
272:
216:
1271:(NB. The Solaris documentation on disklabels uses the term "partition table".)
1478:
1337:
1114:
543:
504:
339:
305:
160:
152:
19:
1317:
669:
file system) or indicate that the partition has a special use (e.g., code
179:
with
Windows 2000, XP, OS/2, DOS as well as many other operating systems.
1354:
1322:. Debra Littlejohn Shinder (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Syngress Pub.
445:
250:
212:
136:
42:
1403:
1106:
64:
1070:- for Apple II installations allows division of a hard disk drive into
770:
is the same as BIOS BP, but is loaded by EFI firmware instead of BIOS.
756:
704:, etc.), they have all consistently used the same partition type code:
460:
449:
412:
321:
156:
1444:
985:
621:
441:
400:
283:
192:
164:
286:
inside the file system (like
Windows) rather than a swap partition.
1238:
1218:
995:
701:
331:
275:), one holding user configuration files and data mounted on /home (
135:, a common practice is to use one primary partition for the active
546:
computer systems. As of the mid-2010s, most new computers use the
348:
297:
23:
258:
1234:
910:
684:
680:
539:
200:
196:
103:
1355:
Stéphane
Martineau; Jens Olsson; Nick Roberts (2002-11-02).
946:"Virtualization's Past Helps Explain Its Current Importance"
815:
697:
693:
689:
662:
641:
425:
188:
132:
613:
531:
204:
124:
1357:"The Alt-OS-Development Partition Specification (AODPS)"
459:
using the NT kernel, including the most recent version,
312:
partitions are referred to as "partition" worldwide.
1377:
1213:
utility for Apple
Partition Maps is described as an
561:, or alternatively three primary partitions and an
530:(MBR) partitioning scheme, as used historically in
1174:
1142:
612:A primary partition contains one file system. In
304:partitions, to avoid confusion with FreeBSD's own
886:How Linux Works: What Every SuperUser Should Know
1476:
1359:. 0.4. Archived from the original on 2004-02-13.
428:partition if a backup boot sector is available.
253:can be mounted with different parameters, e.g.,
1458:"What are system partition and boot partition?"
1389:
1285:"What are system partition and boot partition?"
26:is a popular utility used for disk partitioning
1086:"The Origin of the VM/370 Time-Sharing System"
982:man page for the RP-11/RP03 device and driver
289:In Solaris, partitions are sometimes known as
222:Multiple partitions allow directories such as
1056:"Constellation II Generation Guide, Apple II"
590:) may be used to indicate the presence of an
1083:
338:Linux (with three different boot modes) and
110:as a separate segment of a hard disk drive.
1203:
1166:
1420:"ATA (EIDE) Drive Capacity and Addressing"
67:was an early if not first use of the term
37:is the creation of one or more regions on
1437:
118:
998:- speaks of the disk being divided into
325:
239:
223:
18:
1417:
1392:"Minimal Partition Table Specification"
1383:"List of partition identifiers for PCs"
1244:
1094:IBM Journal of Research and Development
843:Oracle Solaris 11 System Administration
839:
762:
563:
361:
113:
1477:
1172:
1145:"BIOS/MBR-based hard drive partitions"
1026:"Solaris 2.2 Basic Installation Guide"
974:
972:
970:
943:
934:
932:
750:
395:(UEFI) standard for the layout of the
235:
231:
227:
1315:
1311:
1309:
1279:
1277:
1256:System Administration Guide, Volume 1
1077:
952:from the original on December 4, 2021
717:
510:
406:
393:Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
315:
308:-based partitioning scheme. However,
1402:. Ranish. 1998-08-05. Archived from
882:
867:
601:
551:
182:
1047:
1013:
967:
929:
903:
746:System partition and boot partition
431:
13:
1348:
1306:
1274:
1124:from the original on March 7, 2022
795:List of disk partitioning software
739:
466:
14:
1516:
807:covers the partition table layout
1068:from the original on 2022-02-12.
1040:- says in a glossary entry that
1038:from the original on 2022-04-04.
944:Rogers, Bob (February 6, 2017).
296:The term "slice" is used in the
1295:from the original on 2018-07-16
1155:from the original on 2021-07-25
1136:
1084:R. J. Creasy (September 1981).
889:. No Starch Press. p. 39.
850:from the original on 2016-03-07
1390:Andries Brouwer (1999-09-16).
876:
861:
833:
413:Specialized recovery utilities
175:scheme which is fundamentally
1:
925:. December 1983. AA-5826F-TC.
923:Digital Equipment Corporation
826:
790:Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
598:for reading or writing data.
300:operating system to refer to
1215:Apple partition table editor
916:"RT-11 System Release Notes"
730:assign a unique drive letter
646:Boot sequence on standard PC
624:required what it called the
7:
773:
732:to each logical partition.
526:This section describes the
257:, or with the execution of
63:IBM in its 1983 release of
10:
1521:
743:
721:
675:usually indicates a Linux
616:and all early versions of
605:
519:
365:
319:
195:operating systems such as
58:
1495:DOS on IBM PC compatibles
1369:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
1023:2.2 installation guide -
356:virtual operating systems
279:), and a swap partition.
1438:Microsoft (2005-06-03).
1143:windows-driver-content.
1053:The 1980 Corvus Guide -
712:Linux native file system
173:1 MB partition alignment
1319:Scene of the cybercrime
1316:Cross, Michael (2008).
1173:Frisch, AEleen (2002).
50:use a program called a
1505:Utility software types
868:Levi, Bozidar (2002).
840:Calkins, Bill (2013).
780:Amiga rigid disk block
515:
415:may be able to locate
354:This is distinct from
343:
119:DOS, Windows, and OS/2
27:
1400:"partitioning primer"
722:Further information:
606:Further information:
448:(MS-DOS 6.0–6.2), or
440:(DR-DOS except 6.0),
334:startup menu showing
329:
48:System administrators
22:
1183:O'Reilly Media, Inc.
942:beginning 1966 see:
883:Ward, Brian (2004).
768:EFI system partition
763:EFI system partition
734:GUID partition table
724:Extended boot record
548:GUID Partition Table
497:GUID Partition Table
374:GUID Partition Table
368:GUID Partition Table
362:GUID Partition Table
310:GUID Partition Table
114:Partitioning schemes
106:operating system of
1252:"About Disk Labels"
1107:10.1147/rd.255.0483
870:UNIX Administration
811:Partition alignment
751:BIOS boot partition
651:The partition type
501:Apple partition map
485:MBR partition table
444:(DR DOS 6.0),
391:) is a part of the
1500:IBM PC compatibles
1440:"Using GPT Drives"
1149:docs.microsoft.com
805:Master boot record
718:Extended partition
596:mounted / accessed
592:extended partition
564:extended partition
559:primary partitions
542:(among others) on
528:master boot record
511:PC partition types
489:Master Boot Record
407:Partition recovery
344:
316:Multi-boot systems
302:Master Boot Record
65:PC DOS version 2.0
28:
1490:Disk file systems
1329:978-0-08-048699-4
1237:System Manager's
913:circa 1984, see:
618:Microsoft Windows
602:Primary partition
536:Microsoft Windows
183:Unix-like systems
129:Microsoft Windows
39:secondary storage
31:Disk partitioning
1512:
1471:
1469:
1468:
1462:www.easyuefi.com
1453:
1448:. Archived from
1434:
1432:
1431:
1422:. Archived from
1414:
1412:
1411:
1395:
1386:
1374:
1368:
1360:
1342:
1341:
1313:
1304:
1303:
1301:
1300:
1289:www.easyuefi.com
1281:
1272:
1270:
1268:
1267:
1258:. Archived from
1248:
1242:
1228:
1227:
1217:in its pdisk(8)
1207:
1201:
1200:
1180:
1170:
1164:
1163:
1161:
1160:
1140:
1134:
1133:
1131:
1129:
1123:
1090:
1081:
1075:
1069:
1067:
1060:
1051:
1045:
1039:
1037:
1030:
1017:
1011:
989:
988:
976:
965:
964:
959:
957:
936:
927:
926:
920:
907:
901:
900:
880:
874:
873:
865:
859:
858:
856:
855:
837:
709:
679:partition). The
674:
661:means either an
660:
639:
635:
631:
626:system partition
589:
583:
552:partition tables
432:Compressed disks
52:partition editor
1520:
1519:
1515:
1514:
1513:
1511:
1510:
1509:
1485:Disk partitions
1475:
1474:
1466:
1464:
1456:
1429:
1427:
1409:
1407:
1398:
1379:Andries Brouwer
1362:
1361:
1351:
1349:Further reading
1346:
1345:
1330:
1314:
1307:
1298:
1296:
1283:
1282:
1275:
1265:
1263:
1250:
1249:
1245:
1223:
1222:
1208:
1204:
1197:
1171:
1167:
1158:
1156:
1141:
1137:
1127:
1125:
1121:
1088:
1082:
1078:
1065:
1058:
1054:
1052:
1048:
1035:
1028:
1024:
1018:
1014:
984:
983:
977:
968:
955:
953:
948:. TechChannel.
938:As used in IBM
937:
930:
918:
914:
909:As used by DEC
908:
904:
897:
881:
877:
866:
862:
853:
851:
838:
834:
829:
785:Disk formatting
776:
765:
753:
748:
742:
740:Boot partitions
726:
720:
705:
670:
656:
637:
633:
629:
610:
604:
585:
579:
569:Partition Table
524:
518:
513:
477:partition table
473:partition table
469:
467:Partition table
434:
409:
397:partition table
370:
364:
324:
318:
261:files disabled.
185:
169:Disk Management
121:
116:
61:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1518:
1508:
1507:
1502:
1497:
1492:
1487:
1473:
1472:
1454:
1452:on 2005-07-06.
1435:
1415:
1396:
1387:
1375:
1350:
1347:
1344:
1343:
1328:
1305:
1273:
1243:
1202:
1195:
1165:
1135:
1101:(5): 483–490.
1076:
1072:virtual drives
1046:
1012:
992:Version 6 Unix
980:Version 6 Unix
966:
928:
902:
895:
875:
860:
831:
830:
828:
825:
824:
823:
818:
813:
808:
802:
797:
792:
787:
782:
775:
772:
764:
761:
752:
749:
741:
738:
719:
716:
608:Partition type
603:
600:
576:partition type
522:Partition type
517:
514:
512:
509:
468:
465:
433:
430:
408:
405:
399:on a physical
366:Main article:
363:
360:
320:Main article:
317:
314:
277:home directory
273:root directory
269:
268:
265:
262:
247:
217:swap partition
184:
181:
120:
117:
115:
112:
60:
57:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1517:
1506:
1503:
1501:
1498:
1496:
1493:
1491:
1488:
1486:
1483:
1482:
1480:
1463:
1459:
1455:
1451:
1447:
1446:
1441:
1436:
1426:on 2006-02-08
1425:
1421:
1418:Allen Smith.
1416:
1406:on 2004-08-04
1405:
1401:
1397:
1393:
1388:
1384:
1381:(1995–2004).
1380:
1376:
1372:
1366:
1358:
1353:
1352:
1339:
1335:
1331:
1325:
1321:
1320:
1312:
1310:
1294:
1290:
1286:
1280:
1278:
1262:on 2007-02-28
1261:
1257:
1253:
1247:
1240:
1236:
1232:
1229: –
1226:
1220:
1216:
1212:
1206:
1198:
1196:9780596004491
1192:
1188:
1184:
1179:
1178:
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1146:
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1120:
1116:
1112:
1108:
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1100:
1096:
1095:
1087:
1080:
1073:
1064:
1057:
1050:
1043:
1034:
1027:
1022:
1016:
1009:
1005:
1001:
997:
994:Programmer's
993:
990: –
987:
981:
975:
973:
971:
963:
951:
947:
941:
935:
933:
924:
917:
912:
906:
898:
896:9781593270353
892:
888:
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864:
849:
845:
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832:
822:
819:
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731:
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678:
673:
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664:
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623:
619:
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588:
582:
577:
572:
570:
566:
565:
560:
555:
553:
549:
545:
544:PC-compatible
541:
537:
533:
529:
523:
508:
506:
505:BSD disklabel
502:
498:
494:
490:
486:
482:
481:partition map
478:
474:
464:
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458:
453:
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429:
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369:
359:
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352:
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341:
340:Windows Vista
337:
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111:
109:
105:
100:
98:
97:virtual drive
94:
90:
86:
82:
78:
74:
70:
66:
56:
53:
49:
46:actual disk.
44:
40:
36:
32:
25:
21:
1465:. Retrieved
1461:
1450:the original
1443:
1428:. Retrieved
1424:the original
1408:. Retrieved
1404:the original
1318:
1297:. Retrieved
1288:
1264:. Retrieved
1260:the original
1255:
1246:
1214:
1210:
1205:
1176:
1168:
1157:. Retrieved
1148:
1138:
1128:February 10,
1126:. Retrieved
1098:
1092:
1079:
1071:
1049:
1041:
1015:
1007:
1004:pseudo-disks
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665:or an OS/2
446:DoubleSpace
213:file system
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1479:Categories
1467:2021-12-07
1430:2005-10-15
1410:2004-08-15
1299:2021-12-07
1266:2010-04-03
1159:2021-12-06
854:2016-03-04
827:References
757:bootloader
744:See also:
520:See also:
503:(APM), or
461:Windows 10
450:DriveSpace
322:Multi-boot
151:Microsoft
1445:Microsoft
1338:272383168
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620:systems,
491:(MBR) in
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306:disklabel
284:swap file
255:read-only
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193:Unix-like
165:Windows 7
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1365:cite web
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634:bootmgr
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457:Windows
438:Stacker
349:startup
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298:FreeBSD
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