Windows 7 has a built in utility to partition a hard drive. Many people like to partition their hard drive for multiple reasons. To boot from a different OS ( This isn’t necessary any more if you have Windows 7 Ultimate, which supports booting from a VHD) or to help you manage where you store files and programs etc…. particularly if you have a large hard drive.
(I apologize for not insert the image, my Camtasia is not working. :) )
- Go to Start -> Right Click My Computer -> Manage
- You will then be brought to the Computer Management Program
- Click on the Storage bar and under it click on Disk Management
- Then select the Drive you want to partition
- Now right click on the drive and select Shrink Volume
- You will then be presented with a Window showing you the Size of the Hard drive and the total amount available to Shrink. Since my hard drive is quite full I have a smaller amount available to Shrink.Enter in the amount you would like to shrink ( This will be the size of the new partition ) It can’t be more than the amount available to you and remember that Approx 1000 Mb = 1 GB
- After you have entered your values, click shrink and let it do it’s thing. Depending on the size of the drive and amount to shrink this could take a while. Just be patient and once it’s done you will see an unallocated space which is the size you just shrunk the volume by. Select it and right click and then select New Simple Volume
- Follow the Wizard that appears and fill in the Size of the Partition, Generally the size you just shrunk the drive by.
- Assign a drive letter, Pick one of your choice it doesn’t make a difference
- Then on the Format page, Ensure NTFS is selected and then Enter a name for your Drive – ie. “Music” and click next followed by finish
