How to Create a Separate Data Partition in Windows 8

Windows normally settles to a single partition on your hard drive. However, you can divide your hard disk into several different partitions and store its data files separately from system files.

This can be particularly useful when it comes to update or reinstall Windows, you can perform a clean installation, wiping away your personal files from the main unit and leaving the secondary disk as-with your personal files.

When istalling windows:

To create a data partition separated during the installation of Windows 7 or Windows 8, you must select the custom installation option. Review the installation normally process until you reach the screen "which type of installation do?" and click the custom option.

On the next screen, click the Drive options (advanced) link.

Create multiple partitions click on the new button and specify a size for each partition.

When you are satisfied with the size of the partition, select the partition that you want to install Windows in, and then click the next button. Windows will install on that partition. The other partition space will be available as its own separate in the Windows drive letter.

After Installing Windows:

There is a good chance that you have already installed Windows on a single partition on your hard disk. If so, you can change the size of the partition of the existing system for free space and create a new partition in the space. You can do it all from in Windows.


You will need access to the Windows disk management tool to do this. In Windows 8, press the Windows key + X or click the left lower corner of the screen and select disk management. In Windows 7, press the key on your keyboard, type manage disks on the search box Start menu and press ENTER.

In the disk management window, right-click the partition c :) and select to reduce volume.

Warning: Before playing with the partitions, always be sure that you have backups of your important files. You should not have problems during this operation, but data loss is still a potential threat to change the partitions.

Enter the amount of space you want to shrink the partition in MB. For example, if you want a 100 GB data partition, enter 102400 photo, click the shrink button.

Of course, you must have enough free space on partition to reduce. If you have only 20 GB of free space, you will not be able to shrink the partition more than 20 GB. If you need to free up space, but do not delete the files, you can copy on an external hard drive, delete the original and copy the files to the data partition can temporarily.

After the process completes, right-click inside the Unallocated space and select New Simple Volume to create a new partition from the unpartition space.

Follow the wizard, assigning your desired drive letter to the new partition. When the process is complete, you’ll have a separate data partition.

To take full advantage of the separate data partition, store your personal data files. To make this easier, you can move the user data folders. directories of documents, downloads, music, photos and videos, for example, hard disk, double-click each folder in Windows Explorer (or file Explorer in Windows 8) and using the location of the tab options.