Datasheet

Prepare to Install Windows 7 21
Disk Space Partitioning
Disk partitioning is the act of taking the physical hard drive and creating
logical partitions. A logical drive is how space is allocated to the drive’s
primary and logical partitions. For example, if you have a 500 GB hard
drive, you might partition it into three logical drives: a C drive, which
might be 200 GB; a D drive, which might be 150 GB; and an E drive,
which might be 150 GB.
Some of the major considerations for disk partitioning are as follows:
The amount of space required
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The location of the system and boot partition
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Any special disk configurations you will use
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The utility you will use to set up the partitions
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Partition Size One important consideration in your disk-partition-
ing scheme is determining the partition size. You need to consider
the amount of space taken up by your operating system, the applica-
tions that will be installed, and the amount of stored data. It is also
important to consider the amount of space required in the future.
Microsoft recommends that you allocate at least 16 GB of disk
space for Windows 7. This allows room for the operating system
files and for future growth in terms of upgrades and installation
files that are placed with the operating system files.
System and Boot Partitions When you install Windows 7, files will
be stored in two locations: the system partition and the boot parti-
tion. The system partition and the boot partition can be the same
partition.
The system partition contains the files needed to boot the Windows 7
operating system. The system partition contains the Master Boot
Record (MBR) and boot sector of the active drive partition. It is often
the first physical hard drive in the computer and normally contains
the necessary files to boot the computer. The files stored on the system
partition do not take any significant disk space. The active partition is
the system partition that is used to start your computer. The C drive is
usually the active partition.
The boot partition contains the Windows 7 operating system files.
By default, the Windows operating system files are located in a
folder named Windows.
Installation
PART I
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