You may be aware that, Partitioning an SSD is a complicated process. There are many different ways to do it, and most people don’t know how to do it. In this blog post, we will be going over the best methods for partitioning your SSD so you can get the most out of it!
In this step-by-step guide, we will be going over partitioning an SSD based on the operating system. If you are looking for a more detailed explanation of how to do it, then keep reading!
What Is An SSD?
SSD stands for a solid-state drive. It is a type of hard disk that uses flash memory to store data instead of traditional spinning disks.
SSDs are much faster, more efficient, and have no moving parts! Because they do not use a mechanical arm or any other device, it dramatically reduces the chance of failure due to shock damage while increasing speed and efficiency. Also, because there are absolutely NO MOVING PARTS inside an SSD, you will be able to enjoy your computer longer without worrying about wearing down your components from constant movement during everyday usage.
Partitioning SSD Safely using Windows.
- Click the “Start” on the Windows taskbar and open the Control Panel.
- Click “Administrative Tools,” then double-click on the Computer Management option.
- Select Disk Management in the right panel under Storage > Disks.
- Right-click your SSD and select either Shrink Volume or Delete Volume depending on if there is already a partition or not (if you are simply formatting it for use, skip this step).
- A pop-up box will appear asking how many megabytes you want to shrink your partition by. Make sure it is large enough for a Windows install!
- If the previous step asks if you would like to format the drive, select “No” and continue. This means there was already a volume that needed resizing instead of creating one from scratch.
- Select the unallocated space and click on Shrink to reduce your volume size by however many megabytes you entered.
- Click Apply when finished. This will begin the resizing process, which can take a few seconds depending on how large of a number you entered. If it asks if you would like to create a new volume, select “Yes” and continue. This means you are simply making the partition rather than resizing an existing one.
- Choose how much-unallocated space you would like after your partition is finished being created (leave it at default if unsure).
- Click Apply again to start this process which may take several seconds.
- When finished, you will now have a partition created and ready to be formatted for use! Your drive should look just like any other hard disk on your computer at this point.
- Click the Windows Start button again and select Computer from the list of options that appears along with it (or open My Computer if you do not see him listed).
- Right-click your SSD and select Format, followed by the type of file system you would like to use. Your options should be NTFS or exFAT, depending on if you want a Windows partition (NTFS) or not (exFAT). If unsure, choose NTFS! This will open up another pop-up window asking for your partition to be formatted.
- Click OK, and the formatting process will begin! Depending on how large of a drive you have selected, this may take a little while, but it should not be more than a few minutes at most. Once finished, you can now enjoy using your SSD in its new form.
To partition a new SSD, read our article, “How To Partition New SSD?“.
Partitioning SSD using CMD
- Click the “Start” on the Windows taskbar and open up an elevated command prompt.
- Type in disk part, then press [Enter]. A new window will open up on a separate screen.
- Type “list disk” and press [Enter] to view all the disks connected to your computer. This should be a reasonably long list with all available disks and their partitions shown for each one!
- Find the SSD that you would like to partition on this list and write down its disk number. In the case of my computer, it was Disk 0
- Type “select disk #” and replace the # with your SSD’s disk number. In my case, this was “select disk 0.”
- Type in the following command and replace F with whatever letter you would like your partition to be:
- create partition primary size=F00 (i.e., create primary partition size=1024). Note that this command is telling your computer to make a partition that is 1024MB in size.
- Once complete, type “exit” and press [Enter] to exit the command prompt.
Advantages of Partitioning SSDs
- Allows for multiple operating systems to be installed onto a single drive
- It makes it easy to upgrade old computers without needing to replace the entire drive
- Allows for faster fault tolerance when running out of storage space
- Ensures better performance when using multiple partitions due to less overhead from the file system taking up drive space
- Allows for easy backup of data on the drive by just taking out one partition
Conclusion
This guide teaches you how to partition an SSD for use with Windows. This will allow multiple operating systems to be installed onto a single drive, better fault tolerance when running out storage space on the SSD, and disk part to easily backup the data on the drive by just taking out one partition.
