PARTITIONS OF DRIVE ON WINDOWS 8 !!!!!!!

Understanding drives, partitions, and volumes

A partition is an area of a hard disk that can be formatted and assigned a drive letter. On a hard disk, a volume is a formatted primary partition or logical drive. The terms partition and volume are often used interchangeably.

HP and Compaq computers with Windows 8 have hard disk drives that contain at least two partitions: the main partition for Windows and your work, and a recovery partition to restore the computer back the way it came from the factory. Here is a list of some of the partitions you might find on your hard drive:

The main partition, usually labeled with the letter C, contains the system files, program files, and usable file storage space.
A recovery partition, usually drive letter D and labeled RECOVERY, contains system recovery information in case the files on the C partition are damaged or unusable.
A hidden partition might exist called SYSTEM. A SYSTEM partition is used by Windows to store protected files for troubleshooting and should not be altered.
Your computer might also have a partition called "HP_TOOLS". If so, this partition contains HP tools for UEFI that you can use to help troubleshoot boot problems or test for hardware failures.

CAUTION:When using the steps in this document, do not delete the SYSTEM, Recovery or FACTORY_IMAGE partition or use it for file storage. Doing so might prevent troubleshooting startup problems or recovery in the event your computer encounters a major problem.

Adding a new drive letter

Add a new drive letter to the computer using one of the following methods:

Install an additional hard drive - If you need more space for photos, videos, music, or other files, add a new hard disk drive or USB storage device. An additional hard disk can be inside the computer (internal) or outside the computer (external), attached to a USB connector on the computer. When you add a new storage device, Windows automatically assigns a new letter.

NOTE:To add an internal hard drive, the computer must have an empty drive bay. Most mid tower or larger desktop PCs have space for one or more additional hard drives. Almost all notebooks, Slimline, and AiO computers do not have space for an internal drive.
Partition the existing drive - If you do not need more file storage space but would like to view another drive in Windows, create another partition on the existing hard disk. This might be useful if you need to share files on a drive but want to prevent access to your personal files by keeping them on another drive.
This method does not add more space, but re-allocates some of the empty space on the existing hard disk into another partition. This space is then treated as another drive and labeled with its own drive letter.

Creating a new partition in Windows 8

To create more partitions or volumes, the hard disk must contain unallocated space that is not part of an existing partition. Shrink the volume on an existing drive to create unallocated space and then create and format a hard disk partition.

Read the following section for more detailed instructions. If the heading has a plus (+) sign, click it to expand the information.

1. On the Windows Start screen, type disk management to open the Search charm, and then select Create and format hard disk partitions from the Search results list.
   Figure 1: Create and format hard disk partitions

   
2. Right click the (C:) drive.
   

   CAUTION:Do not use the Recovery or FACTORY_IMAGE partition to create a new partition. Doing so might prevent the HP Recovery Manager from recovering the computer when the information on the C: partition is damaged.
   Then click Shrink Volume... to create unallocated space.
   Figure 2: Shrink volume

   
3. Do not make any adjustments to the settings In the Shrink window. Click Shrink .
   Figure 3: Shrink volume C:

   
   When the Shrink is complete, the new partition displays in the Disk Management utility as Unallocated space.
   Figure 4: Unallocated space

   
4. Right-click the new partition. In the menu that displays, click New Simple Volume.. .
   Figure 5: Creating a new simple volume

   
5. The New Simple Volume Wizard displays. To continue, click Next .
6. The Specify Volume Size window displays. Type in the volume size, or click Next to accept the default setting.
   Figure 6: Specify volume

   
7. The Assign Drive Letter or Path window displays. Select a drive letter and click Next .
   Figure 7: Assign drive letter or path

   
8. The Format Partition window displays. To name the drive, type a name in the Volume label box. Then click Next .
   

   NOTE:Do not select Perform a quick format or Enable file and folder compression .
   Figure 8: New Simple Volume Wizard

   
9. The settings window displays. Click Finish .
   Figure 9: New Simple Volume Settings window

   
10. The Disk Management utility displays showing the formatting progress and then the New Volume.
    If the AutoPlay window displays, click the X in the upper-right corner to close it.
    Figure 10: New volume and its size