Use Built-In Tools to Create Partitions and Volumes in Windows Server 2008

[Nick]

Use Built-In Tools to Create Partitions and Volumes in Windows Server

Windows Server 2008 simplifies the Disk Management user interface by using one set of dialog boxes and wizards for both partitions and volumes.


Windows Server 2008 simplifies the Disk Management user interface by using one set of dialog boxes and wizards for both partitions and volumes. The first three volumes on a basic drive are created automatically as primary partitions. If you try to create a fourth volume on a basic drive, the remaining free space on the drive is converted automatically to an extended partition with a logical drive of the size you designate by using the new volume feature it created in the extended partition. Any subsequent volumes are created in the extended partitions and logical drives automatically.

In Disk Management, you create partitions, logical drives, and simple volumes by following these steps:

1. In Disk Management’s Graphical View, right-click an unallocated or free area and then choose New Simple Volume. This starts the New Simple Volume Wizard. Read the Welcome page and then click Next.

2. The Specify Volume Size page specifies the minimum and maximum size for the volume in megabytes (MB) and lets you size the volume within these limits. Size the partition in MB in the Simple Volume Size field and then click Next.

3. On the Assign Drive Letter Or Path page, specify whether you want to assign a drive letter or path and then click Next. The following options are available:

Assign The Following Drive Letter Choose this option to assign a drive letter. Then select an available drive letter in the selection list provided. By default, Windows Server 2008 selects the lowest available drive letter and excludes reserved drive letters as well as those assigned to local disks or network drives.

Mount In The Following Empty NTFS Folder Choose this option to mount the partition in an empty NTFS folder. You must then type the path to an existing folder or click Browse to search for or create a folder to use.

Do Not Assign A Drive Letter Or Drive Path Choose this option if you want to create the partition without assigning a drive letter or path. If you later want the partition to be available for storage, you can assign a drive letter or path at that time.

Note You don’t have to assign volumes a drive letter or a path. A volume with no designators is considered to be unmounted and is for the most part unusable. An unmounted volume can be mounted by assigning a drive letter or a path at a later time.

4. On the Format Partition page, determine whether and how the volume should be formatted. If you want to format the volume, choose “Format This Volume With The Following Settings” and then configure the following options:

File System Sets the file system type as FAT, FAT32, or NTFS. NTFS is selected by default in most cases. If you create a file system as FAT or FAT32, you can later convert it to NTFS with the Convert utility. You can’t, however, convert NTFS partitions to FAT or FAT32.

Allocation Unit Size Sets the cluster size for the file system. This is the basic unit in which disk space is allocated. The default allocation unit size is based on the size of the volume and, by default, is set dynamically prior to formatting. To override this feature, you can set the allocation unit size to a specific value. If you use many small files, you might want to use a smaller cluster size, such as 512 or 1024 bytes. With these settings, small files use less disk space.

Volume Label Sets a text label for the partition. This label is the partition’s volume name and by default is set to New Volume. You can change the volume label at any time by right-clicking the volume in Windows Explorer, choosing Properties, and typing a new value in the Label field provided on the General tab.

Perform A Quick Format Tells Windows Server 2008 to format without checking the partition for errors. With large partitions, this option can save you a few minutes. However, it’s usually better to check for errors, which enables Disk Management to mark bad sectors on the disk and lock them out.

Enable File And Folder Compression Turns on compression for the disk. Built-in compression is available only for NTFS. Under NTFS, compression is transparent to users and compressed files can be accessed just like regular files. If you select this option, files and directories on this drive are compressed automatically.

5. Click Next, confirm your options, and click Finish.

From the Microsoft Press book Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant by William R. Stanek.




credit: technet.microsoft.com