How to Determine a Drive Partition

Hard drive partitions help your computer to run efficiently.

Windows operating systems facilitate the orderly storage of data by creating several partitions on a single hard drive. A partition is a part of the hard drive used exclusively for a particular function, such as storing files that are used to boot your computer. A separate partition is usually reserved to store your operating system and files you create. Your drive may also have a small, unused partition labeled "inactive." Discover your computer's partitions in "Disk Management," a Windows system tool.

Instructions

1. Open Computer Management by clicking "Start," "Control Panel," and "System Maintenance." Select "Administrative Tools," "Computer Management."

2. Select "Disk Management" under "Storage."

3. Review the drive partitions on the second row of the "Disk Management" window. They are signified with colored bars above them. For example, your single hard drive may have three partitions: one with your operating system and files, a smaller one for the "boot" sector, and an "inactive" partition. The inactive partition is likely to be the smallest, if it exists at all.