While most drives come without partitioning, you can do it yourself on your computer without special tools other than what’s available in Windows or Mac.
Do I Need to Partition My External Hard Drive?
Your hard drive will work just the same whether it’s partitioned or not. However, you have fewer options and less security with a drive with only one partition. Like many computer processes, partitioning a hard drive takes some work but offers significant benefits. The only real drawback is the time it takes to learn to do it. Once you’ve sat down and partitioned your first drive, you’ll be able to do it repeatedly. It’s well-worth learning now to have a lifetime of better hard drive management.
Why Should I Partition My External Hard Drive?
How to Partition Your External Hard Drive on Windows?
Before partitioning your external hard drive, ensure it’s connected to your computer and appears in Windows File Explorer.
Security Purposes: Partitioning a hard drive can help you protect your data in the event of file corruption. Hard drives have a tiny directory file that stores the location of all the other files in that partition. If it is damaged, you may be unable to access the things stored on that specific partition. Keeping a separate one means you’ll have another index file to find what’s saved on the different partitions. Software Backup: Your data may be simpler to back up if you store it in specific partitions. For example, I don’t need to back up my game files, temporary downloads, the software I’ve tested, or my operating system. Those can be redownloaded from the internet if I reinstall my operating system. It takes a lot of time and space to back up every file on my computer, so I have a single partition with things I want to save, like pictures, videos, and documents. Backing up only that partition makes it much simpler to keep my files safe.OS Backup: You can create a backup of your operating system on its own partition if desired. When your primary operating system needs to be replaced, you’ll have the files on the recovery partition ready to install.
Ultimately, partitioning your hard drive is a good choice if you think any of these reasons would benefit you now or in the future. It may not be as beneficial if you only use a drive to store data and you want to keep all your data backed up. When the format is finished, you’ll have a new partition. It will appear to look like a separate disk in Windows Explorer. However, it is the same disk split into different chunks.
Can I Partition a Drive with Command Prompt?
You can use Command Prompt to partition a drive. It doesn’t do anything differently than the Windows utility, but it’s another method that may suit some users better. You will still need to format and manage the partition after it has been created.
How to Partition Your External Hard Drive on Mac?
You don’t often need to partition a drive on Mac. Apple even says you should create multiple APFS volumes on one partition instead of making another. You can run multiple macOS installations on different volumes rather than using other partitions. However, if you need to partition a drive on a Mac, you can still do so. Now your drive will have new partitions.
Can I Partition Internal Drives with The Same Methods?
You can partition internal and external drives the exact same way. Remember that many internal drives – especially those with an operating system installed – may have an already-existing partition with recovery information. You don’t want to remove this. Check out our other article to find out more about partitioning an internal drive.
Are There Any Drives that Shouldn’t Be Partitioned This Way?
If for some reason, you’re using an external drive as part of a RAID array, you may need different software and steps to partition it. However, this is a very niche concern and probably doesn’t apply to very many readers.
If My Drive Dies, Do I Lose Access to All My Partitions?
If the drive itself dies, then all the data will be inaccessible. You will have to use file recovery methods to get it back. Partitioning protects data in the event of data corruption, not drive failure. Always continue to back up your data like normal.
What File System Should I Use?
The file system you choose depends on what you intend to do with the disk. NTFS is the best choice for a disk used only on Windows. The Mac OS formats are great for Mac drives. ExFAT is a good choice for drives you want to share between operating systems.
Should I Format My External Drive Before I Partition It?
If you choose, you can format your drive before you split it into partitions, but if you format the whole disk, all the data on it will be lost. Formatting a drive has many benefits, but if you haven’t backed up your data and don’t want to lose it, do not format it first.
