Absolutely not the basis for proper use of Win partitioning tools!

When the new version of Windows 10 was released in the morning, it came with some issues. In our view, these are minor problems—after all, where is there no dirt, and which system has no bugs? However, some users got upset and thought that the content provided by Xiao Bian was not thorough. They asked, "If you're going to reinstall Windows, why didn’t you explain the most important partitions?" Well, we’re here to fix that today.

First, let’s take a quick look at the two main partition styles: GPT and MBR. These correspond to UEFI and Legacy boot modes. In recent years, most systems default to UEFI + GPT mode because it supports larger drives (over 2TB) and better compatibility with Windows 8/10. If you're installing Windows 7, you’ll need to use Legacy + MBR.

Once you’ve booted into the Windows installation disk, let's take an unpartitioned hard drive as an example. Select the unallocated space and click “New.”

To set the size of the partition, just enter the value in MB. Keep in mind that Windows uses 1024MB = 1GB for calculations. Also, when using GPT, the system will automatically create MSR and EFI partitions, so be sure to leave enough space. If you want to create clean, whole-number partitions like we do, you can use an online calculator to get the exact numbers.

Tip: If your hard drive has enough space, it's recommended to give the system partition (C drive) at least 80GB. While partitioning doesn't significantly improve performance, it helps protect your data in case of system failure.

Continue dividing the rest of the drive using the same method. If you're using MBR, you can only create up to four primary partitions. GPT has no such restrictions.

After partitioning, you can format the drive here or just click “Next” and let the system handle it automatically. For other unformatted partitions, you can format them manually after the OS is installed. Be sure to back up any important files before formatting, as this process will erase everything on the selected drive.

If you're not satisfied with the partition sizes during installation, you can always use the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management. There, you can delete existing partitions on non-system drives and create new ones from the unallocated space.

In the interface, you'll see the size of the new partition you're about to create. If there's plenty of space left, you can assign a smaller size and save the rest for other partitions. If the remaining space is small, you can just make one large partition.

You can assign a drive letter—any unused one works, but the system usually assigns it automatically. You can also merge this space into an existing folder or even hide it for sensitive data.

Choose the format type. The default is NTFS, and the allocation unit size can stay as default. You can name the partition anything you like. Quick format is usually enabled by default, so just check the box and proceed.

Using this method, you can keep creating more partitions from the unallocated space. Note that MBR only allows four primary partitions, but if you're installing Windows 10, you can convert MBR to GPT using a quick guide and avoid those limitations.

If you want to shrink an existing partition to create new ones, use the “Compress Volume” feature. Enter a number less than the available compressed space, and a new unallocated area will appear. From there, you can create new partitions just like before.

That’s how you can use both the installation disk and built-in tools to manage your partitions. We hope this guide helps you understand the process better. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!