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The previous chapter looked at the two different disk partition styles (MBR and GPT) supported by Windows Server 2008, and the steps necessary to perform a disk initialization. Once the initialized, the next step is to create the partitions or volumes on the disk and then format them with the appropriate file systems system type (FAT, FAT32 or NTFS).
In this chapter we will cover the steps involved in creating partitions and assigning drive letters and mount points on a basic disk initialized with the MBR partition style. The next chapter will then cover [[Extending and Shrinking Windows Server 2008 Partitions and Volumes]]. For details on performing these tasks on a GPT basic disk read the chapter entitled [[Creating and Managing GPT Disk Partitions on Windows Server 2008 Basic Disks]].
As described in [[Adding New GPT and MBR Disks to Windows Server 2008 Systems]] a basic disk initialized with the MBR partition style can support either four primary partitions or three primary partitions and one extended partition. The extended partition can, in turn, be divided into multiple logical drives.
New volumes are created using the Disk Manager. This can be accessed either from the Server Manager or Computer Management tools. To launch the Server Manager open the Start menu and click on the Server Manager option, or click on the Server Manager icon in the task bar. Alternatively , launch Computer Management from ''Start -> All Programs -> Administration Tools -> Computer Management''. When creating new volumes on an MBR disk the first three volumes created will be configured as ''primary partitions''. The fourth partition created will be configured as an ''extended partition'' with within which the first logical drive will be created as the size requested for the fourth volume. Any available space left in the extended partition after the first logical drive has been created will be marked as ''Free Space'' and may be used to create additional logical drives within the extended partition.
To begin the partitioning process right click on the ''Unallocated'' or ''Free Space'' area of the appropriate drive in the graphical section of Drive Manager screen and select ''New Simple Volume...''. This will launch the ''New Simple Volume Wizard''. Click ''Next'' on the initial screen to proceed to the ''Specify Volume Size'' screen as illustrated below:
On this screen enter the size of the volume to be created. The screen shows the maximum and minimum allowed sizes. If you only need one partition use the maximum. Once the size has been defined, click ''Next'' to configure the drive letter or mount point. The wizard will allocate the next available drive letter to the new volume. If this is not acceptable, select another drive letter from the drop down list. Alternatively, to have the volume mounted in an empty folder use the ''Browse'' button to locate, or create a suitable empty folder in on the file system via which the new volume will be accessible. The wizard also provides the option to leave the new volume unassigned at this point. Note that these settings may be changed at any time by right clicking on the volume in graphical view and selecting ''Change Drive Letter and Paths'' from the popup menu. The ''Assign and Drive Letter or Path'' screen is shown below:
Click the ''Next'' button to proceed to the ''Format Partition'' screen. On this screen a number of choices are available in terms of the type of file system to be created on the new volume. These options consist of FAT, FAT16 and NTFS. FAT volumes have a maximum size of 4GB and a file size limit of 2GB. FAT32 file systems have a maximum volume size of 32Gb 32GB with a file size limit of 4GB. NTFS volumes can be up to 2TB on an MBR disk and 18 Exabytes (EB) on GPT disks. NTFS is recommended unless FAT or FAT32 is specifically required. FAT and FAT32, for example, do not support many of the file system security or compression features inherent in NTFS.
The ''Allocation unit size'' value specifies the file system cluster size. In general the default setting for this value is the preferable choice, although a smaller value may be useful in situations where the volume is intended to store large quantities of small files. If selected, the ''Quick Format'' option will cause the format to be performed without any error checking. The ''Enable file and folder compression'' option dictates whether the data stored in the volume is to be compressed to maximize use of space. This option is only available for NTFS volumes.
Click on the ''Next'' button to proceed to the summary screen. Assuming the settings are satisfactory, click on ''Finish'' to begin the formatting process. The wizard will close and the disk in the graphical display will show the new volume as a primary volume and show the progress of the formating formatting process.
Once the process is completed the disk will be ready for use. To create additional volumes, repeat the above steps. When the fourth volume is created the wizard will create it as an ''extended volume'' and all subsequent volumes will be created as logical drives within the extended partition. For example, the following figure shows ''Disk 1'' with three primary partitions (E, F and G) and one extended partition containing two logical drives (H and I):
== Formatting a Volume using Disk Management ==
During the volume creation process outlined in the preceeding preceding sections of this chapter it was mentioned that a new partition on a disk drive may be created without formatting it for a particular file system. This is known as a raw partition and will be listed in the disk manager as having a RAW file system type.
Before the volume can be used it must be formatted. This can be achieved using either the Disk management Management interface or from the command line using the ''diskpart'' tool. To perform the format from Disk Management simply select the desired volume from the graphical display, right click and select ''Format...''. The format dialog will appear requesting the file system type, volume name, allocation unit size and volume label. Options to perform a quick format (which does not perform an error check) and enable disk compression (for NTFS file systems only) are also provided.
Once the desired settings are selected , initiate the format simply by clicking on ''OK'' and then respond affirmatively to the warning dialog.
== Formatting a Volume from the Command Line ==
Windows Server 2008 provides the ability to format volumes from the command line using the '''diskpart'' tool. This can be invoked by entering ''diskpart'' either at the command prompt or in a Run dialog. Once started , diskpart presents a ''DISKPART>'' prompt at which commands can be entered.
The first step is to identify the disks on the system. This information is obtained using the ''list disk'' command:
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Having made the appropriate selections we are now ready to format the chosen partition. As with formatting through the Disk Management interface , a number of options are available. In the first instance the type of file system required must be specified using the ''fs='' directive. Acceptable options include ''FAT'', ''FAT32'' or ''NTFS''. Alternatively, simply use ''recommended'' to format using the recommended file system. The ''label='' directive allows a volume label to be specified. When using this directive the label name should be encapsulated in double quotes (").
In addition, the ''quick'' directive may be used to perform a quick format where the disk is not checked for errors and ''compress'' may be used with an NTFS format to enable file and folder compression.
== Assigning and Changing Drive Letters and Mount Points ==
As with the choice to perform a format during the partition creation changephase, the Disk Management snap-in also provides the option to assign drive letters or mount point paths at a later time. If you chose to defer these settings they can be assigned at any time after the creation of the partition.
To assign or change a drive letter or mount point simply open the Disk Management interface, right click on the required volume in the graphical view and select ''Change Drive Letter and Paths...'' from the popup menu. In the resulting dialog configure the drive letter or mount point accordingly.
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Finally , the drive letter or mount point can be assigned. To assign a drive letter to the currently selected partition:
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