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 a disk is initialized, the next step is to create the partitions or volumes on the disk and then format them with the appropriate file 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'' 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:
