Windows 7 is an operating system from Microsoft Corporation. It has a Disk Management tool used to manage partitions. The Disk Management tool is used with the Windows 7 and Windows 8 versions.
Windows Disk Management tools allow the creation, resizing and deletion of hard disk partitions without the need to use a special disk utility or additional software.
The Disk Management utility is located in the Computer Management section of the operating system. It is accessible through elevated administrative rights by executing the diskmgmt.msc query in the Run dialog box.
Once loaded, the disk management tool displays operating system partition and the data partition. Operations such as fragmentation, shrinking, deleting and editing the non-operating system volume are possible.
The disk management utility can only manage file systems that are compatible with Windows operating systems. This includes FAT16/FAT32 and NTFS. It can, however, see other files created or formatted by other operating systems such as Linux but can only delete then.
DELETING A DISK PARTITION
When it is necessary to delete a partition from your hard drive to make space for extension of an existing partition or redo the partition, a delete procedure is executed. In order to do this, right click on the intended tap or partition is done and from the resulting choices, chooses Delete Volume. A prompt will display to ask the user to confirm the fact that removing the partition will erase all the data contained herein. It suggest to the user to backup all the data before affirming by clicking Yes.
CREATING A DISK PARTITION
Freely available space on the hard drives can be segmented into new partitions. Partitions can be classified as primary, extended and logical. In order to create a new partition, right click or tap and hold free unallocated space and select New Simple Volume. A New Simple Volume Wizard will pop up. The Wizard has options for specifying the size of the partition, assigning a letter to the drive and the path for the new partition. Finally other specifications such as formatting options are specified.
FORMATING A PARTITION
Using Disk Management to format a partition that is already created will erase all the data in it. Right clicking or tapping and holding the partition will display a drop down menu. A format wizard will be displayed with volume label, file system and allocation unit size specifications.
WINDOWS 7 INSTALLATION
PREPARATION
In order to install Windows 7 on a new computer, a Windows 7 installation key is required. Otherwise, you will not be able to install the operating system.
The second requirement is the right drivers that support the specific hardware. The drivers usually come with installation CD/DVD or can be downloaded from official vendor websites.
Windows 7 system requirements much be fulfilled before the operating system is installed. This includes;
- 1 gigahertz or faster 32-bit or 64-bit processor
- 1 gigahertz Random Access Memory for a 32-bit processor or 2GB RAM for a 64-bit processor
- 16GB available hard disk space for a 32-bit processor or 20GB space for a 64-bit processor.
- DirectX 9 device with WDDM 1.0 or higher drive.
- DVD/CD authoring requires compatible optical drive.
In order to install Windows 7 operating system, the following procedures are followed.
- Boot from windows 7 DVD. This is done via BIOS. Press F2 key while the machine is booting.
- After sometime, the installation menu will display. Choose language and keyboard.
- Then click Install and accept license agreement
- The next step involves choosing the installation type. A new installation is favorable for a new computer. The following step is to choose the partition to install Windows 7.
- The user settings Window will pop up requiring the computer name and password. The step requires activation using the activation key provided. Others include updates, time settings and location.
- Congratulations message imply the success of the installation process.
References
Deborah Morley, C. S. (2009). Understanding Computers 2009:. Cengage Learning.
Gill, P. S. (2006). Operating System Concepts. Laxmi Publications.
I.A.Dhotre. (2009). Operating Systems. Technical Publications.
