Partition what is it

[Einstein000]

Hello people I have just made a computer and was about to install my Windows 8.1. I took my 2.5 hard drive out of my ps4 and into my pc. Thing is that it's full and when I want to install my Windows 8.1 it asks for where I want to install my Windows and says drive partition 1,2,3 an so on. But none of them work because they are not formatted. Now question is what do I do. I am kind of stuck. Please help!!!

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there Einstein000,

You can try to partition and format it before the installation process. Keep in mind that this will erase the data stored on the drive and you need to back up everything you need.

Once you are in Windows setup, press shift+F10 to bring up the command line.
- diskpart [enter]
- list disk [enter]
- select drive [number] [enter]
- clean all [enter]
- create partition primary [enter]
- select partition 1 [enter]
- active [enter]
- format fs=ntfs [enter]
- assign [enter]
- exit [enter]
- exit [enter]

Let me know how this goes,
D_Know_WD

 

[Einstein000]

Hi there Einstein000,

You can try to partition and format it before the installation process. Keep in mind that this will erase the data stored on the drive and you need to back up everything you need.

Once you are in Windows setup, press shift+F10 to bring up the command line.
- diskpart [enter]
- list disk [enter]
- select drive [number] [enter]
- clean all [enter]
- create partition primary [enter]
- select partition 1 [enter]
- active [enter]
- format fs=ntfs [enter]
- assign [enter]
- exit [enter]
- exit [enter]

Let me know how this goes,
D_Know_WD

Sorry what do u mean. You see I am only 13 sp I don't know that much. And also I want to get rid of all the stuff in that hard drive. On one website it says that I should delete all the partitions and start a new one.

 

[JQB45]

You will have to reformat the hard drive, and if it has more then one partition I recommend using a tool to remove the partitions.
The easiest way I can think of to do this is to download a live image of a linux mint 17.3 operating system such as Linux Mint and use the tool "Disks" to remove the partitions.

You would download the iso, install the iso on a USB Thumb Drive. Go to the computer with the PS4 hard drive. Boot it up with the thumb drive Linux image and then proceed to the system menu (equivalent to the windows start menu). And you will find the "Disks" tool under Accessories.

Once the hard drive partitions have been removed you can restart the computer with the windows install media and boot the windows installer.

I have one question for you. Why would you cannibalize the hard drive from a perfectly valid gaming machine such as a PS4?

 

[mamasan2000]

I would never recommend using just one partition. SImply because if your OS stops working, you'll have to format it generally, loosing everything on the HDD. For that reason alone, use at least 2 partitions.

I use other partitions for programs and drivers so getting the OS to spec goes a lot faster.

 

[Einstein000]

You will have to reformat the hard drive, and if it has more then one partition I recommend using a tool to remove the partitions.
The easiest way I can think of to do this is to download a live image of a linux mint 17.3 operating system such as Linux Mint and use the tool "Disks" to remove the partitions.

You would download the iso, install the iso on a USB Thumb Drive. Go to the computer with the PS4 hard drive. Boot it up with the thumb drive Linux image and then proceed to the system menu (equivalent to the windows start menu). And you will find the "Disks" tool under Accessories.

Once the hard drive partitions have been removed you can restart the computer with the windows install media and boot the windows installer.

I have one question for you. Why would you cannibalize the hard drive from a perfectly valid gaming machine such as a PS4?

Oh I think you misunderstood. U see last year I was running out my memory on my ps4 so I could a 1tb hard drive and replaced the 500G with 1Tb in the ps4. So I used the 500G for my pic, but it's full and I want to get rid of its memory

 

[D_Know_WD]

Basically, explained how to format and partition a drive(this will erase the data stored on it), through the Command Prompt.(just before installing OS)

In case you thing this would be difficult, you can attach the drive to another computer -> go to Disk Management -> reformat(NTFS) and re partition the drive. You can attach the drive either externally(with SATA to USB adapter) or internally(SATA cable+power cable). Once you've done that, you can attach the drive back to your computer and install OS.

D_Know_WD

 

[rhysiam]

You can actually delete most partition types from within the Windows 8.1 installer itself. At the screen where it's asking you where you want to install Windows, there should be a "Drive options (advanced)" button. Press that. From there you can see the partitions on the disk, delete them (usually) and create new ones if you want.

My advice would be to just delete all the partitions on the disk and then press next. Windows will create the partitions it needs and go from there. Some (like @mamasan) recommend creating a separate partition for your OS install. You can do that from there if you want. Means if you need to reinstall your OS you don't need to save your data somewhere else. Up to you whether you want to do that.

There are some partition types that the Windows Installer won't let you delete, I'm not sure whether the partitions created by the PS4 fall into that category. If that is the case you'll need to resort to another solution like those suggested above, but for sure try the installer first.

Obviously, deleting partitions destroys all data on the disk.