How to Partition an SSD Drive

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SSD is short for "solid-state drive." These hard drives use flash memory chips to store data, instead of the rotating magnetic platters that normal hard drives use. Unlike regular hard drives, they are not affected by magnets and do not suffer from mechanical failure. When it comes to partitioning an SSD, the computer's operating system treats both types of drives the same way. In Windows, the process for partitioning a drive has not changed since Windows 2000.

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Step 1

Click the "Start" button on the Windows taskbar and open the Control Panel.

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Step 2

Double-click on the "Administrative Tools" icon.

Step 3

Double-click on the "Computer Management" icon.

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Step 4

Click the "Disk Management" icon and you will see a list of connected hard drives.

Step 5

Right-click on your SSD drive, then left-click on "New Partition" and the New Partition Wizard window will appear. Click the "Next" button.

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Step 6

Select "Primary Partition" and click "Next."

Step 7

Choose the size of the partition. If you want to partition the entire SSD drive as one partition, leave the settings at the default. If you want multiple partitions, type the number of megabytes for your first partition. Click the "Next" button.

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Step 8

Select the drive letter for your partition from the drop-down box and click "Next."

Step 9

Select the file system for the new partition. Microsoft recommends NTFS, but you can also select FAT32 as long as the partition size is not over 32 gigabytes. You can also name the partition by typing in the "Volume Label" box. Click the "Next" button when you are finished.

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Step 10

Review your choices on the screen, and click the "Finish" button to partition and format the drive.

Step 11

Check the Computer Management screen to make sure your partition has appeared on the list.

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